'I'd Do It If They Didn't Pay Me' - Cape Cod Rail Trail Summer Ranger Just...

Bernie Meggison started using a recumbent Tricycle after he was diagnosed with vertigo and started to lose his balance.
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Senior Page: 'I'd Do It If They Didn't Pay Me' - Cape Cod Rail Trail Summer Ranger Just Loves Biking Cape Cod Chronicle

Brewster, MA – The Cape Cod Rail Trail spans 27 miles across six towns for biking, running and walking. Bernie Meggison, the 79-year-old summer bike ranger, has the task of patrolling the path each day.

Meggisson, or ranger Bernie as he is referred to on the bike path, bikes 41 miles on average per day, ensuring that each of the Rail Trail’s customers have a safe and enjoyable biking experience.

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Since starting in 2019, Meggison has formed dozens of relationships on the path and gets paid to do his favorite activity, biking.

“It's like a little network, it's a community and they all know ranger Bernie,” said Meggison, a Harwich resident. “So they trust that if they tell me something I act on it.”

The network started long before Meggison became the summer bike ranger. He volunteered at the Rail Trial for years before as a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The idea started as an effort to get club members interested in the trail, and as a registered mechanic, Meggison offered to do volunteer safety checks on people’s bikes. He called Eric Levy, the current park ranger at Nickerson State Park and bike trail ranger at the time, for permission. Levy said yes, and the check-ups became a hit.

“It started off, you know, a few people stopping off and then all of a sudden, ‘Bernie isn't here today, the guy from AMC, where is he?’” Meggison said.

He volunteered for a few years until the previous ranger retired. Levy was looking for a summer bike ranger to take his place and the former ranger suggested Meggison.

“[Levy] said, ‘Would you be interested in a job?’ I said, ‘When can I start?” Meggison said.

The job was perfect match for Meggison, who loved cycling and helping people, the two main jobs for the bike ranger.

Meggison’s love for biking has been a recurring theme throughout his life and was the first thing he turned to when he retired from his job as an electrical component salesman in 2009. After retirement, he spent his free time traveling and biking.

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