You'll probably be hearing a lot about the U.S. Bicycle Route System during May, National Bike Month.
The Adventure Cycling Association is launching a grassroots effort to raise $30,000 this month toward funding the 50,000-mile bicycle network to link cities, suburbs, parks and other destinations that traveling cyclists might want to visit.
See Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. to learn more about the route and where to donate.
The bicycle route system project has been gaining momentum since 2008 when AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) approved the grid of bicycle route corridors and the concept of continuity of bicycle routes across state lines.
New routes
Thirty states are currently at various stages in working to create bicycle routes through their states that will be numbered and posted with uniform signs. In fact, AASHTO this week is expected to approve the first designated U.S. Bicycle Routes in more than 30 years.
In a press release, Adventure Cycling special projects director Ginny Sullivan said:
[The first two routes were established in 1982 — USBR 1 in Virginia and North Carolina, and USBR 76 in Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois.]
Although volunteers are doing a lot of the work to create the routes, the project still needs funds. Last year, the non-profit Adventure Cycling Association raised $27,000 for the U.S. Bicycle Route System and is hoping to top that this year.
This year, the fund-raising campaign got a jump start from a number of early donations from business supporters, such as AdventureCORPS, BikeQuest Touring Company, Ortleib, Razoo, Red Arrow Group, Salsa, Stan's No Tubes, and TeamEstrogen.com.
Now, the goal is to get cyclists to donate $10 or more toward this effort.
Partners
Some state partner organizations are coming on board as allies this year. By helping to raise funds, these organizations will share in the proceeds, which they will use to support the creation of U.S. Bike Routes in their own states. Among the state partners in 2011:
Bike Walk Tennessee
Bicycle Alliance of Washington
New Mexico Touring Society
Virginia Bicycle Federation
Bike Utah
South Dakota Bicycle Coalition
Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas
Follow this link to find out more about the “Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It.” or make a donation.
Go here if you want to help in the fund-raising campaign. Also, meet other supporters on USBRS Facebook.
U.S. Bicycle Route System 101 tells about the proposed network.
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