Handlebars, Homicide, and Other Clues
Rarely is there a world more reassuring than a train full of motorcycle riders, particularly when the train is old, the mountains are steep, and everyone aboard has been invited to solve a murder. This is what civilization has come to in Virginia City, where, on Sept. 26, three riding clubs will gather for a Harvest Moon excursion aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad and discover that iron, steam, and human nature do not always mix peacefully.
The affair is expected to be perfectly respectable. There will be a train ride through the Nevada mountains, appetizers, beverages, friendly rivalry, and the sort of good-natured trash talk that makes grown men and women forget, temporarily, that they have agreed to ride together in a confined space.
The three clubs have their differences, of course, which are considered harmless, much as a rattlesnake's difference with your ankle might be considered harmless right up until the discussion becomes personal. Then somebody gets murdered.
This changes the character of the excursion considerably. A moment before, everyone was enjoying the scenery and pretending to be civilized. The next moment, every passenger is looking at every other passenger with the intense suspicion normally reserved for strangers who have just borrowed your tools and returned them with pieces missing.
The train is a crime scene, and suddenly all three riding clubs have something in common: each had a motive, every passenger had a secret, and somebody aboard the train had apparently decided that murder was a suitable form of entertainment. It is unfortunate for the victim, but excellent news for everybody else, because the murder is part of the evening's entertainment.
“Handlebars & Homicide” invited passengers to become detectives, follow the clues, and determine which villain among them had committed the fictional deed before the train returned to Virginia City.
It is a curious improvement upon the old-fashioned train excursion. In former times, one boarded a train hoping to arrive at the destination.
Now one boards hoping to discover who killed whom before getting there. The railroad has apparently concluded that scenery alone is no longer sufficient to hold the attention of the American public.
There will be prizes for the best guesses and, in a stroke of remarkable honesty, prizes for the worst guesses. The latter category is particularly encouraging, because it recognizes an important American principle: a person may be completely wrong and still deserve recognition for the effort.
The special murder-mystery trains are scheduled for Sept. 26, 2026, with departures at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. from the Virginia & Truckee Railroad's F Street Depot at 166 F Street in Virginia City. Tickets are $63 per person, which seemed a reasonable price for a train ride, appetizers, beverages, murder, mystery, and a chance to accuse a stranger of crimes they did not commit.
The railroad promised three ways to ride, but only one way to die. Fortunately, since the murder is fictional, passengers can focus on the important matters: examining clues, distrusting their fellow passengers, and making certain they ain't the person everyone else had already decided was guilty.
And that, I believe, is the finest tradition Virginia City has to offer. The town was built on silver, suspicion, and a willingness to believe the fellow sitting next to you probably knew something you did not. Now, thanks to the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, you can enjoy all three again—without waiting for the sheriff.
