RIDE
ACROSS ILLINOIS (RAIL) NORTH
Updates
General Company Wide Updates
RAIL North Specific Updates for the 2021
Season
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.
Route and Riding
- Based on participant feedback we will not
longer be riding on Galena Ave.
in Aurora. All related route information has
been
updated.
- A supported lunch stop will be 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.
- Information has been added about Return Metra
train service to downtown Chicago from Aurora
and Glen Ellyn. Click
Here for more information.
- Rest stop
3 is now in Hinckley and the route into and out
of Hinckley primarily follows county
back roads.
- The route now directly follows the fully paved
Great River Trail immediately out of the supported
hotel
in Moline.
- 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 service
to Cairo on the Saturday before the start of the
tour to Cairo. 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.
- When you check in you can now request that we
give you your t-shirt and any other merchandise
items at the ending location instead. No more worrying
about where to put your new stuff during the ride.
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