Jun 14 2012

Utah Mountain Bike Trails

Trail Contributor Adds Utah Bike Trails

We’ve discussed the best Wisconsin rail trails, Colorado mountain trails, New England fall foliage trails andmountain bike trail in red rocks California beach trails. Well I’d like to thank our newest trailsnet trail contributor, Steve, for creating some great Moab area trail reviews on trailsnet.com. Moab, Utah is considered by many to be mountain biking nirvana. It was a shame that one of the premier mountain bike trail centers was missing from our network of trails. Fortunately that trail deficit has now been remedied.

The beautiful red rock lined trails of Moab are great for both hikers and mountain bikers but the bike tribe has managed to take center stage over the past twenty years or so. Despite Moab’s reputation as a hard core biker haven, it’s possible for bike riders of all levels to thrive among the towering sandstone trail network. For good examples of trails that can be appreciated by both intermediate and advanced bicycle pedalers, check out the Amasa Back trail and Slickrock trails recently added to Trailsnet’s Utah trails list.

Hopefully Steve and other trail riders will continue adding Utah trails to our ever growing list of mountain bike trails. We could also use some Utah trails pictures. So feel free to email your trail information to Trailsnet. The more the merrier.

This is the place where I would normally encourage you to add a comment (below) about your experience on Utah trails or, better yet, add your favorite Utah trail to the trailsnet network. And I still encourage you to do that, but I also have a more general comment request: Let me know how easy it is to leave comments on the Trailsnet.com website. I’m thinking about changing the comment process, and I’d like some feedback first. If it works fine and is user-friendly, then I won’t mess with it. But if you think it’s a burdensome process, then it’s time for a change.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/14/utah-mountain-bike-trails/

Jun 12 2012

And Dutch Bikes and PTVs

Promoting Car Free Lifestyle

The motto of the And Dutch bicycle company is ” Who needs cars after all?” As you can imagine, that attracted my attention right from the start. Then I noticed the trendy and totally functional bicycles and accessories on the And Dutch website. Their main claim to fame seems to be retro cruiser style bikes. But they also sell:

  • folding bikes
    old fashioned cruiser bicycle

    retro bikes

  • Stridas
  • helmets
  • chainless bikes
  • electric bikes
  • Dutch Town Bikes
  • mountain bikes
  • panniers
  • bike baskets
  • bicycle child seats
  • bike locks
  • and more…

Dutch Designed Bicycles

According to their website: “and dutch  provides predominantly high quality, stylish Dutch designed bicycles & beautiful accessories for him and her.”

via And Dutch – stylish and exclusive Dutch bicycles for the US and Canadian market.

So the next time you’re looking for a good trail vehicle, you might want to check out the and dutch bike and bicycle accessories website. They would be perfect for paved trails, rail-trails, & urban trails.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/12/and-dutch-bikes-and-ptvs/

Jun 10 2012

Great Plains Trail News

Trail Mascot Naming Contest

buffalo or bison on logo of great plains trail

Name that buffalo.

The Great Plains Trail has an awesome and appropriate mascot as can be seen in the trail logo located on the right hand side of this blog post. As you can see, the trail mascot is a buffalo… or is it a bison? Either way, you have the opportunity to win an awesome Great Plains Trail prize by name the buffalison. You can choose any name you want, but I have to warn you, the folks at the University of Colorado might not like it too much if you choose the name Ralphie; they already have dibs on that one.

Donate to Great Plains Trail Association

The Great Plains Trail Alliance now has an official website. And with the new website comes your opportunity to donate to the future of the Great Plains Trail. Over the next few years, it’s critical that GPTA raise enough funds to help with research, mapping, site location, grant-writing opportunities and more. You’ve heard the old phrase, “Put your money where your mouth is.”  Well Trailsnet is proud to be the very first $ donator to the Great Plains Trail. Now it’s your turn. Donate a little or donate a lot; but please donate something. A journey of a thousand miles starts with your donation.

cactus in foreground, mountain in background

Guadalupe Mountain Trails

Southern Portion of Great Plains Trail Explored

Great Plains Trail founder Steve Myers and his trusty sidekick (yours truly) explored the southern section of the future Great Plains Trail. Although not quite on the same par as the Lewis & Clark expedition, it was quite an amazing trip. Since part of the plan for the trail is to link currently existing trails as temporary or permanent portions of the Great Plains Trail, your intrepid explorers chose three particularly beautiful trails to navigate. The Colorado trail of choice was the Picketwire Trail near LaJunta, Colorado. The New Mexico trail selection was the Capulin Volcano Rim Trail. And the Texas Trail was a series of Guadalupe Mountains National Park Trails.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/10/great-plains-trail-news/

Jun 09 2012

Maryland Trails Comparison

Rail Trail vs. Canal Trail

This post could also be titled paved trail vs. dirt trail or train trail vs. boat trail or modern trail vs historic trail… Whatever you call it and no matter how this trail comparison pans out, these are two of the world’s best trails. Before we show the trail contrasts, let’s take a look at the trail similarities. Both of these trails are:

Now Let’s look at the differences:

Western Maryland Rail Trail

The Western Maryland Rail Trail basically parallels the C & O Canal Towpath Trail. Both trails are spectacular and when combined, they form an excellent loop bike ride. But despite their similarities, the two trails are actually quite different. Here are some unique characteristics of the Western Maryland Rail Trail:

  • gate on western maryland trail

    western entrance to trail

  • It is an asphalt trail
  • It is currently 23 miles long
  • It goes directly through Hancock, Maryland
  • It is scheduled to be expanded in the future.
  • It is a rail trail.

C & O Canal Towpath Trail

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park provides us with one of America’s greatest canal trails. It is also in Maryland, but has numerous characteristics that set it apart from its sister trail the Western Maryland Rail Trail. Some of the differences include:

  • It is a hard-packed dirt path
  • The C & O Trail is 185 miles long
  • It skirts the town of Hancock, Maryland
  • It will never be expanded
  • It starts near Cumberland, Maryland and ends in Georgetown District of Columbia (Washington D.C. area)
  • It is a canal trail

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/09/maryland-trails-comparison/

Jun 07 2012

Trail Tours & Active Travel Vacations

Active Travel Tours Are Back on Sidebar

Trail tours are listed in the right-hand sidebar once again… for now. You’ll notice the EventBrite Widget is displayed in the trailsnet sidebar. The two tours currently being featured are both September tours. One is a bike tour for September 2012 and the other is for a Trikke tour in 2013.

Mickelson Trail Bike Tour

fall colors on the bike trail

September on the Mickelson Trail

On September 13, 2012, Trailsnet.com is hosting a Mickelson Trail Trek Tour of the famous South Dakota rail-trail. This tour includes transportation to Custer South Dakota, lodging for three nights, entrance fees for the Mickelson Trek Tour, most meals and local shuttles each day. Participants will be biking on the George S. Mickelson Trail each day for an average of a little over 35 miles per day. The cost of the bike tour is $395 per person and is based on double lodging occupancy. Participants may pay using the EventBrite website for an additional $9 fee or pay directly to Kevin at Trailsnet and waive the additional $9 fee.

Idaho Trail of the Couer d’ alenes Trikke Trail Tour

Idaho trail is world's longest paved trailIn September 2013 (How’s that for planning ahead?) Trailsnet, along with a group of the Southern California Trikke carvers, is offering a huge trail tour for the northern Idaho Trail of the Couer d’ alenes. This tour may also include a bike ride on the Route of the Hiawatha Trail and a Trikke ride on the Spokane Centennial Trail. We’re still hammering out the details of this tour, but it is tentatively scheduled to begin around September 13, 2013. Stay tuned for more details.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/07/trail-tours-active-travel-vacations/

Jun 05 2012

National Trails Day

Happy National Trails Day 2012

Trailsnet couldn’t let National Trails Day go by without sending out a big thank you to all trail volunteers, trail users and National Trails Day logotrail lovers. We would also like to share some special National Trail Day links to some of our friends, partners & associates:

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/06/05/national-trails-day/