I love it when they connect a bunch of shorter trails to make a longer one… or better yet, to make a loop trail.
That’s just what they’ve done in Superior, Colorado when they added the brand new Meadowlark Trail to the Singletree Trail, the Cowdrey Draw Trail, the Marshall Mesa Trail, the Community Ditch Trail, and the High Plains Trail. They created a loop of a little over 12 miles of moderate mountain biking trail to form the Dirty Bismarck Loop trail.
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Marshall Mesa Trail portion
of the Dirty Bismarck Loop |
I’ve been riding portions of this loop for many years, but alas, I had to ride on the dreaded road for portions of it. So I was ecstatic when they finally completed the Meadowlark Trail to make a complete, roadless bike loop trail.
Since it was just a semi-formal loop before, some of us called it the Happy Meal Loop. I’m not sure why, but I am sure why they have now named it the Dirty Bismarck Loop. It’s named after the old road bike racing course that was originally called the Morgul-Bismarck Classic. Then it was called the Coors Classic, then the Celestial Seasonings Classic, then…
Well, eventually the race was eliminated from the circuit. But the long and short of it is that this new mountain bike loop follows the same general inside track of the old Morgul-Bismarck bike race. And it’s a great biking loop trail. It’s possible to ride this loop without ever crossing a paved road, even if you start from Louisville or Lafayette Colorado and ride in from the Coal Creek Trail.
Interesting side note… Even though the trail starts and ends in Superior, Colorado, residents of the new portion of that town will have to cross a major road to get to the trail while residents of nearby communities can utilize the Coal Creek underpass to avoid crossing McCaslin Blvd.
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/28/dirty-bismarck-loop-funny-name-great-trail/
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/26/cycling-snacks/
Snowmobile and cross-country ski trails are quickly becoming hiking and biking trails with the click of a gate in New Hampshire.
According to an
article from WMUR, southern New Hampshire trails are closing the gates on rail trails signaling an end to winter sport season and a start for spring and summer trail activities.
Two of the trails included in the seasonal transition are the Cheshire Rail Trail and the Rockingham Recreational Trail.
In other parts of New Hampshire, they will continue grooming the rail trails for winter trail usage.
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/22/new-hampshire-rail-trails-making-the-spring-transition/
What has
Rails to Trails Conservancy done for you lately?
A lot, as a matter of fact. RTC is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, and they have accomplished many incredible feats in those 25 years:
- They have built 1,600 trails…
- … for a total of 20,000 trail miles.
- They now have trails in all 50 states.
- They have launched the very successful and helpful traillink website…
- … which documents over 30,000 miles of trail.
- They have instituted a “Campaign for Active Transportation.”
If you’re not a member of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, please consider joining. You can contribute at whatever level you feel comfortable, and you’ll be supporting an incredible cause. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving.
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/20/rails-to-trails-conservancy-3/
For a limited time, Living Social will double y
our $5 donation to the Red Cross Japan & Pacific Tsunami Fund. It is extremely fast and easy to
make a donation on the Living Social website. Just click on any of the links provided with this blog post and it will take you to the Living Social donation page.
At a time like this, it’s nice to be able to help those in need. I love it when, instead of fighting and competing with each other, nations come together to help one another. This is definitely one of those times.
Sometimes we just don’t have the time or resources to get involved. That’s why I was pleased to see a reputable company offer a way to allow people to quickly and painlessly contribute a small amount to make a big difference.
Give ’til it feels good. How’s that for a motto?
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/18/red-cross-japan-pacific-tsunami-fund/
I recently found a great
article entitled “12 reasons to start using a bicycle for transportation.”
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A functional bike like this one
can be a real work horse and a
great alternative to commuting
via automobile. |
You’ll want to read the article for all 12 reasons and the explanations, but some of the reasons include:
- cost effective
- less pollution
- improved health
- improved environment
These are the obvious ones, but the web page also shows a couple new reasons that I hadn’t thought of before. For example, it explains how bicycle commuting is sometimes faster than car commuting.
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Permanent link to this article: https://trailsnet.com/2011/03/17/a-dozen-reasons-why-bicycles-are-the-best-form-of-transportation/
