General Company Wide Updates

• Click Here for general company wide updates.

RAIL North Specific Updates for the 2021 Season

2/15/21

• Rest stop 4 is now in Warrenville and rest stop 5 is now in Berkeley (previously Aurora and Glen Ellyn) in order to better even out the lengths of ride segments 4, 5, and 6. Rest stop 4 is immediately off the on path route and rest stop 5 is immediately off both the on road and on path routes. Click Here for more information.
  • Metra Train Stations are now available from Wheaton and Berkeley (previously Aurora and Glen Ellyn). The Wheaton Metra train station is located directly on the route between rest stops 4 and 5, and the Berkeley Metra train station is only 1.3 miles from rest stop 5. Click Here for more information.
• We now continue on the Illinois Prairie Path until ends in Forest Park and follow an improved route through the west side of Chicago primarily following low traffic residential streets to the start of the 606 Trail.
• A bar and restaurant is located directly at our ending location for you to replenish yourself with food, drinks, and ice cream after the end of your ride! Click Here for more information.

12/1/20

• Registration procedures for postponed 2020 participants posted. Click Here for more information.

11/30/20

• Registration for RAIL North 2021 is now open! Click Here to register!

11/22/20

• Our price schedules will increase more quickly but you can still sign up for last year's lowest rate if you sign up early! Click Here for more information about the price schedule.

11/14/20

• Web site updated with 2021 dates.
  • RAIL North will occur on Sun. June 20th, 2021.
• The late fee has increased from $20.00 to $25.00.

Major Previous RAIL North Specific Updates

Arrival In and Departure From Moline

• Our opening meeting on the day before the event will now be held at 7:15 pm in order to better accomodate participants arriving on Amtrak trains or driving from Chicago. Click Here for more information.

Arrival In Chicago

• The ending location in Chicago is now at the Diversey Driving Range in Chicago right off Lake Michigan. Click Here for more information.
  • From the ending location, you can ride about a quarter mile under Lake Shore Drive to get to Lake Michigan to truly say you rode across the entire state!

Route and Riding

• A supported lunch stop is now available directly on the route at the Subway restaurant in Hinckley, only 0.5 miles after rest stop 3. Click Here for more information.
• The route opening and closing times will be at 5:30 am and 8:30 pm ("about" sunrise & sunset) for year after year consistency purposes and to make the route opening and closing times easier to remember for participants on the road.
• Rest stop 3 is now in Hinckley and the route into and out of Hinckley primarily follows paved county back roads.
• The route now directly follows the fully paved Great River Trail immediately out of the supported hotel in Moline.
• Based on participant feedback we will not longer be riding on Galena Ave. in Aurora.
• We now allow trikes (any bicycle with three or more wheels) to participate in our events. However, all participants riding trikes must provide their own on road support for them at all times because we cannot guarantee that we will be able to easily or quickly transport them off the road in any support vehicle in case of mechanical breakdown. In addition, we still cannot accomodate any trikes on any of our transportation services. Click Here for more information.

Transportation Services

• We will have two separate transportation staging points in Chicago for our transportation service from Chicago to Moline before the start of the event - both at the ending location and at the Greyhound bus station. Doing this allows us to best accomodate people who will and will not be parking their car in Chicago during the event. When you register you will indicte which location is most convenient for you to drop off your bike at. Click Here for more information.
• There will be an additional $25.00 fee to transport recumbents and tandems on our transportation services. However a tandem bicycle will not incur an additional fee if both people riding it register for the same transportation service.

Other Event Services

• No refunds will be issued in the event we are unable to run an event due to circumstances beyond our control. These circumstances include but are not limited to disasters (natural and/or manmade), pandemics, war, acts of terrorism, government regulations, strikes, civil disorder, curtailment of transportation facilities, or acts of God. (Force Majure)
• Only online registration will be available after regular registration closes four weeks before the start of the tour in order to assure that we receive all of your information and payment in a timely manner due to laspes in mail service. This deadline also corresponds to the regular registration deadline. Click Here for more information.
• We have implemented an increasing price schedule. Click Here for more information.
• WE NO LONGER ISSUE ANY REFUNDS AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON. If you do not participate and would like a refund you MUST purchase an individual travel insurance plan, which will reimburse you according to the plan coverage. Click Here for more information about our refund policy.
• In order to accommodate our Bike Wisconsin events, RAIL North will be held on the Sunday on or before June 21st (the longest day of the year) on a recurring basis. Click Here for the dates of the future RAIL North events.
  • The biggest benefit to riding on Sunday will be much less stress since you will have more time on Saturday to travel to the start of the event and prepare for the ride. You won’t have to rush after work on Friday or attend our opening meeting so early at 4:30 am on Saturday before what is already an incredibly long day. People who normally work on Saturdays will also have the opportunity to participate now.
  • The biggest drawback to riding on Sunday is that you will have much less time to rest and recover from the ride before work/school on Monday. Also our transportation service after the end of the event that will now occur on Monday instead of Sunday.
• The regular registration deadline is now two weeks before the start of the event which is the same cut-off date as the one for our room block at our supported hotel in Moline.