Asabet River Rail Trail

I enjoy finding new trail blogs.

I just found one entitled, Assabet River Rail Trail's Blog.

It had me from the first sentence: "Some communities embrace rail trails more than others."

The Boulder Creek Path passes
through downtown Boulder, CO.

That is so true. I put rail trail communities into three categories:

1. Those that don't have a trail system.
2. Those that do have a trail system.
3. Those that have a trail system and wholeheartedly support that system.

I'll focus on the positive here and give a couple examples of towns that have great trail systems and continue to make them better.

The first trail town that comes to mind is Keene, New Hampshire. On my visit there last year, I was impressed at their goal to become a trail hub. Two of the bigger trails in Keene are the Ashuelot Rail Trail and the Cheshire Rail Trail. The Ashuelot trail starts/ends right in town and meanders out into the countryside following the Ashuelot River. It passes numerous old cemeteries, abandoned rail centers, and quaint New England villages.

The Cheshire trail starts outside of town and crosses over some beautiful bridges on its way to the Massachusetts state line. Last I heard, the plans were to bring the trail right into downtown and connect it with the Ashuelot Rail Trail. I believe these are two crucial steps for assuring the trail thrives and gets lots of users.

Another great trail town is Boulder, Colorado. It has a nice mix of trails such as the Boulder Creek Path and the Meyers Homestead Trail, and it keeps adding trails and connecting one with another. This dynamic trail building is essential to the success and usefulness of a trail system. With lots of open space around the town, Boulder has lots of room to grow its trail system and, hopefully, that's exactly what it plans to do.

Asabet River Rail Trail

Obesity rate directly related to trail access?

Yesterday's headline was that Boulder, Colorado ranked #1 in the nation for bicycle commuting. In other words, more people, per capita, bike to work/school in Boulder than anywhere else in the United States. I am sure that has something to do with the great network of trails, such as the Boulder Creek Path, found within Boulder.

Today's headline in another publication was that Colorado is still the state that consistently has the lowest obesity rate in the nation? And Boulder County has the lowest obesity rate in Colorado.

So that gets me thinking; hum, the lowest obesity rate, the highest bicycle commuting rate, an extensive trail system?  Could there be a relationship between the amount of trails in an area and the obesity rate?

Ya think?

No, I know. There is a definite relationship between fitness and the availability of trails. That's a no-brainer.

By the way, Washington D.C. has the third to the lowest
obesity rate and it has an incredible trail system.  (-:

But what about other benefits of trails. Let's take a look at some of those. Access to trails promotes:

• better fitness
• less pollution
• less traffic problems
• fewer fossil fuels burned, therefore...
• improved environment
• cheaper individual transportation
• cheaper community transportation per mile
• family togetherness
• more exposure to the great outdoors
• positive experiences for our children
• less time in front of the t.v. & computers

So the next time you hear a politician or company (such as AAA's recent statement) try to convince you that trails are a waste of money, please don't let them get away with it. Trails are probably the best and wisest use of money that we have going.

Obesity rate directly related to trail access?