A Little Bit Loopy

May 7, 2009

Something our members have asked for time and again is the creation of loop routes, preferably something they can do from a metro area or airport. Thus far our efforts include the Green Mountains Loop, Adirondack Park Loop, Tidewater Potomac Heritage Route, Allegheny Mountains Loop, Utah Cliffs Loop, and the newest addition -- the Washington Parks Route -- which in it's entirety is a figure-eight or may be broken into two separate loops.

If those don't appeal to you, there are a myriad of other possibilities available by mixing and matching pieces of the larger Adventure Cycling Route Network. Examples that jump to my mind are:

• A super southwestern loop out of either San Francisco or San Diego, CA could use pieces of the Western Express, Pacific Coast, Southern Tier, and Grand Canyon Connector routes.
• Beginning in Richmond, VA or Wilmington, NC, you could ride the Atlantic Coast main route one direction and the Outer Banks (North Carolina) alternate back the other way.
• A great fall or winter route could be devised using a ferry, the Florida Connector and Atlantic Coast routes, based out of either Fort Lauderdale or Fort Myers.
• There are multiple options that could be configured using the Northern Tier, North Lakes, and Lake Erie Connector routes, also with some ferry rides if so desired.
• And once the Sierra Cascades Route is fully published, even more western loops will appear in conjunction with the Pacific Coast, Western Express, TransAmerica, and Lewis & Clark routes.

So, what are you looking for in a loop route?

Map image by Routes & Mapping staff.

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GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures, and persons from the Adventure Cycling Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.