You won't want to forget this one. Thirty years ago marked the first of the TransAmerican bicycle tours that coincided with the celebrations surrounding the Bicentennial year.
This summer the Adventure Cycling Association is throwing birthday bashes in several cities to celebrate the year that 4,100 cyclists took to the road to prove that two wheels are better than four.
Created by an outfit that called itself Bikecentennial located in Missoula, Montana, the TransAmerica bike route that ran from Oregon to Virginia put cyclists on the road in small self-contained touring groups or as cycling independents in the summer of '76.
Bikecentennial has grown into the Adventure Cycling Association, still located in Missoula. And the 4,000-some mile route between Virginia and Oregon has grown into a 33,023-mile network of mostly back roads and mountain bike trails.
The association estimates that it's helped put a quarter million cyclists on the road over the past 30 years, me included.
Four anniversary parties are planned along the Adventure Cycling routes. Check the links for the dinner and festivities at each location:
Brunswick, Maryland: 5 – 8 p.m. May 7, with riders on the C&O Towpath ride.
Seattle, Washington: 6 – 9 p.m. June 21, with riders on the 30th annual cross-country anniversary ride.
Missoula, Montana: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. June 30, with riders on the 30th annual cross-country bike ride.
Boulder, Colorado: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. August 12, with riders on the Great Parks South Explorer.
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