There are 650 new miles of bike trails in the United States, including those along Route 66 and in Minnesota’s 10,000 Lakes.
It’s becoming less difficult to pedal across the country. The Adventure Cycling Association announced yesterday the addition of 650 miles to the United States Bicycle Route System in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Delaware, which will take cyclists along some of the country’s most iconic routes, including 429 miles along Historic Route 66.
“It’s been 96 years since the iconic Route 66 opened to motor vehicle traffic in the U.S. Now cyclists can follow the historic route for more than 400 miles through Oklahoma using the newly designated USBR 66.”
Jim Tysom, executive director of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
The route, the first of its kind in Oklahoma, runs through Tulsa and Oklahoma City, beginning near the Kansas border in the northeast and ending near Elk City in the west. It passes through some of the state’s most notable attractions, including the world’s largest concrete totem pole near Chelsea, the Round Barn in Arcadia, Lucille’s Service Station in Weatherford, and the Bridgeport Bridge from “The Grapes of Wrath.”
Delaware also gets its first US Bicycle Route, USBR 201, which runs 37 miles from the Pennsylvania border to Wilmington and then through New Castle and Newark by the University of Delaware. Much of the route follows the Delaware River, with views of waterfowl, ships, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge along the way.
Minnesota gains its fourth route, 188 miles of USBR 20 from St. Cloud on the Mississippi River’s west bank to the North Dakota border. It connects with the Lake Wobegon Regional Trail, the Central Lakes State Trail, the North Country Trail, and the Lakes Trail, and much of it circles some of Minnesota’s famous 10,000 lakes.
The announcement also included the improvement of existing routes in two other states. A seven-mile extension on local roads was added to Michigan’s USBR 20 so that it now crosses the state from Algonac to Bay City and Ludington, while sections of Indiana’s USBR 35 have been realigned from extensions of Starke County’s Erie Trail and Marion County’s Pennsy Trail.
“This latest round of U.S. Bicycle Route System designations exemplifies AASHTO’s steadfast commitment to creating active transportation facilities in rural and urban America,” Tymon said.
The U.S. Bicycle Route System, which currently includes 18,534 miles in 33 states and Washington, D.C., will eventually include 50,000 miles to encourage cross-country and regional travel, as well as more local commuting on bicycles.