Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Dirt Bum blog

I enjoy finding blogs about bicycle touring and the people who ride their bikes for enjoyment and exploration.
bike riding w/ friends on a
great American rail-trail

One of my recent finds is the Dirt Bum blog. It's by a guy who enjoys exploring the back roads of Kansas on his bike. I think what really caught my attention was his information about the time he spent riding a couple different recumbents. I usually assume (sometimes incorrectly) that people who ride recumbents are more into the scenery, relaxation, and recreation of riding rather than the speed & competition. Since that's my style of biking, it's fun to read the experiences of like-minded individuals

Of course I had to ask, in the comments section of the blog, if he'd had any experience on rail-trails.  I know that Kansas is home to the Prairie Spirit Rail Trail and a few smaller ones also.

Don't get me wrong. Sometimes I enjoy biking the back roads. But when I really want to relax and enjoy my biking, nothing beats a good rail-trail.

I'd love to continue exploring blogs that are related to trails, bicycling, and active travel. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. I love to get reader feedback about the other favorite blogs out there.

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2 comments:

DirtBum said...

Thanks for visiting DirtBum. You have a beautiful site here!

I answered most of your questions back on my site, so I won't repeat them here.

But as for the question of rail-trails vs. back roads ... they're both great. In fact, in Kansas gravel roads are very much like rail-trails -- low traffic, scenic, very safe and as relaxing as you want to make them.

I like to tell people that, since Kansas has so many miles of gravel roads that are so suitable for cycling, it's like having 100,000 miles of trails. Practically infinite routes!

trailsnet said...

DirtBum,
I know what you mean about the back roads. I grew up in NW Montana, and we had a seemingly endless supply of logging & Forest Service Roads that were really low traffic. Maybe that's where I got my love for trails.

I guess they've started closing those roads lately due to liability and maintenance problems.