Snapshot of trail users

happy, healthy bike rider on trail

Who are all those people using our nation's trails?

I can't give a conclusive answer for all trail users, but I can give you information about the TrailLink audience, thanks to a brief overview found on the traillink website.

* 62% of the users are male and 38% female (a bit of a surprise)

* 71% of them are between the ages of 31 & 60 years old with ages 46 to 60 being the most dominant group.

* 70% of users are college graduates (I figured the college educated group would be larger, but not that significantly larger.)

* 87% of trail users are bicyclists, 43% walkers, 31% hikers (hmmm, is there that much of a difference betwixt walkers & hikers?), and 17% are runners. (This percentage fits right in with what I've seen on the trails too, except, I always get completely confused between the walkers and hikers.)  (-:

I did my own informal "trail user poll" and came up with the following important statistic:

On any given day, out of 100 trail users, 99 of them were happy, healthy, and friendly, while one was a cranky old fart. The good news is, if I didn't keep including myself in these polls, trail users would be 100% awesome.

Snapshot of trail users

New Bike Rental Service Solves Big Trail Problem

Okay, my trailsnet Velolet bike inventory
isn't quite this big, but maybe someday...

I travel all over the country in search of great bike trails.

The trails are easy to find. They're nearly everywhere and expanding each day thanks to organizations like American Trails and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. And, since I've started trailsnet.com, there are now many fantastic trail locating websites like Everytrail, trailsnet, trails, traillink, Map My Ride, Ride With GPS, etc.

But there are still some logistical problems for those of us who enjoy exploring new trails. Among these logistical trail concerns are: finding trailside lodging, finding trailside dining, finding trailside bike repairs, finding trailside bike rentals....

Hold on just a minute. We can now cross that last little dilemma off the list thanks to a new website called velolet.com. Velolet offers local bike rental options, provided by local people & businesses. That alone is reason for celebration. But it just keeps getting better. I was elated to see that they offer a wide selection of cycling options including... wait for it... recumbents.

Those of you who read my posts know that I love trying out new human-powered means of locomotion. I don't own a recumbent (yet), but I love renting them when the opportunity arises. Unfortunately, until now, the opportunity has not arisen very often. I'm hoping that as more people begin listing with Velolet, there will be more options. And who knows, maybe Velolet will also add categories like Trikkes, Elliptigo, velomobiles, etc. The more choices, the merrier.

And this is doubly good news for you bicycle junkies. Not only can you rent bikes while you're on the road, you can also rent out your own bikes. Velolet has made it extraordinarily easy to list your bikes with them.

I was so impressed by Velolet, I immediately added three of my own bikes to their inventory of bicycle rentals. So feel free to rent one of my bikes today. Of course, my Velolet username is trailsnet... What else?

New Bike Rental Service Solves Big Trail Problem