May 14 2012

Rail Trails: United States Bad News, Australia Good News

Trail Searches Going Down on the Internet

Is the golden age of rail trails already behind us in the United States? If you look at Google Insights statistics, it looks that way. It looks as if fewer people are searching for rail trails and trails in general, while far fewer people are looking for bike trails. At the bottom of this post is one of the many Google Insights reports I viewed when looking at trail trends worldwide. Rather than just looking at my results, I highly recommend you do some trail research on your own. I don’t claim to be an expert on Google Analytics or Google Insights. However, it seemed pretty clear to me that interest in trails in general and rail trails in particular is on the downswing in the United States and some other major countries. We could blame it on many factors: economic downturn, competing forms of recreation and transportation, lack of funding, etc. But, of course, those are just excuses. With their many benefits for health, the environment, and recreation, trail use and interest should be on the rise rather than in decline. But enough bad trail news, lets look at some good trail news.

Trail Interest on the Rise in Australia, New Zealand & Canada

Fortunately there is some good news about trails. While internet trail searches are down in the United States and some European countries, searches are up in Australia and New Zealand. I’m not sure about Australia, but I know that New Zealand in particular has recently made a concerted effort not only to build new trails but (and this is important) also to connect their trails and to publicize trails. I can’t emphasize that last point enough. It doesn’t matter how much money, time and work goes into building trails; if they are just a hodgepodge of unconnected lines on a map that nobody knows about, things will start to disappear. Interest will disappear, funding will disappear, internet searches will disappear, trail users will disappear… I don’t believe we have even gotten out of the starting blocks unless we have:

To end this on a positive note, one trail statistic is going up worldwide. People are showing a continually increased interest in hiking trails. As you can imagine, I have some thoughts on that, too. But now it’s time to give you a break from my preaching and show you a graphic representation. This is just to pique your interest. Hopefully, you’ll do some searching on your own and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

trail information on Google Insights

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/05/14/rail-trails-united-states-bad-news-australia-good-news/

May 06 2012

3G Stepper is a Great Personal Transportation Vehicle for Trails

New Personal Transportation Vehicle for Upright Riding

Trail running is great exercise, but a little hard on the feet, knees and back. Bike riding on trails is lots of fun, but sometimes atrailsnet lead writer tries out a 3G Stepper personal transportation vehicle on California's Huntington Beach Trail. pain in the neck, literally. It would be perfect to combine the two. The upright position of running combined with the smooth, rolling cadence of bicycling would make the ideal trail ride. Too bad there’s not a personal transportation vehicle for that. Or is there?

3G Stepper Combines Best of Trail Running and Bike Riding

For those with plantar fasciitis, bad knees or a sore back, trail running can be a real pain. For some bicycle riders, daily bike trips can cause pain in the lower back or neck. But we all love the trail and have a burning need to burn some calories. Fortunately, there’s a wide selection of personal transportation vehicles out there that are much easier on the body than some of the traditional trail transportation vehicles. One such vehicle is the 3G Stepper. Founded by Gary Silva, the 3G Stepper is a fun alternative to biking or trail running. It allows the rider to stand upright while pedaling the vehicle a bit like a bicycle.

Best on Paved Trails or Cement Trails

Although the 3G Stepper personal transportation vehicle can probably be ridden on packed gravel trails or even the road, it works best on asphalt trails or cement paths. I tried a 3G Stepper on the Huntington Beach Trail in Southern California, and it was love at first pedal. I hope to get the chance to demo the 3G Stepper in Colorado where it would be a big hit on such trails as Glenwood Canyon Trail or Platte River Trail near Denver. If any of you have had experience with personal transportation vehicles such as the 3G Stepper or any other stand up pedal vehicles, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/05/06/3g-stepper-is-a-great-personal-transportation-vehicle-for-trails/

May 03 2012

Trail of the Couer d’ alenes rail-trail in Idaho » trailsnet.com

Idaho Rail-Trails

trail bridge over lake coeur d' alene in northern idaho

trail bridge over lake

If there’s a rail-trail heaven, then it may be located in northern Idaho. Two of the greatest rail-trails on the planet are located there. One of them is the Route of the Hiawatha and the other is the Trail of the Couer d’ Alenes. These trails are very different from one another:

  • One is a paved trail and the other is a gravel trail.
  • One of them travels through tunnels and over trestles, while the other wanders a long a river and around and over a giant lake.
  • One of them is totally out in the boondocks while the other goes through small & large towns.
  • One of them is a fairly long trail and the other is an extremely long trail.

All differences aside, you really should do both of these trails… if possible in the same trip. Either one is worth a trip to Idaho. Put them both together and they’re possibly the greatest trail tandem in the world. Feel free to visit the Route of the Hiawatha page on trailsnet. Below you will find an excerpt from the Trail of the Coeur d’ alenes web page:

river trail in idaho

trail follows river

This perfectly paved piece of peaceful paradise is a powerful path to plenty.

Let’s list its assets: It’s long, smooth, scenic, uncrowded, plenty wide, accessible by numerous forms of human-powered transportation, set amidst forests, rivers, and a huge lake, and is planned to connect with numerous other incredible trails including the amazingRoute of the Hiawatha.

Eventually, energetic travelers will be able to pedal from near Missoula, Montana all the way to the Pacific Ocean via a network of trails that are already well on their way to completion. It will be trail nirvana.

via Trail of the Couer d’ alenes rail-trail in Idaho » trailsnet.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/05/03/trail-of-the-couer-d-alenes-rail-trail-in-idaho-trailsnet-com/

May 01 2012

Rails to Trails Conservancy Timeline

Sorry if this takes a long time to load. But it’s a nice timeline of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy history.  You can also view it in flipbook, list, or maps format. For more information about Rails to Trails Conservancy, see the description below this timeline. Thanks to Jenifer G for creating and sharing this timeline.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on Dipity.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

via Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Timeline.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/05/01/rails-to-trails-conservancy-timeline/

Apr 28 2012

Navigate Swiss Trails via Electric Bike

International Trails, Electric Bikes & Travel

trail in swiss alps

Swiss Alps trail

Rarely do I find three of my favorite topics in one article; a recent New York Times travel article seemed to reassure me that all is well in the universe. The article was especially interesting because it highlighted a network of trails in Switzerland, revealed a fleet of electric bikes with which to navigate those trails and reassured me that some publications still publish a travel section. All three of those topics are wonderful, indeed.

For 50 Swiss francs a day, about $62 at $1.25 to the franc (with discounts for multiple days), you can rent an electric bike from one of 400 rental stations around the country and then set out on some 5,600 miles of well-marked bike paths. With hundreds of places along the way to obtain fresh batteries free, you don’t need to be a whippet-thin racer to roll for days through the spectacular Swiss hinterlands — up steep mountain passes and past soft meadows, burbling matterhorn in swiss alpscreeks and curious cows.

via The Swiss Alps on an Electric Bicycle – NYTimes.com.

 Swiss Trails

With the help of smooth trails and an electric bike, just about anyone can pedal the Swiss Alps. It’s like mountain biking without a mountain bike. But if you’re not into biking at altitude, you’ll be glad to find out that a group called Swiss Trails has a plethora of Switzerland bike rides that don’t involve heavy duty mountains. Some of the bicycle trails include the:

And more…  Have you ever biked in Switzerland or been on any Swiss trails? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/04/28/navigate-swiss-trails-via-electric-bike/

Apr 27 2012

Add a Trail Feature is Working Well on Trailsnet

Add Your Favorite Trail to Trailsnet.com

screen shot of trailsnet.com page

Swamp Rabbit Trail page on trailsnet

The Swamp Rabbit Trail in South Carolina was the latest trail to be added to the network of trails on trailsnet.com. Thanks to @BikePedBrian for adding a great new multipurpose trail and for adding the first South Carolina trail to trailsnet. As with all new technologies, we still have some bugs to work out of the trail submission system. But in general, it’s working great. To make sure we end on a positive note, let’s take a look at some of the areas where we need to improve the “Add a Trail” experience:

  • pictures – The process for adding pictures could be easier and smoother. Currently, many users are experiencing difficulties when trying to add trail photos to trailsnet. Part of the problem is that we have the picture size set pretty low. This is to avoid slow loading times. We may experiment with allowing larger trail pictures, just to see how it works.
  • maps – Up until recently, no one was adding maps w/ their trail submissions. Other than copying and pasting codes from other trail websites, we didn’t know how to get map files onto trailsnet. Fortunately, that’s an easy problem to fix. If you can get your map into GoogleMaps, it’s easy to get the trail map code onto trailsnet. While on the Google Maps page, you will see a link symbol near the top left of the page. When you click on that symbol, you’ll get an option to “Paste HTML to embed in website.” Just copy that code and paste it into the “Add a Google Map Code” area on the trail entry submission form.

Fortunately even the bad news about adding trails to trailsnet is being improved. And even better, we’ve got more good news than bad news:

  • People are starting to add trails to trailsnet.
  • The trails that are being added are awesome.
  • Most people who add trails are also notifying folks on their Twitter accounts and Facebook pages.
  • We’re getting a much greater variety of trails than when I was entering all the trails myself.
  • We’re hoping to go international with our “Add a Trail” feature soon.

Needless to say, the more people who add trails to trailsnet, the better it will be. Trailsnet is still hoping to have trails from all fifty states on there by the end of the summer. So if you haven’t added a trail yet, go for it. It’s quick and easy and makes you part of the solution. It’s important volunteer work you can do from your own home, coffee shop or library.

Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2012/04/27/add-a-trail-feature-is-working-well-on-trailsnet/