About Trailsnet

The "about" page on the trailsnet website has been completely rewritten and revamped. Below is the text of the page so those of you blog readers can become more familiar with the website:

about trailsnet.com - If you want to find a trail on the internet, trailsnet is the place to look. We have a comprehensive list of trails, organized by state. Our trail descriptions include a brief list of important trail facts, a longer description of the trail, trail photos, and a trail map.

about our trails - We're all about trails! For a good idea of the types of trails found on trailsnet, take a look at the following two lists.

Characteristics of trailsnet trails:

• accessible
• appropriate for all ages & abilities
• multi-use (see list on right)

• recreational and commuter
• safe
• accessible to hikers & bikers
• suitable for active travelers
• usually fairly lengthy
• family friendly
• senior friendly
• often handicapped accessible

Types of trails found on trailsnet:

• bike trails
• hiking trails

• running trail

• equestrian trails
• recumbent trails
• Trikke trails
• inline skate trails
• Eliptigo trails
• snowshoe trails
• nordic ski trails
• rail trails

about active travel - Many people access trailsnet to find local trails for a day or weekend outing and that is wonderful. But one of the main goals of trailsnet is to promote active travel for couples, singles, families, seniors; for people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and abilities. Active travel is not quite the same as adventure travel. Whereas adventure travel is quite adrenaline-oriented, active travel is geared to a much wider audience and caters more to such characteristics as scenery, history, family gatherings, relaxation, exercise, and environmentally-friendly vacationing.

about trailsnet founder - Kevin Purdy is the founder of trailsnet and a huge trail fan. His love of rec-trails (see below) began in the late 1990s with the birth of his daughter. He went from avid mountain biker to occasional mountain biker quite rapidly. He wanted to continue enjoying the fun and fitness of biking, but in a way that was safer and more inclusive of his young daughter. On a three-generation trip to the Trail of the Hiawatha in Northern Idaho, Kevin discovered the joys of rail-trails and began a lifelong pursuit of family-friendly, multi-generational, mixed-use trails.

Since then, Kevin has traveled to most of the U.S. states in pursuit of the longest, friendliest, and most scenic trails in existence. He has documented his trail travels on the trailsnet website, trailsnet blog, and Everytrail guides. His future goals include traveling the world in pursuit of even more trails and publishing books to document his many trail discoveries and share them with you.

about rec-trails - Rec- trails have many names and is often incorrectly called a mountain bike trail. For the best idea of what constitutes a rec-trail, take a look at the characteristics... and types... charts found above. Those charts provide the "list version" of the rec-trail definition. To help you better understand what is meant by a rec-trail, I have provided two more lists (seems rather bureaucratic). The first one basically shows what is not a rec-trail. The second list gives you some common synonyms for rec-trails.

The common alternatives for rec-trails include the road and mountain bike trails. Here's a list of how rec-trails differ from the road (as in road biking) and mountain (as in mountain biking) trails:

• safer
• less stressful
• more inclusive
• not necessarily on a mountain
• both utilitarian (commuter) & fun
• available for all ages & abilities
• relaxing as opposed to competitive
• urban, suburban, & rural locations

other names for rec-trails:

• rail-trails
• commuter trails*
• multi-use trails
• canal trails
• bike trails
• urban trails
• greenways
• green-belts
• park trails
• bike paths
• family trails
• all-season trails

* I realize that the terms commuter trail and rec-trail seem a little oxymoronic but I have yet to come up with the perfect name for this type of trails. I welcome any and all suggestions.

About Trailsnet

Pittsburgh Walk & Bike

Streetfilms have some great videos of alternative transportation success stories with many films that involve biking and bike lanes. Here's one of the videos about a biking triumph in Pittsburgh.


Pittsburgh Walk & Bike from Streetfilms on Vimeo.


Now as most of you know, I prefer completely dedicated bike trails, but I also know that's not possible in a lot of places. So some of the bike lanes in the Streetfilm videos are the next best thing to separated bike paths.

Pittsburgh Walk & Bike

London Bike Sharing

My favorite place is London, and my favorite activity is bike riding.

So imagine my pleasure to find an article about a new bike sharing program in London, England.

According to the article, the program will be bigger (at least more bikes) than the one in New York. That's saying a lot, because the New York bike sharing program is pretty humungous.

I am really glad to see cities jump on the bandwagon of supporting and promoting bicycling among residents and visitors. It is good for health, environment, economy, and well-being. Oh, did I forget to mention it's a lot of fun, too.

I have only one word of advice to all of these cities. Don't forget the bike paths. Having loaner bikes, bike lanes, and fancy pamphlets is a start, but bike trails are essential. Many of us are still uncomfortable biking on streets, no matter how many bike lanes you have. It only takes one careless driver or rider to cause and accident and very possibly a death. Raised bike lanes such as the ones they have in Scandinavia are better, but still not as good as pedestrian and bike paths.

London Bike Sharing

Spokane Centennial Trail in Washington state

I flew to Spokane, WA and met my dad there for a three day bike ride. While there, I rode two trails in Idaho and one in Washington. The two Idaho trails I rode were the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes and the Idaho Centennial Trail. I'll talk more about those later and/or you can look them up on the trailsnet.com website.
The Spokane Centennial Trail was great for the usual three reasons plus one. Of course it was great exercise, lots of fun, and a great way to meet nice people. But it was also nostalgic. As a kid, Spokane was "the big city" to us kids in northwestern Montana. We went there to shop for clothes, visit friends, and, accidentally in most cases, acquire a little bit of city culture.
Upon riding the Spokane Centennial Trail, I encountered some of the memorable places of my childhood. For example, the trail runs right through the Gonzaga Campus. It also goes by Spokane Falls and tangles its way right into the heart of downtown Spokane, home of more than a few childhood haunts. I was especially thrilled to see the old Loofe Carousel in Riverfront Park.
Of course, none of my bike trips would be complete without a great lunch on the trail, so I stopped into the Pita Pit in downtown Spokane (a couple blocks away from the trail) for a pretty danged good lunch.
If you'd like to see more information, pictures, a trail map and facts about the Spokane Centennial Trail, click here.

Spokane Centennial Trail in Washington state

Lookin' for Some Southern Trails

As you can see by my Winter Trails post, I appreciate a good, brisk trail outing as much as the next guy. Come November, December, even into January, I enjoy slapping on some warm clothes (I'd say muckalucks, but I have no idea what those are.), donning a pair of warm boots, and sliding along a scenic cross-country ski trail or plowing through hip-deep snow atop a pair of old fashioned snowshoes.
But we're coming to the end of January and sailing full tilt toward February and guess what. The novelty of  fresh powder and crisp air is wearing thin. Unhitch the dogs from the sled, it's time for some warm weather. I'm longing for a warm day on a sunny southern trail.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to visit the Ashuelot Rail Trail in New Hampshire, the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho or the Boulder Creek Path in Colorado. But not now. Not in the midst of winter. I want sunshine, shorts, and a hankerin' for an ice-cold root beer rather than a pipin' hot cocoa.
The worst part is, I'll probably have to wait over two months for my dream to come true. In March, I fly into Birmingham, Alabama to check out trails in Georgia and Alabama.  Then in April, I'm off to New Orleans to try out some Louisiana trails & Mississippi paths. I look forward to it, but I'd prefer not to be looking forward to it with binoculars. March and April seem to be a long ways off.
Let's see.... the bright side?  Oh yeah, I have plenty of time to research. So if any of you have any ideas for great trails down south, please leave a comment/post/suggestion on this blog. I'm dyin' to hear from you. I'd just to prefer to be dying of heat frustration rather than hypothermia about now.

Lookin' for Some Southern Trails

Are trails a waste of money?

Recently, Senator John McCain of Arizona commented "...Congress is frivolously spending the Highway Trust Fund for pet projects like walkways and bicycle paths..."
Do you consider bicycle paths a waste of money?
Now's your chance to voice your opinion.

Are trails a waste of money?