A Different Type of Bike


One of my colleagues at the library went on vacation last summer and told me about a cool activity she and her family tried – railbiking! I was intrigued. As you may know from reading other posts I’ve written, I’m a big hiker. I used to bike a lot when I was younger but have gotten out of the habit – this sounded like a way I could do some biking but in a completely new way.

A railbike looks a lot like an old-fashioned railroad handcar – one of those things you might remember seeing in Westerns or cartoons. Instead of having to pump a handle to move, you and one-to-three of your friends sit in a recumbent bike position and peddle. The railbike has special wheels – like what’s on a train – so it can ride on railroad tracks. There are many railbiking companies around but the one I used is Revolution Rail in North Creek, New York. They also have a railbike tour in Cape May, New Jersey.

Once railbiking was decided upon, the next step was to build a trip around that activity. North Creek is in upstate New York, in the vicinity of Lake George. We went in October – the weather was still nice but at the end of the Lake George tourist season. The beautiful fall colors made this a perfect road trip-type trip and I took full advantage of the travel guides available at Mercer County Library System. Fodor’s, Moon, and Lonely Planet guides all helped with finding restaurants, places to stay, and additional activities in the area. One dinner was at the Adirondack Brewery pub in Lake George Village – yummy food in a rustic, log cabin setting. Before our railbike tour time, we stopped at Ski Bowl Park near Gore Mountain. It might sound geeky, but I really enjoyed hiking the then-green ski runs and seeing ski equipment up close – like the different types of snow makers and a ski lift in the process of being built. Almost like a behind-the-scenes tour of a ski slope.

The North Creek railbike tour (North Bridge Run) utilized an abandoned railway right along the Hudson River. As you peddle, you have great views of the river on one side and forest on the other. You feel like you’re the only one out there. The highlight of the ride is going over an old trestle bridge. A little scary but then you remember you can’t fall off. At the halfway point, everyone debarks and takes a few minutes to walk around or sit. The tour guides turn the bikes around and everyone straps back in. The way back is all downhill and you feel like you’re flying!

To also touch on my enjoyment of craft beer (another thing you know about me if you’ve read my past posts), the next leg of the road trip was to Fiddlehead Brewing Company in Shelburne, Vermont and then on to The Alchemist Brewery in Stowe. The Alchemist is the home of Heady Topper, often rated as one of the best IPAs brewed in the United States. The atmosphere of the brewery was like a big laid-back picnic, with families playing frisbee in the large back yard, food trucks, and people just enjoying the day out.

This wasn’t my first time at Stowe, and another reason for going was to revisit some of our favorite spots from a trip there over 20 years ago. Driving through and walking around Smuggler’s Notch State Park is an especially neat side trip – as long as your vehicle isn’t TOO big – Route 108 gets very twisty and narrow, and Ben & Jerry’s isn’t far away (very crowded, though!). The guide books came through again, steering us to a really good comfort food restaurant not far from the hotel – The Bench.

Books I used for planning (and some new ones we’ve gotten since then!):

Travel guides to the Hudson Valley and New England are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can find at MCLS to help plan your next vacation, be it near or far. Take a look at the AtoZ World Cultures database to learn more about the people and culture in the places you’re dreaming of, and get familiar with the language with our many language learning resources.

- Andrea at Hopewell

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