Just came across this in my biking research: http://www.greenway.org/
Anyone been on this one yet?
Allyson
New long distance trail
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#1
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#2
A friend of mine in New Jersey rides on a section of it almost every weekend, she has nothing but good things to say about it. Might be a good way to tour the east coast without having to deal with the traffic. If you find out anymore about it let me know. I’ll do the same.
Black Toe Bob
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#3
I’m a little familiar with the Greenway here in Southern Maine, as it exists. I’ve seen a presentation on it a few years ago at our outdoor club’s meeting. They group that “thru-biked” it this fall got some press in the local Portland paper. There are signs all over the roadways in my area pointing out the route.
Bluebearee
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#4
The trail is billing itself as the “urban equivalent of the AT”. A section of it goes through my hometown (Coventry, RI) and I rode that section to the Connecticut border. A lot of this path is “rail-to-trails”. Like many railway paths, they go through rural areas. Anyway, it will be on my list of “things to do” at some point.
Mags
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Anyone know more about the concept? How long would it take to do a complete “Thru-bike”? Where did the group stay along the way? Hmmm…
Leki-Less
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I had the pleasure of meeting, Karen Votava, the Executive Director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance on a recent trip to Newport, RI. At the time, the Fall04 Maine to Florida bike tour was about half-way completed, and they were only a few days away from arriving in my hometown of Charleston.
This inaugural trip included approximately 6 participants plus ECGA staff (and support vehicle). They traveled for approximately 2 months. Part of this time was spent on completed sections of the greenway; the rest was on low-traffic roads. Karen told me that, given the promotional nature of this trip, many of their accomodations/meals were supported by east coast commmunities and advocates in those communities. Thus, I think the sustainable logistics of personal “thru-bikes” will to be determined by pioneer end-to-enders.
What excites me about this Greenway is that we are seeing history in the making as this thing becomes more and more complete–fifty years from now, I believe that this will be a cultural, social, and recreational fixture in our country. The success of the Greenway so far reflects the hard work of advocates like Karen who believe in the beauty in our country’s natural and built resources and in the phyiscal, social and mental benefits that recreational activities can afford.
I’m thrilled that members of Trail Journal community are excited about this concept.
LG
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From what I understand, the East Coast Greenway goes through all the urban areas up and down the coast.
If you are interested in long distance biking, then I suggest that you check out Adventure Cycling Association. They have over 30,000 miles mapped out, including an east coast route. Their routes go primarily through rural areas and avoid the cities. For example, in Massachusetts, the route is outside of I-495.
My daughter and I used the ACA maps for our coast to coast bike trip last summer. I plan to tell the story at the Gathering in October.
Peaks
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LG said…
“What excites me about this Greenway is that we are seeing history in the making as this thing becomes more and more complete–fifty years from now, I believe that this will be a cultural, social, and recreational fixture in our country. The success of the Greenway so far reflects the hard work of advocates like Karen who believe in the beauty in our country’s natural and built resources and in the phyiscal, social and mental benefits that recreational activities can afford.”
Well said. Actually, the West Coast has an incredible trail also in the works, which still needs a whole lot of vocal support. But it is already doable (for hiking). We did it this summer. www.trailjournals.com/westcoast
I’ll be presenting a show on it at the American Hiking Society’s conference in Table Rock, SC the last weekend of April. I’d love to hear more about the east coast version there if anyone will be around.
Sign up for the AHS newsletter, like I do, to recieve for info on this and other events:
http://www.americanhiking.org/alliance/newsletter.html
Tha Wookie