(Update: Sept. 30, 2009 — Adventure Cycling reports that it's aiming to release Sierra Cascades Bike Route maps on the first week of April 2010.)
How about a scenic bicycle tour through the mountains? Better lube your granny gear.
The Adventure Cycling Association is working on a set of maps called the Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route that would route touring bicyclists on paved roads along the Pacific Crest.
Essentially, the 2,500-mile route would run from the Canadian to Mexican border. It will connect the Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon and the Sierra Nevada in northern California and Nevada. Then it will pass through the Tehachapi and San Bernardino mountains in southern California.
Along the way, cyclists will experience these highlights:
North Cascades National Park;
Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument and Mount Adams (above);
Mount Hood;
Mount Bachelor and Diamond Peak Wilderness;
Crater Lake National Park;
Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park;
Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake;
Yosemite National Park;
Kings Canyon National Park;
Sequoia National Park;
San Gorgonio Peak;
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Any one of these would be a great destination for a bike tour. It boggles the mind to consider visiting all of them on one trip.
Earlier this year, Adventure Cycling released its two-map set called Washington Parks — a 859-mile double loop around the North Cascades, Mount Rainier and the Olympic national parks. The current project extends that route all the way to the Mexican border.
Adventure Cycling is taking on this task because of the route's proximity to West Coast population centers and requests. It's also an area rich in history and awesome scenery.
It will be interesting to see what roads the mapmakers at Adventure Cycling use on this route. Will the route repeatedly criss-cross the Pacific Crest, or will they find routes that run the length of the crest without too many mountain passes?
The project just received a $20,000 grant from outdoor retailer co-op REI.
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