Last week, Winona Bateman at the Adventure Cycling Association asked me for a quote about why I support the US Bicycle Route System fund-raising campaign.
As usual in those circumstances, I couldn't think of anything too profound to say.
Essentially, I said it “tickles me” to think about future bicyclists being able to follow bicycle-route signs as they travel some 50,000 miles of bike-friendly road. I added:
— bike shops, campgrounds, hostels — sprouting up to cater to these
bicyclists who have taken to the long road.”
What I was thinking about were places that my friend Bruce and I ran across on our cross-country journey nearly 30 years ago. Places like Lazy Louie's Bicycle Camp (above) nestled in the Ozarks, the Cookie Lady's Bike House in Virginia, the bike hostel in Pippa Passes, Kentucky.
These were places where traveling bicyclists could meet and share route information and swap lies while they patched tires and pounded down plates-ful of pasta in the evening.
There also were the countless guest registers in small diners and grocery stores along the TransAmerican Bicycle Route where traveling bicyclists would sign and and could share some wisdom about the road ahead.
These places don't just aid and comfort the traveling bicyclists, they also help the economies of the small towns along the way. Every name in the register represented someone who bought a “blue plate special,” and every overnight guest usually left something in the donation jar.
Many studies have been done on the economic impact of bicycle tourism. For instance, the opening of the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland, Maryland, to the outskirts of Pittsburgh, for instance, pumped $40 million into local economies and $7.5 million in wages throughout the region.
Several more of these studies about the economic impacts and benefits of bicycling and bike tourism from the US and abroad are linked at the Adventure Cycling Facebook page.
Russ Roca and Laura Crawford, who recount their experiences at Path Less Pedaled, recently posted an interview with TravelOregon's Kristin Dahl, left.
She talks about that organization's push to bring bicyclists to Oregon, and the economic impact of $233 million in 2009 those visiting cyclists created.
That's a lot of dough. What communities should realize is that not ever cyclist who rolls into town is looking for a place to stealth camp or but a 1-pound bag of elbow macaroni. A lot of bike travelers head down the road packing little more than an assortment of credit cards.
Speaking of money, the fund-raising campaign for the U.S. Bicycle Route System is underway all month. They're trying to raise $30,000 to pay for costs associated with creating the route network.
Stan's No Tubes is offering a $1,000 match this week, so your donation goes further.
You can make your donation at the U.S. Bicycle Route System fund-raising page.
Recent Comments