Best West Outdoors

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Railroad pedaling offers new kind of adventure
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Railroad pedaling offers new kind of adventure

You don't need to pedal faster than a speeding freight train because, obviously, the two forms of rail riding don't use the same tracks.

Terry J. Richard
Nov 29, 2021
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Railroad pedaling offers new kind of adventure
terryjrichard.substack.com
The Rail Explorers is a railroad tour at Railroad Pass out Las Vegas and Boulder City, Nev. (BWO photo)

Talk about your high-speed rail!

There you are, pedaling along with your buddy on a cart specially designed for use on railroad tracks. You casually turn around after hearing a train whistle and see an Amtrak locomotive bearing down on you.

Better get a move on.

Twitter avatar for @esquireEsquire @esquire
You can now pedal along the railroad tracks through the Adirondacks

August 25th 2021

36 Retweets269 Likes

Thankfully, it doesn’t work like that

Rail pedalers use decommissioned rail lines, still functional but off-limits to speeding locomotives. It’s a relatively new form of outdoor adventure in the last 10 years that capitalizes on America’s growing interest in bicycling.

All it takes is a relatively flat decommissioned rail line in a scenic tourist setting, with desirable staging and turn around points. Plus someone to start the business.

The rail-riding adventure outside Las Vegas is offered during cooler morning hours of summer days, or during midday in winter. Tour-takers pedal four miles between Nevada Southern Railroad Museum and Railroad Pass, bringing a snack and drink for a 20-minute break at a rail-side picnic area.

The tour ticket includes a ride back in one of the museum's historic trains, plus entry to the Boulder City museum. The tour takes 1.5 hours, including check-in, rail-bike ride, and return to the station via train. Other types of tours are also available.

Tours elsewhere outfit a tour leader rail pedal car with a go-cart engine powerful enough to push rail riders along when they get tried of pedaling. Or some even augment all pedal cars with electric or gas motor assist. Rail pedal cars are built for two or four riders.

Four peddlers may just be able to stay ahead of America’s “high-speed” rail.🤣

(Look here for a list of rail bike tour operators.)

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