Category: Bike trails
It has been a sad few days along the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail between Cumberland and Pittsburgh.
Maynard Sembower, the man known locally as the “trail ambassador extraordinaire” and “number one volunteer”, passed away last Wednesday at age 100.
Those who have bicycled the GAP might remember him as the man who staffed the visitor's center at the Rockwood trailhead in the summer. He'd dispense information about lodging, camping and other services in high country of the bike trail, as well as share the local lore.
He became so well known along the Somerset County section of the bike trail that the office was renamed the Sembower Visitor Center …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/20/great-allegheny-passage-loses-ambassador-maynard-sembower/
Update via Virginia Bikes:
“From Andy Clarke (Bikeleague) on the TE vote: 'Phew. Coburn lost but only 39-59.' “
What is John McCain's and Tom Coburn's beef with bicycling?
The two Republican senators from Arizona and Oklahoma have offered amendments that would remove funding for transportation enhancements — such as bike and pedestrian facilities — from the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/16/federal-funding-for-bike-trails-threatenedgood-news-amendments-fail/
Few things excite my imagination more than scanning bike trail maps.
On Sunday I stumbled across a new brochure for the Iron Curtain Trail, a bike path that one day will traverse the 4,216-mile length of the Cold War border between eastern and western Europe.
Beginning at the Norway-Russia border on the Barents Sea in the north, the bike route touches 20 nations before it ends on the Black Sea coast in Turkey in the south.
Nearly equal in length to the TransAmerica Trail that stretches from Yorktown, Virginia, to Astoria, Oregon, in the US, this bike trail passes parks, monuments and green belts that mark the so-called “death strip” between East and West during the Cold War …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/24/new-trail-for-bike-vacations-along-europes-iron-curtain/
The weatherman said there was a 90 percent chance of rain, but I wanted to take this overnight bike trip up John Wayne Pioneer Trail this week anyway.
When I first heard the forecast, I was ready to bail out. I had planned this trip two weeks ago when the weather was hot and sunny. I visualized riding up there in my shirtsleeves and enjoying a cool mountain night laying out on a picnic table, looking at stars.
A bike trip under gloomy skies with a high probability of rain wasn't what I had in mind. I soon realized this might be my last chance to take a long ride up into the Cascades this summer. Anyway, how often do things go the way we visualize them? ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/13/overnight-bike-trip-when-rain-is-certain/
With my daughter in a day camp in Seattle this week, I've had the opportunity to do some bicycle day-tripping around the area.
On Wednesday, as I headed north on the old Interurban right-of-way toward Shoreline and Edmonds, I stumbled across a series of signs posted along the bike trail like a picturesque Burma Shave advertisement.
They're not trailside billboards, however. They're FlipBooks, a bit of trailside artwork created by local artist Jennifer Dixon.
Just like a flipbook that you hold in your hand, the images change slightly as you progress along the trail so there's a sensation of movement as you pass ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/06/flipping-out-along-seattles-interurban-trail/
A petition that trail advocates are pushing in Virginia could result in hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of bicycling trails alongside active railroads.
The central idea of the petition is that citizens should benefit directly from railroad projects that receive government subsidies for new construction or improvements.
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy points out there already are 200 rails with trails projects in the US totaling more than 2,000 miles.
Currently, the Virginia Bicycle Federation is asking Gov. Timothy Kaine to support trails with rails on all major railroad projects in the state.
Here is VBF's take on the issue …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/08/virginia-petition-seeks-bike-trails-along-railroad-projects/
When I pedaled my aged Rockhopper mountain bike on an out-and-back ride on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail last summer, I had no idea that I was riding the most popular rail-trail destination in North America.
I only saw about a dozen people on bicycles on my 50-mile ride, and no hikers. Maybe the reason was because it was the middle of the week and the trail starts at a park about 35 miles from Seattle.
In any case, based on internet traffic to its 44,000 trails listed at Trails.com, the former railroad grade of the Milwaukee Road is judged the most popular rail-trail. The votes comprise page views, trail downloads and trail rankings …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/03/09/top-20-rail-trails-disclosed-by-trails-com-john-wayne-pioneer-trail-tops-the-list/
Falling debris hazards in five John Wayne Pioneer Trail tunnels, including the 2.3-mile-long Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel at left, have convinced Washington state parks to close them until further notice.
The closures are bad news for the many bicyclists and hikers who pass through the tunnels at they hike and bike the 100-mile-long rail-trail over the Cascades from Cedar Falls to the Columbia River.
Shutting down the tunnels not only removes interesting historical landmarks from the Iron Horse State Park, which contains the rail-trail, but requires trail users to take long detours — sometimes out to Interstate 90 — to get through the remote area.
A request for funds to repair the tunnels, estimated at $9 million, are included in the 2009-2011 two-year budget cycle …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/31/washington-state-closes-all-5-iron-horse-trail-tunnels-indefinitely/
Trail supporters in New York state are pushing for completion of the Erie Canalway Trail.
Originally completed in 1825 to carry commerce from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, the canal is now the focus of lively towns along its path trying to lure tourism dollars to their communities.
Some 260 miles of bike trails (officially multi-use trails) run through the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, which includes the Erie, as well as other historic canals in upstate New York.
Eventually, 366 miles of bike trails are planned between Albany and Buffalo. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/28/finishing-the-erie-canalway-bike-path/
Heavy rains and snowmelt combined last week to flood wide areas of western Washington.
High water devastated the communities of Duvall, Carnation and Snoqualmie in the Snoqualmie River valley, as well as towns located further south, such as Pacifica, Centralia and Chehalis.
These are known haunts for cyclists in the area. The rural roads in the Snoqualmie Valley are ideal for long rides and are the routes for popular summer bike ride events like the Flying Wheels. Centralia and Chehalis are stopover towns for the annual Seattle-to-Portland bicycle ride. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/01/14/flooding-strikes-popular-bicycling-areas-in-western-washington/
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