The busy mapmakers at Adventure Cycling Association have gone and done it again.
Before I could figure out how I'm going to pedal over their 36,180 miles of bicycle routes in a single lifetime, they've gone and added another 941 miles.
This is getting annoying. They've added a 152-mile spur off the Underground Railroad Route; a 394-mile Adirondack Park Loop in upstate New York, and a 395-mile Allegheny Mountains Loop between Virginia and West Virginia.
20 routes
That gives them an even 20 bicycle routes. Maybe I should ask for a moratorium on any new routes until I can catch up. Before wife and family, I was doing a pretty good job of keeping pace.
Back in the late 70s or early 80s, when the organization was called Bikecentennial, my friend and I rode the 500-mile Virginia Loop and later a bike route from Burlington, Vermont, to Montreal, Canada along the shores of Lake Champlain. I don't even see those routes listed any longer.
When we rode cross country in 1984, we used the TransAmerica Route, then headed south on the Great Parks South Route. Later, I rode from LA to San Francisco before they created the Pacific Coast Route. I was one up on them.
Now they have 18 routes I haven't done.
Underground RR spur
Of the newest routes, one is a spur off the 2,028-mile Underground Railroad bike route from Mobile, Alabama, to Owen Sound, Ontario. This historic route taken by slaves escaping southern plantations was finished in Febuary 2007.
The new spur route runs from Pittsburgh to Erie, New York, where it joins the main route. Pittsburgh is the home for the Center for Minority Health, the partner in creating the Underground RR route. It was also a way station for slaves heading north. (Check here for a bike map of Pittsburgh in a large .pdf file.)
Adirondack
The 394-mile Adirondack Park loop encompasses the largest publicly protected parkland in the continental US. It includes the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway along the Mohawk River, Saratoga Springs, Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain, Lake Placid and thousands of square miles of parkland. The area is also rich in culture and history.
Allegheny
Check your gearing before heading out on the 396-mile Allegheny Mountains loop from Blacksburg, Virginia, north to Glady, West Virginia, then back. The pavement and gravel route heads over mountain passes, as well as easier rides along river valleys.
If you can't take the miles, there are a couple of cut-off options that reduce the distance. Just be prepared to climb over a couple of ridges to find the way home.
Check Bicycle Routes and Maps at Adventure Cycling Association.
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