The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has approved 2 new U.S. Bicycle Routes: USBR 35 in Michigan and USBR 45 in Minnesota. Realignments to USBR 1 in North Carolina were also approved. AASHTO and Adventure Cycling welcome the new route approvals as another important step toward creating an official U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS).
The U.S. Bicycle Route System will help give people of all ages and abilities the option to choose active transportation for commuting, errands, and long-distance travel.
To celebrate National Bike Month, Adventure Cycling is raising $50,000 to support the USBRS and the work we do to provide technical assistance to states implementing U.S. Bike Routes. Donate $10 today or get involved!
ADVENTURE CYCLING'S LATEST BLOG POST
HAWAII 2X10: BIKE CAMPING IN PARADISE
Bike Overnights
Mac, Media Specialist
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Beginning her story, "Bike Camping in Paradise," Maria writes: "On Friday morning, camping seemed like a fun idea, but I hadn't made any plans. I began to reconsider my camping idea around 5:00 p.m. when I was still working and had made no effort to pack or plan. I briefly thought about Sand Island as an easy after-dark option. The hazards of getting there are no worse at night than they are during the day. However, the thought of sitting under the 747 flight line was less than appealing. After this week of work, I really wanted peace and quiet."
And so she set out from her Honolulu home on her CX race bike (it has "a crazy 2x10 setup with mountain-bike gearing ... good for climbing"), headed for Laukahi Street and the Wiliwilinui Ridge. "The climb is tough, but doable," Maria writes; "and, although I hadn't camped there before, I knew there was lots of hammock-hanging potential.
"The climb up the ridge starts with approximately 2.5 miles through a neighborhood with about 1,100 feet of elevation gain. Toward the top, the neighborhood becomes a private, gated community. I wish I had a photo of the security guard's face as I rolled through the gate at 8:15 p.m. I gave him a wave and was completely prepared to show him my camping permit. He gave me this look of total confusion and disbelief and then a slow nod. Guess they don't see much nighttime traffic by bicycle campers."
You can read the rest of Maria's entertaining tale about her solo adventure in the Hawaiian darkness at BikeOvernights.org, where you can also sort through our archives of great adventures. By the way, we've never posted a story about bike overnighting in the Last Frontier of Alaska, either -- but watch for one coming up in late June, around the time of the summer solstice.
Oh, and check out this post from Soar Communications. It includes a nice passage about Adventure Cycling Executive Director Jim Sayer's recent presentation on Bike Overnights at the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey, California. Jim's quick, five-minute talk inspired the writer of the post: "While sitting there listening, I got excited about his idea for personal reasons. My wife and I used to ride a lot, but life got in the way a little bit, and we don’t ride as much. I thought Jim’s idea was a fun, simple way for my wife and I to take a ride together and explore where we live."
Our current Photo of the Week, shown below, comes courtesy of Beth Nobles from her tale Texas Mountain Ride!, which posted a year ago, on May 10, 2011.
Top two photos by Maria Stewart
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BIKE OVERNIGHTS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s media specialist, and highlights content from BikeOvernights.org. Previously, from March 2009 through January 2012, Mac posted weekly at Biking Without Borders. He also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to 45,000 readers worldwide.
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