The Next Team Jellie Adventure: Folding Bikes, Amtrak, and a Week in St. Louis
Team Jellie’s Next Big Trip: Amtrak to St. Louis with Foldable Bikes
There’s a specific moment when a trip stops being a cute little idea and turns into an actual commitment.
It’s usually when the confirmation emails show up and start speaking in the stern, grown-up language of dates, times, reservation numbers, and check-in windows.
One minute Kellie and I were basically saying, “You know what would be fun?” and the next minute we had a real plan on the calendar: Battle Creek to Chicago. Chicago to St. Louis. Two seats. Two bikes. One spring week away.
And just like that, Team Jellie has its next big adventure.
The Plan, in Plain English
We’re heading to St. Louis from April 30 through May 6, 2026, and we’re doing it in a way that feels very on-brand for us: a little practical, a little weird, and just adventurous enough to make normal people ask follow-up questions.
We’ll start in Battle Creek, Michigan, hop on Amtrak in the morning, roll into Chicago Union Station, and then catch the next leg down to St. Louis Gateway Station. By that evening, if all goes well, we’ll be in a new city with our gear, our curiosity, and two foldable bikes ready to become the stars of the operation.
This is not a “race through the city until your calves file a complaint” trip. This is more our speed: wander, notice things, find coffee, stop for pictures, drift into neighborhoods, and let the week become what it becomes.
Yes, We’re Bringing the Ride1Up Foldable Bikes
This is the part that turns the trip from nice to interesting.
We’re bringing our Ride1Up Portola foldable bikes on the train.
Not on a car rack. Not stuffed into the back of an SUV. Not doing that thing where you tell yourself you’ll just rent bikes when you get there and then never do.
On the train.
There is something deeply satisfying about the idea of arriving in a city, unfolding the bikes, and immediately switching from passenger mode to explorer mode. No rental counter. No parking garage scavenger hunt. No awkward negotiation with downtown traffic while trying to remember which lane is trying to kill you.
Just rails first. Then pedals.
Also, let’s be honest: bringing the folding bikes feels like exactly the kind of Team Jellie move that makes no sense to some people and perfect sense to us.
Our Home Base: Near Soulard
We booked a spot called Fireplace Gallery | Cozy 1BR Near Soulard, which already sounds like the kind of place that wants you to slow down a little.
And that’s good, because Soulard looks like the kind of neighborhood that deserves lingering. Brick. History. Character. The kind of streets that make you want to walk slower and look harder. The kind of area where even a corner building seems like it has opinions.
I’m expecting the usual Team Jellie travel pattern here:
- We’ll tell ourselves we’re heading out for a quick look around.
- That quick look around will turn into half a day.
- At least one snack will become “research.”
- One coffee stop will somehow turn into a full planning summit.
As it should.
Why Amtrak Feels Different
Driving gets you somewhere. Flying launches you through a sequence of lines, bins, belts, shoes, announcements, and mild spiritual fatigue.
But trains? Trains feel like the trip starts before you arrive.
You sit down. The window takes over. Towns slide by. Parking lots become fields. Fields become little industrial back corners. Then some river. Then a station. Then a skyline. Then some stretch of America you never would have noticed from the interstate.
It’s movement without the white-knuckle steering wheel grip.
No one is asking you to merge at 72 miles an hour while construction barrels judge your choices.
You just go.
And for a spring trip, that feels right.
The Loose Team Jellie Game Plan
We do not have one of those spreadsheets where every hour has already been assigned a purpose. That kind of trip has its place. This is not that trip.
This trip is more like:
- Ride toward the Gateway Arch and see what the city feels like on the way there.
- Explore the Soulard area without pretending we’re above stopping every ten minutes to say, “That building looks cool.”
- Find good local coffee.
- Find memorable food.
- Use the bikes to connect the little moments instead of just the major destinations.
- Leave enough blank space for surprise wins.
Because the older I get, the more I think a good trip is less about squeezing in every highlight and more about giving the day enough room to become itself.
That sounds philosophical. What I mean is: some of the best travel moments happen because you got a little lost and then found something better.
What I’m Looking Forward To Most
Honestly? The handoff points.
The moment the train pulls in.
The moment we step off in Chicago and know the day is still unfolding.
The moment we reach St. Louis and go from “traveling” to “being there.”
The moment the folded bikes become unfolded bikes and the whole trip changes shape.
There’s a small thrill in designing a trip around mobility instead of just lodging. We’re not only going somewhere. We’re bringing our way of moving through a place with us.
That matters.
The Quiet Goal Behind the Trip
Every Team Jellie trip has a visible goal and a hidden one.
The visible goal is easy: take the train, bring the bikes, enjoy St. Louis, tell the story.
The hidden goal is something like this: build a life that feels a little less trapped by the usual defaults.
Not every trip has to be a giant luxury blowout.
Not every trip has to involve airports, rental cars, and a schedule that leaves you needing another vacation afterward.
Sometimes the whole point is proving that adventure can be assembled out of smart choices, curiosity, and the willingness to do things a little differently.
That’s the kind of experiment I like.
What We’ll Be Sharing Along the Way
We’ll be turning this into content as we go, because of course we will. That is both the joy and the occupational hazard.
So expect some combination of:
- travel updates from the route
- bike-and-train lessons learned the hard way
- local finds worth sharing
- quiet little moments that would never make a brochure but absolutely make the trip
And yes, if there’s a moment where one of us confidently heads in the wrong direction, I assume that will also become content. The Midwest has a long and noble tradition of polite detours.
Travel Gear We Actually Use
For trips like this, I like gear that does one simple thing: makes the day easier without becoming the day’s main character.
Affiliate note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them, it helps support Deep Dive AI at no extra cost to you.
- Beast 30 oz Stainless Steel Vacuum-Insulated Tumbler – For station coffee, platform coffee, train coffee, and the kind of coffee that shows up after a long bike ride.
- Aerotrunk Compression Packing Cubes (6-Pack) – Helpful when you want to pack like a rational adult instead of a panicked raccoon.
- Bose QuietComfort Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headphones + Charger – Good for the train, good for the hotel, and especially good if somebody nearby thinks speakerphone is a personality trait.
- Wallaroo Men’s Summit Sun Hat – Packable, practical, and useful when spring sunshine gets ambitious.
- Wallaroo Women’s Catalina Sun Hat – A good travel hat earns its keep fast once the walking and riding start.
Those are the kinds of things I like recommending: not flashy nonsense, just gear that quietly helps the trip go better.
The Part I Already Know I’m Going to Like
I’m going to like the first window seat stretch when Michigan starts giving way to the rest of the route.
I’m going to like the first step into the Airbnb when the bags hit the floor and the trip finally exhales.
I’m going to like the first ride out into the city when we’re not theorizing about the trip anymore. We’re in it.
That’s always the shift I’m chasing.
The moment when planning turns into memory.
Follow the Trip
If you want to follow along as this unfolds, here are the main places to keep up with us:
- 📺 YouTube: Deep Dive AI on YouTube
- 🎧 Spotify: Deep Dive AI Podcast on Spotify
- 👍 Facebook: AI Workflow Solutions, LLC
Final Thought Before We Roll
There’s something satisfying about a trip that doesn’t pretend to be bigger than it is.
This isn’t some dramatic reinvention arc. It’s just two people, a train, two foldable bikes, and a week in a city that seems worth meeting properly.
And honestly, that’s enough.
Sometimes the next big adventure is not a giant leap. Sometimes it’s just a train ticket, a place to stay, and the decision to say yes before your sensible side has time to overthink it.
St. Louis, we’re on the way.
#TeamJellie #DeepDiveAI #AmtrakAdventure #StLouisTrip #FoldableBikeTravel #Ride1Up #SpringTravel #Soulard #TrainTravel #TravelBlog
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