On board the Northern Central Railway Bike Aboard train. We had been planning the trips for weeks – 2 bike trains, a week apart.
What’s a bike train?
It’s where the excursion train carries our bikes one way and we bike the reverse direction. The big one was a 26-mile run from White Haven to Jim Thorpe PA on the 3rd Saturday in August. But we stumbled across another 16-mile run from New Freedom to Brillhart Station in south central PA the week before. We decided to make the first one a trial run to make sure we wanted to do the long one. The advantage of these travels to PA, in addition to the cooler weather of being further north, was the opportunity to see family, since Dave’s mom and sister lived nearby.
What’s a bike train?
It’s where the excursion train carries our bikes one way and we bike the reverse direction. The big one was a 26-mile run from White Haven to Jim Thorpe PA on the 3rd Saturday in August. But we stumbled across another 16-mile run from New Freedom to Brillhart Station in south central PA the week before. We decided to make the first one a trial run to make sure we wanted to do the long one. The advantage of these travels to PA, in addition to the cooler weather of being further north, was the opportunity to see family, since Dave’s mom and sister lived nearby.
Codorus State Park boathouse Codorus State Park
Located on Lake Marburg, near the world’s snack capital of Hanover PA, Codorus State Park was a new destination for us. We chose this spot for its proximity to New Freedom, the departure point for the Northern Central Railway Bike Aboard train.
Located on Lake Marburg, near the world’s snack capital of Hanover PA, Codorus State Park was a new destination for us. We chose this spot for its proximity to New Freedom, the departure point for the Northern Central Railway Bike Aboard train.
While we had been planning to take the trip for weeks, we delayed buying tickets until we had confidence that the weather would cooperate. So, arriving on a Monday, we knew one thing we wanted to visit while we waited. After all, we were near the snack capital of the world. So, we took a day to head into Hanover. While our hopes to take some tours were scuttled – none of the chip makers have tours any more – we did visit their outlet stores. Between Utz and Hanover foods, we managed to fill the back seat with snacks for about $12. One more stop at Snyder’s of Hanover, and we had to call our snack shopping done.
Dave showing his disc golf form. Another use of our time at Codorus was making an attempt to play disc golf. Codorus has 3 different courses at different levels of difficulty. The park has even hosted some major tournaments. In anticipation of this opportunity, we had purchased a set of 6 “official” discs to try our luck at the course. We quickly discovered that we were very bad at this sport. Licking our wounds, we retreated to the RV to watch some training videos. Armed with more training, our 2nd round on the golf course was only a little better. Not sure that this is the sport for us.
Falls along the Torrey C Brown Rail Trail in Maryland Midway through the week, confident that the weekend’s weather would cooperate for our Bike Aboard excursion, we took a test run to New Freedom to check out the parking and the trail and to purchase our tickets. Bringing our bikes, we rode a short distance north (in the direction we would travel on Saturday for the train ride) and then turned south to take a longer ride. New Freedom is only a mile and a half from the PA-MD border, aka the Mason Dixon Line. At that point, the trail continues on south to Baltimore under a new name, the Torrey C Brown Rail Trail. We rode about 10 miles south on this trail by waterfalls, parks, small towns and back roads before turning around to head back to New Freedom. We hoped to reward ourselves with some ice cream after the ride, only to discover the lone ice cream store was closed until late afternoon. Bummer.
View from Pine Hill RV Park Lehigh Valley and Family Time
After our Bike Aboard train ride (more about that later), we were ready to move on to our next stop in Kutztown near Dave’s mom in Allentown. We camped at Pine Hill RV Park, which had very nice facilities for showering and laundry, but not much else.
After our Bike Aboard train ride (more about that later), we were ready to move on to our next stop in Kutztown near Dave’s mom in Allentown. We camped at Pine Hill RV Park, which had very nice facilities for showering and laundry, but not much else.
Ironton Rail Trail in Allentown PA We spent much of the week visiting with family, and helping out with a few things. Dave spent much of his efforts configuring a new computer – twice. We brought our bikes one day to take a local trail, which started nearby. However, traveling the first few miles on busy city streets, we were ready to turn around just before we finally reached a beautiful paved quiet trail, called the Ironton Trail. Taking a break at our turnaround point, we were startled to hear the sound of thunder. Needless to say our return trip went a lot faster, and was mostly dry.
PA Dutch restaurant had some good eats Before leaving PA Dutch Country, we wanted some of its regional food offerings. Not too far from our campground was Deitsch Eck restaurant in Lenhartsville. Usually, it takes a couple of days to get a reservation, but we lucked into a slow night and got to sample some Chicken pot pie and smoked pork chops that were way too much for one sitting. Not to mention some yummy dessert pies. Can’t do that every night.
New Freedom rail station on the Norther Central Railway Are you going to tell us about the Bike Trains?
We were just about the first to arrive in New Freedom on the morning of the Northern Central Railway Bike Aboard excursion. Because the trail went downhill north from New Freedom to Brillhart Station, we chose to ride north on our bikes and take the train back to New Freedom. So, we didn’t want to take any chances that we would be scrambling to make the train. We left New Freedom at 9am for our 16 mile ride, needing to be in Brillhart Station by 12:45 to board the train. Unless we had some serious problem, this should be easy. And it was. The weather was great. The trail was smooth and mostly shaded. And leaving as early as we did, it was not too crowded. We made it to Brillhart Station in plenty of time and enjoyed the ride back on the train after the long bike ride. And this time the ice cream store was open.
We were just about the first to arrive in New Freedom on the morning of the Northern Central Railway Bike Aboard excursion. Because the trail went downhill north from New Freedom to Brillhart Station, we chose to ride north on our bikes and take the train back to New Freedom. So, we didn’t want to take any chances that we would be scrambling to make the train. We left New Freedom at 9am for our 16 mile ride, needing to be in Brillhart Station by 12:45 to board the train. Unless we had some serious problem, this should be easy. And it was. The weather was great. The trail was smooth and mostly shaded. And leaving as early as we did, it was not too crowded. We made it to Brillhart Station in plenty of time and enjoyed the ride back on the train after the long bike ride. And this time the ice cream store was open.
Bikes loaded in one of 2 cars on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway Bike Train. The next weekend, we had an even earlier start. We were an hour away from Jim Thorpe, and we weren’t sure how bad the parking would be, so we wanted to arrive well in advance of the train’s scheduled departure. This time we we would start with the train ride up the Lehigh Gorge 25 miles to White Haven. This would give us a downhill ride 26 miles back to Jim Thorpe. And we were definitely not the only bikers on this train. There were a lot of us.
Waterfall on the trail After retrieving our bikes in White Haven, we held back to let most of the riders move on down the trail. And then we took our time covering the 26 miles. An overcast sky kept the temperatures down, and we managed to navigate the many inexperienced bikers on the trail without mishaps. The trail followed the Lehigh River most of the way to Jim Thorpe, but unlike the week before, the trail was on the other side of the river from the train most of the time. We rode through Lehigh Gorge State Park for much of the route which was beautiful scenery. The only downside was a muddy trail for the 2nd half that left us and our bikes pretty messy. It took an hour back at the RV to get them cleaned up.
Overall, we enjoyed the rides and were glad we were able to combine our train and bike riding into a couple of fun events.
Overall, we enjoyed the rides and were glad we were able to combine our train and bike riding into a couple of fun events.
New brightly shining clearance light RV Stuff
After realizing one of our clearance lights was out, Dave went online to order a replacement. Finding an LED fixture that was sure to fit in the existing screw holes and with the right number of wires was harder than he first expected it to be. After one false start, he located a light that should work. We were pleasantly surprised when the holes did line up and the wiring connections were made easily. Using butyl tape to seal the screw holes and silicone around the lens of the light, it was watertight. Now we have a working light again. Not that we do a lot of nighttime traveling.
After realizing one of our clearance lights was out, Dave went online to order a replacement. Finding an LED fixture that was sure to fit in the existing screw holes and with the right number of wires was harder than he first expected it to be. After one false start, he located a light that should work. We were pleasantly surprised when the holes did line up and the wiring connections were made easily. Using butyl tape to seal the screw holes and silicone around the lens of the light, it was watertight. Now we have a working light again. Not that we do a lot of nighttime traveling.
Hitch just after install Ever since installing our B&W hitch back in 2023 with the new truck, we have been pleased with the ease of hookup and disconnecting.
Until this summer.
After spending almost an hour trying to disconnect at our daughter’s house and again in Reston, we were beginning to be disenchanted. But some Youtube searches yielded an answer.. And the solution was incredibly simple.
Our hitch has a swing arm at the rear that should open the jaws holding the trailer pin if the weight has lifted from the hitch. If the jaws don’t immediately open with the swing arm open, all we had to do was secure the arm in the open position. Then as the truck pulls forward, the jaws open and the truck and trailer separate. So simple. And we have used it a couple of times since.
Until this summer.
After spending almost an hour trying to disconnect at our daughter’s house and again in Reston, we were beginning to be disenchanted. But some Youtube searches yielded an answer.. And the solution was incredibly simple.
Our hitch has a swing arm at the rear that should open the jaws holding the trailer pin if the weight has lifted from the hitch. If the jaws don’t immediately open with the swing arm open, all we had to do was secure the arm in the open position. Then as the truck pulls forward, the jaws open and the truck and trailer separate. So simple. And we have used it a couple of times since.
Dave installs new UPS battery We have a few electronic devices that don’t do well with sudden power outages. To buffer these from a sudden disconnect, we have a UPS (i.e., an uninterruptible power supply, not a shipping company). However, whenever the battery is low on charge it will start to beep. And ours was beeping constantly. Dave tested the battery and sure enough, it was no longer holding a charge. He ordered a replacement, installed it and we have a working UPS again. No more beeping (for now).
Heading South
With our bike excursions completed, it was time to head south again, a little earlier than in the past. We needed to be available to assist as our daughter recuperated from some surgery which would take us to southern Virginia for the last part of August.
With our bike excursions completed, it was time to head south again, a little earlier than in the past. We needed to be available to assist as our daughter recuperated from some surgery which would take us to southern Virginia for the last part of August.
