SmartTrail app.

Those wonderful outdoor folks in Boulder, CO are at it again. The people at Boulder Mountain Bikes are creating an app called SmartTrails to help users locate & navigate bike trails. The app will not only help you find a trail but will provide updated trail conditions, trail descriptions, and trail ratings.

There was a great story in the Boulder Daily Camera about the SmartTrails app. The developers are seeking a grant to help them get this worthwhile project off the ground. If you'd like to help them out and put them over the top, you can vote for their grant idea on the GOOD Boulder Fund website. It's easy to vote, doesn't cost you anything and helps support a good trail cause.

So far, the only problem I see w/ this app is that it's not quite available for iphone yet; but according to BMA rep. Andria, they are on top of it. In fact, they "have an iOS developer working in parallel..." What I think that means to us non-techie folks is that they are soon going to have an [iphone] app for that.


If you want more information about the app, you can drop an email to smarttrail@bouldermountainbike.org.

In the meantime, I'm curious what apps, GPS, or other trail-navigation devices you guys are using out there. Leave a comment below.

SmartTrail app.

Great Explorations bike tour company

Great Explorations is the type of active travel company that is normally featured on our sister site, OTM Tours. But it offers such great bike trail rides, I also wanted to highlight it on the trailsnet site.

For example their Sea to Sky bike trip in British Columbia sounds like the perfect mix of trail types to keep most riders happy and moving. If you're familiar w/ the good old diamond rating system for ski slopes, you'll appreciate the mix of trail types on the Sea to Sky bike ride.

"Just because you're biking in
the mountains, doesn't mean
you're mountain biking." -
Kevin Purdy, trailsnet founder

According to the Great Explorations website, 30% of the trail is green, 60% is blue, and 10% is blackish.

That sounds ideal to me. As I've stated on this site before, my heavy-duty mountain biking days are over. That wasn't necessarily my decision, but my knees.

However, I still like an occasional challenge on a mountain bike trail like my recent trip down memory trail as I ventured back onto Hall Ranch near Boulder, Colorado.

What I'm trying to say is that 10% blackish trails is just enough to provide a dash of variety, a pinch of adrenaline, and a hearty helping of nostalgia.

Great Explorations bike tour company

Boulder Cruiser Ride

Every Thursday during the summer & fall months, a unique but fun-loving group of folks get together for a little exercise and a lot of fun.

The Boulder Cruiser ride, in the terminology of Steve Martin, is a wild and crazy bunch of bike riders out for some two-wheeled excitement. Each week has a different theme. This weeks theme is "Roman toga ride."

Wow - now that's what I call a great combination... bikes and togas.

Some upcoming themes include:

• Christmas in July
• Circus ride
• Undergarment ride (you gotta admit... you're curious)
• zoo ride
• I love the 80s
• marathon ride
• pirate day
• trailer park trash ride (Who said Boulder was always politically correct?)
• glow ride   ?????
• cruiser jam

If you think I'm just makin' this stuff up, visit www.cruiserbikeride.org to see for yourself.

Boulder Cruiser Ride