A Coordinated Trail Network

I recently met with a representative for Senator Michael Bennet. I was scheduled to meet with Senator Udall in June, but was unable to make it to Washington D.C. as planned.

At my recent meeting with Representative Bennet's assistant, I asked him to deliver the following letter to Colorado Senators about assisting me in developing a coordinated network of trails in the United States:

Dear Senators Bennet and Udall,

Thank you for the opportunity to present you with my ideas. I am confident that you will find this information useful and worthwhile.

I am a retired public school teacher and currently produce a non-profit website and blog at trailsnet.com. As a lifelong bicyclist and trail-user, I believe that the United States has one of the most incredible and extensive systems of trails in the world. I also believe that this system is vastly under-utilized and often unheralded.

Thirteen years ago, I had the opportunity to ride the Trail of the Hiawatha in Idaho. It is easy for me to remember this event because my daughter was one year old and my father was in his mid-seventies. This was a pivotal moment in my life, because I had not realized that such trails existed that would allow three generations to explore history, nature, tunnels and trestles while sharing valuable time together and getting an abundance of fresh-air and exercise.

I began to research trails on the Internet and had a difficult time finding any information about the vast network of trails that I was starting to discover through travel, word-of-mouth, and extensive research. So I decided to develop my own website to help people find trails. I was especially interested in highlighting family-friendly trails that could be used for both recreation and transportation.

The more I researched, the more I discovered an abundance of such trails. Now, after thirteen years of trail sleuthing, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there are not only thousands of great trails out there, but there are also a multitude of websites devoted to helping people find these trails. The bad news is that there is very little coordination of the various trail entities and websites. The other bad news is that there is still a lack of information (at least coordinated, comprehensive information) available to potential trail users. The trails exist, but most people do not know about the trails. And many of the websites devote the majority of their time and resources to mountain bike trails than the utility trails that are useful to most Americans. In fact, most of the trail websites still do not even have a special category dedicated to multi-use, accessible trails such as rail-trails and canal trails.

As I travel the country, riding and researching trails, I am constantly amazed that people aren’t aware of the wonderful trails located right in their back yards. Once these people are made aware of the trails, they love them and use them prodigiously. And think of what that means for our country. With increased trail use, comes decreased obesity, decreased traffic, decreased fossil fuel use, decreased sedentary lifestyles, decreased pollution…

What would it take to vastly increase the use of our American trails? Surprisingly, it would take very little. In a word, it would take coordination. The trails already exist in abundance. The organizations such as American Trails and Rails to Trails Conservancy already exist. The websites such as Traillink, Everytrail, and Alltrails already exist. The government agencies such as the Forest Service, National Park Service, and Department of Transportation already exist. What is missing is the coordination between these entities; and another missing link is any type of coordinated communication to the general public. There is no synchronizing body to bring these various agencies together.

It would not take a great deal of funding to provide the coordination needed to bring this issue to the forefront. In fact, it would take very little if any federal government funding. For a relatively small level of funding, we could educate Americans about the trails that are available. We could organize the systems that currently exist so that our trails are discovered and utilized to their maximum potential. We could help individuals take advantage of the health benefits of our trail system and small businesses take advantage of the economic benefits of nearby trails. Studies have shown that trails have a far-reaching and positive impact on the communities through which they pass, but many of these communities have no idea how to take advantage of such opportunities.

I would like to help develop a system that allows us to coordinate and make use of our current trail system to a much greater extent than it is currently being utilized. Whether this program is funded through state government, federal government, corporate sponsors (REI, Trek, Microsoft, etc.),  non-profits (Rails to Trails Conservancy, American Trails), website sponsors (Expedia, Trails.com, Google) or private donations, it is time to introduce the American people to the incredible resources already located within their country, state, and community.

I would greatly appreciate your help in getting this initiative off the ground. Colorado has a rich history of outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship. Wouldn’t it be great if Colorado’s elected representatives took the lead on this issue? It is one of those rare opportunities to make a substantial impact with very little government spending. And the impact would be far-reaching including: recreation, transportation, environmental responsibility, healthy lifestyles, and job creation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this issue. I look forward to hearing from you about helping to create a new direction for one of America’s greatest yet most underutilized assets. Please contact me for further ideas, information, and suggestions. I greatly appreciate the leadership you two have provided for our state and country. I am proud to have you as Colorado’s elected representatives.

Respectfully yours,

Kevin L. Purdy

A Coordinated Trail Network

trailsnet wins its third award in a little over a year

Just a couple days ago trailsnet announced its nomination for the "Stylish Blogger Award."

trailsnet wins another internet award

Today, American Trails announced that trailsnet won the award for the best "Personal Site" (relating to trails) on the internet.

No, these awards don't involve red carpets, acceptance speeches, or limo rides. But they're pretty darned special nonetheless.

It is especially gratifying to win an award from American Trails because it is such an important and influential organization.

So now both the trailsnet blog and trailsnet website have won awards. But much more important than that, trails are starting to become more and more important in American society, so people are starting to visit trail-related sites to get information about hiking, equestrian, running, inline skating, Trikking, and biking trails. In the long run, this will be very good for our country as people start to get in better shape and to rely less on automobiles.

So many thanks to American Trails for this latest award. Trailsnet will keep producing an awesome trail website that is useful for active travelers and hometown trail users alike.

trailsnet wins its third award in a little over a year

No excuse for poor trail infrastructure

Why can the Netherlands support such an incredible biking infrastructure and we (US, UK, Canada, etc. ) can't?

In the latest blog post from David Hembrow (A view from the cycle path: All those myths and excuses...), he doesn't necessarily answer that question, but he makes the point that it's time to stop making excuses and start doing something about it.

David approaches this problem from a unique perspective. He's originally from the UK but now lives in the Netherlands. It is nice to get his perspective since he's lived there long enough to know what he's talking about, but has also experienced what it's like elsewhere.

So he knows what he's talking about when he suggests ways to improve cycling outside the Netherlands. And the first step he appears to advocate is to stop making the following excuses as to why (WAY) more people bike in the Netherlands than in (for instance) the U.K., USA, Canada, etc.:

We've got the whole world, in our hands.

Our streets are too narrow.

Providing for cyclists is too expensive.

Our population is too spread out.

We have hills.

Our distances are too great.

It took decades in the Netherlands.

It’s because of the price of gas.

It’s the weather.

Cycle-paths are slow.

As long as I'm going to be an excuse-maker, I added another one: Our politicians are unsupportive of trails and alternative, human-powered transportation.

Of course, my addition of one more excuse did absolutely nothing to help solve the problem other than to prove David correct. We need to stop talking and start acting. So I'll go one step further and suggest some actions you can take to remedy the problem:

• Be a visible and active bike commuter.
• Volunteer to help build trails.
• Write to your elected officials and ask for more funding for trails and alternative transportation.
• Join American Trails and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
• Start a blog and/or Twitter account to advocate for human-powered transportation and the infrastructure to support it.
• Write letters to the editor in support of trails and our (lacking) trails network.
• Stop making excuses and start making a difference.

Thanks to David Hembrow for doing something other than making excuses. Thanks to Rob, at the Recumbent Blog, for reminding me, once again, to look at "A view from the cycle path."

No excuse for poor trail infrastructure

American Trails is advocating for trails and trail users

Two of the biggest advocates for United States trails are Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and American Trails.

American Trails

I am a big supporter of both. However in this blog post, I'd like to focus on American Trails. I especially enjoy their level-headed trail advocacy. In addition to their contributions in the physical development of the U.S. trail system, they are also quite helpful and vocal when it comes to supporting legislation and community trail planning and implementation.

I have included links to the American Trails: Supporting Trails web page because it gives a good overview of the types of support that we have grown to expect from American Trails over the years. They are involved in alternative transportation funding, the history of bicycle/pedestrian issues, the federal surface transportation program, SAFETEA-LU, and many other important issues.

I hope you take the opportunity to view the American Trails website. If you are as impressed as I was, it would be awesome if you'd consider joining American Trails. If you do, you will receive a monthly newsletter and the satisfaction of knowing that you support an extremely worthwhile organization. I haven't regretted my membership; on the contrary, I'm quite proud of being an American Trails member.

American Trails is advocating for trails and trail users

American Trails Needs Your Help

Whether you donate out of Christmas spirit or to get a 2010 tax break, a donation to American Trails will go a long way toward a lasting legacy of family fun, environmental assistance, & healthy habits. Oh, and one more thing, with your donation, you get a Trail Tales book that just happened to adorn my stocking on this fine Christmas morning.

Part of American Trails mission statement is as follows:
We advocate on your behalf - for more funding and for keeping trails open. As a free service, we host and provide access to theWorld's largest online resource for planning, building, managing, enhancing, funding, protecting, and supporting trails and greenways at www.AmericanTrails.org. We connect you to state-of-the-art trails training and provide information about trails throughout the country. We are making a difference!


So now might be the best time to consider donating to American Trails. It's tax deductible, & it goes for such a good, long-lasting cause. A little bit goes a long ways.


Merry Christmas to everyone and, as always, Happy Trails!!

American Trails Needs Your Help

Should Segways be allowed on trails?

Okay, readers; here's a tough question.

Should Segways be allowed on trails? An article by American Trails shows a recent ruling by a federal judge that says that Segways aren't in the same category as wheelchairs, so in essence, the answer appears to be, "no!"

I can certainly see the reasoning behind this ruling, but I've also got to admit, I've enjoyed riding Segways on trails in the past. They are motorized, and I'm not a big fan of motorized vehicles on trails, but they're also different than most motorized vehicles. For one thing, they're a lot slower than motorcycles and ATVs.
I would also guess that, in addition to being safer, they probably don't cause much trail damage, either.

So, I'm curious what you think. Take the poll in the right hand column and send in any comments. I'm torn between my previous experience on Segways (positive) and my previous experiences w/ other motorized vehicles on trails (negative).

Should Segways be allowed on trails?

Mike' Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

A huge congratulations goes out to Colorado's Mike Molloy for his recent American Trails personal website award. Take a look at the Mike's Hikes website featuring trails in Rocky Mountain National Park and much more.

Once at Mike's website, you can easily navigate to his blog page. He's got some great information and beautiful pictures on the website and blog.

Way to go, Mike and thanks for sharing your trail knowledge and passion.

Mike' Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado