We can vote early and often for our favorite bike trails in this election.
A few weeks ago Google Maps sought nominations for off-road photographic visits by its Street Views trike.
After receiving 25,000 ideas, the Google Maps staff came up with 24 finalists (trails in blue on map). They're asking us to vote for our favorites; multiple times if we feel like it. Go to the Google Maps Street View website to vote.
Five bike trails have been nominated for a visit by the Google Maps Street Views trike. They are the Centennial Trail in Washington, Capital Crescent Trail in the DC area, Schuylkill River Trail in Pennsylvania, Boulder Creek Trail in Colorado, and the Stevens Creek Trail in California.
Others
There also are five college campuses, three pedestrian malls, six theme parks and zoos, and five national landmarks.
Whatever locations are chosen will be visited by Google's photo trike and be included with all the streets and roads on Street View at Google Maps.
Voting deadine is Monday night, November 30. Read more about the contest at Google's LatLong blog.
Centennial Trail
If anyone cares, I'm partial to the Centennial Trail that rolls along in eastern Washington. The Cascade Bicycle Club included that on a couple of Ride Around Washington bike tours in the past decade.
I liked it because of its rural setting in the east and more rugged scenery in the west. The middle section passes right through downtown Spokane and its parks and other outdoor public places left over from the 1975 World's Fair.
Bike Trails
Centennial Trail, Washington — A 37-mile trail from the Idaho border, through Spokane in eastern Washington, to Nine Mile Falls. The paved bike trail is generally flat for the first few miles in the eastern section. It becomes a well-used pathway for bikes and pedestrians along the downtown parks in Spokane, then enters a scenic canyon area before ending at Nine Mile Falls. All but a couple of miles are complete. The trail connects to the North Idaho Centennial Trail at the state border, creating a 60-mile link from Nine Mile Falls, through downtown Spokane, to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Capital Cresent Trail, Maryland and DC — An 11-mile bike trail that runs from Silver Spring, Maryland, to the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. It's a rail-trail that's part of the old Georgetown branch line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Schuylkill River Trail, Pennsylvania — This trail passes through the 130-mile historic corridor of the Schuylkill River in southern Pennsylvania. It runs generally from Philadelphia to Pottsville, although large sections of the proposed trail have yet to be constructed.
Boulder Creek Trail, Colorado — This is a 7-mile trail along a creek near the town of Boulder. Although its described as a multi-use trail, some websites say that parts are closed to bicycles.
Stevens Creek Trail, California — The trail is about 5 mile long and follows Stevens Creek through marshlands and parks in the Mountain View area.
All the nominations are at the Google Maps Street Views website.
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