Bruce on bikes!

If you've ever wondered about those bike signs in Ashland and the surrounding countryside, they are markers for two national bike routes, the east-west TransAmerica route (76), which runs from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA, and the north-south Atlantic Coast route (1), which runs from Bar Harbor, ME to Key West, FL. The two routes intersect right here in Ashland, and it is said that this was the reason former Mayor Dick Gillis famously designated Ashland "Center of the Universe."

However, this storied designation may soon loose some of its umph. The two aforementioned bike routes are part of a larger network developed by the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA), a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle for fitness, fun, and self discovery." It is the largest cycling organization in the U.S., with over 44,000 members. The ACA has worked toward incorporating its cycling routes into a nationally recognized network to be called the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). The current plan looks like this:



Just a few weeks ago, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved a national corridor plan for the USBRS that includes over 50,000 miles of roads and trails. In the works for over four years and having gone through more than a dozen revisions, this is a milestone in itself. If the network is completed, it will be the largest national cycling route system in the world (Europe's planned Euro-velo network includes only 36,000 miles). And if the network is completed, Ashland's claim to centrality vis-à-vis bike routes will certainly be diminished. It would be a welcome development, in my view, to share our central status with a few dozen other communities that are also situated at nodes on this 50,000 mile grid. It would make me want to hop on my bike and vistit one.

To learn more about the plan, visit http://www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs.