Welcome to Part I of a 2-part Series featuring the voices and origin stories of a few Adventure and Experience Women Entrepreneurs who are making Rhode Island even more fun and exciting for both residents and visitors alike.
Innovation, passion, and discovery are at the heart of these 5-star experiences! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Rail Exploring in Our Own Backyard: Rail Explorers Rhode Island
In my experience, everyone loves to see the world go by from a train window. It’s even better when it’s more like a cycling go-kart. Mary Joy Lu, in business with her husband Alex Catchpoole, launched Rail Explorers exactly ten years ago in New York’s Adirondack region. Now operating in seven U.S. states, the company offers pedal-powered railbike tours on historic tracks in scenic locations across the country.
Mary Joy and Alex left behind their careers in video production in NYC after a chance inspiration. One night in 2012, Mary Joy was unwinding with a Korean soap opera that featured a couple pedaling rail bikes. “It looked so crazy and fun!” she recalls. She ran to tell Alex, convinced she had found their next adventure.
Just 10 days later, she was on a plane to South Korea to meet the railbike manufacturer. Three years after that, a uniquely designed fleet of bikes—never seen outside of South Korea—arrived in the U.S.
Since then, more than 600,000 people have enjoyed Rail Explorers’ tours in locations like the Adirondacks, Delaware, Las Vegas, the Catskills, Cooperstown, Iowa, Kentucky, California, and Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Division operates on the Old Colony Railroad, built in 1862. The OC Railroad was a major rail system out of Boston covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. The OC & Newport Railway was formed in July 1863 and opened for service in 1864 to shuttle Newport travelers to and from Boston.
Riders today pedal along this rediscovered line along Narragansett Bay, enjoying breathtaking views of Jamestown, the Mount Hope Bridge, Hog Island Lighthouse, and lush coastal woodlands. On the Southern Circuit, guests are encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy during a 20-minute stop at Bayside Station.
The ride is designed for all ages and abilities and consistently earns top ratings. Mary Joy shared this advice she frequently tells her team, which she is very dedicated to: “The experience has got to be five-star. We operate the business from our three top values: sincerity, trust, and facts.” She added, smiling, “We make decisions based on wellness, caring, and love—which women tend to be very practiced at.”
Rail Explorers RI offers two 6-mile tours, both starting in Portsmouth and heading either north or south. www.railexplorers.net
Step Inside the Mystery: Paradigm Escape Rooms Redefines the Game
Just across from A-Market on William Street is a hidden gem called Paradigm Escape Rooms, which just celebrated its 2-year anniversary, and has already earned more than 150 five-star Google reviews.
Founder, Owner and Creative Director, Deanna Lopes, dreamed up many of the room concepts and puzzles herself—and even built much of the interior. An escape room is an interactive game where a team (2 or more players) solves puzzles, uncovers clues, and completes challenges to reach a goal, all within a set time limit.
While the phrase “escape room” might sound claustrophobic to some, Lopes wants to change that perception, hence the name she chose for her business. “There’s never a moment when a guest can’t leave or must crawl through a small space,” she says. “The experience is about collaboration, and unlocking logic and brain ingenuity.”
We asked what initially appealed to Deanna about escape rooms? “As a kid, I loved adventure and mystery games. I discovered escape rooms in 2016, and it immediately sparked an entrepreneurial impulse in me. These rooms offer a unique blend of set design, gaming, and technology, which are among my favorite hobbies and passions.”
Walking into Paradigm feels like stepping into a Dickensian parlor. Antique-filled bookcases line the walls, and historic sleuths peer down from portraits. A host welcomes you and introduces the challenge, while a Game Master—often a trained actor—appears through a hidden door to guide your team into a world of mystery.
Currently, Paradigm offers two immersive, multi-room challenges:
• DaVinci’s Test – an opportunity to study with the great artist if you can solve the puzzle.
• The King’s Tomb – an Indiana Jones-like, cursed-hidden object experience.
Lopes credits her team of “collaborative artists” and Game Masters for helping her create a rich, unique, five-star experience with an other-worldly feel.
“Our escape rooms are available to anyone ages 10 and up,” Lopes added. “We happily host birthday parties, date nights, corporate team building events, bachelorette parties and friend outings.”
Coming soon is a new outdoor adventure:
“A Sea City’s Secret: The Unsolved Case of the Harrow Family”
Participants will follow clues from a fictional Newport family’s lost journal to uncover secrets hidden around the City-by-the-Sea. The experience blends physical exploration with digital storytelling, offering a whole new kind of escape game experience. www.paradigmescaperooms.com.
Special offer to WUN readers: Paradigm is offering 20% off when you mention this article. Valid through August 1, 2025.
Up Next: Michelle Girasole, the founder and innovator of Fresh Maps.
Michele Gallagher is a dedicated supporter of local businesses, and the founder of City-by-the-Sea Communications.
