Sep 09 2010

Fall colors are almost here -Find fall foliage information

If you’ve only seen fall colors from the seat of a car, then you’ve missed the true pleasure of fall foliage at its finest.

Autumn glory trail

Just like my experience w/ 4th of July fireworks, I was beginning to tire of the traditional viewing of “the changing of the leaves.”

That was until I discovered the pleasures of viewing the annual foliage display from the seat of a bicycle. The difference was amazing. It was much more relaxing, and I saw so much more of the subtle details in the annual autumn colors. It was peaceful and quiet and I saw something new with each bend in the trail. I was free to stop wherever I wanted without fear of being rear-ended.

Now, I truly believe that you haven’t seen autumn foliage until you’ve seen it from the perspective of a New England trail or midwestern path.

If you’re interested in viewing the colors of fall on one of the many United States trails, your first stop is to visit this national fall colors website.

Once you have found out the location of the prime foliage viewing, visit a trails locator website such as trailsnet.com to find the ideal autumn colors path. You will never look at the fall leaf show in the same way, once you’ve viewed them from the peaceful perspective of a perfect path.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/09/fall-colors-are-almost-here-find-fall-foliage-information/

Sep 08 2010

Renting a bike is still the way to go on trips

I just finished paying $134 to ship my bike to Connellsville, PA to ride the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.

I much prefer to rent bikes on my trips, but the logistics of renting a bike on one end of the trail, then getting it back to the rental shop after reaching my destination on the other end of the trail just wasn’t working for me.

I’m hoping that someone will start renting bikes on the longer rail-trails that will allow users to drop the bike-rentals off at either end of the trail, sort of like U-Haul does w/ their rental trucks.

In the meantime, I just took a look at the RentaBikeNow.com website. It offers rental locations in numerous locations in the U. S. and Canada. It looks like an excellent business and one that could be very helpful on future rail-trail trips. The idea of a one-stop bike rental process is very appealing and would save lots of time on the planning stages of a trail excursion.

I’ll keep you posted on future rental experiences, but for now, I’m recommending bike rentals over bike shipping. Bike rentals, as I’ve pointed out in a previous blog, allows you to meet locals, save money over shipping, and pack lighter. It also allows you to try new bikes such as hybrids, mountain bikes, cruisers, and recumbents.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/08/renting-a-bike-is-still-the-way-to-go-on-trips/

Sep 07 2010

Another blog about Denver B-Cycle

Sorry to keep blogging about the Denver B-cycle program, but I read an interesting article today…

Let me take a step back:

handlebar mounted bike ringer

I have been pleased to see the latest push for free and cheap bicycles available to locals and tourists in major cities around the world. But some people have been less pleased about the development. Just like some politicians say that “trails are a waste of money” some other politicians complain that the bike sharing programs are a waste of money and a (I’m not making this up.) United Nations plot to advance their communistic agenda.

Well, it turns out the bike share programs are a raging success. In fact, the only problem seems to be in keeping up with the growing demand for the bikes. And as far as critics who worry about problems w/ the program, it seems that the biggest problem so far is broken bells.

That’s right, broken bells. I guess some people get a little too gregarious w/ their bell-ringing finger.

This is just one more piece of evidence that the new bicycle culture is here to stay.

So grab a bike and hit the trail, my friends. If you don’t have a bike to grab, find a bike share program in your area.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/07/another-blog-about-denver-b-cycle/

Sep 06 2010

Mineral Belt Loop Trail in Leadville, Colorado

I finally got around to taking some pictures on the Mineral Belt Loop Trail in Leadville, CO.

I’d been on the trail twice before; once while riding a bike and the other time on cross-country skis.

But I didn’t have a camera with me either time, so I didn’t have any pictures to post on the Mineral Belt Loop Trail on the trailsnet website.

So this Labor Day weekend, I finally made it back up there. (And when I say up there, I’m not exaggerating. Leadville is over 10,000 feet above sea level.) This time I was armed with my bicycle and my camera, so I was ready to take some trail pictures. As a result, the Mineral Belt Loop Trail page on the website finally has a trail photo gallery.

If you’re thinking about riding this high altitude trail, here are the basic facts:

  • It’s 12.5 miles long.
  • It’s a paved trail and very smooth.
  • The loop trail is almost like an outdoor museum with all its historic signs and mining memorabilia scattered along the path.
  • Leadville has numerous accommodations for overnight bikers, but none of them are overly fancy.
  • Leadville has some great places for eating. We ate at the Tennessee Pass Cafe and enjoyed buffalo burgers, Reuben sandwiches, and a turkey/bacon sandwich. The food and service were excellent.
For more information about the Mineral Belt Loop Trail, you can visit the American Trails website.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/06/mineral-belt-loop-trail-in-leadville-colorado/

Sep 03 2010

B-cycle bike rentals program adds third city

For those who want to visit the big city without a large carbon output or money output, there are many low-cost bike loan programs available.

With the swipe of a credit card bicyclists are able to borrow a bike for a half hour (free) to a whole day. It saves the planet, it saves money, and it saves the renter from facing all the traffic congestion on the road.
I know this isn’t a new program and similar bike rental schemes (as they call it in Europe) are in place world-wide. But it got me thinking…
Wouldn’t it be great to have a similar program available at rails-to-trails trailheads? I know it would have been immensely helpful on a couple of my trips to know there were bikes available, 24 hrs. a day, to be rented at one station and returned at another.
I think I’ll contact the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy about this idea. I’d say it’s worth a trial run.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/03/b-cycle-bike-rentals-program-adds-third-city/

Sep 02 2010

New Hampshire may become the next best bike state

I visited New Hampshire on a bike trip last fall. I was impressed by their great rail trails and had a wonderful biking vacation.

Although NH may not currently be the biking capitol of the world, I predict it may become the #1 bicycle destination in the not-too-distant future.

A friend of mine was there recently and brought back some New Hampshire Bicycle Maps. I didn’t see these maps when I was there, so it was fun to peruse them and see the trails I missed. While I was there, I biked on the following trails:

After looking at the six regional bicycle maps from New Hampshire, I’m ready to go back and hit some more rails-to-trails. 
In addition to the awesome bike maps, I also recommend you look at  the New Hampshire trails web page by clicking on this link.
This fall, I recommend you visit some bike trails in New Hampshire. You’ll see the fall foliage from a whole new perspective.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2010/09/02/new-hampshire-may-become-the-next-best-bike-state/