Besides returning the Busycle to its creators, Matthew Mazzotta and Heather Clark, the main reason I am riding my HiWheel from San Francisco to Boston next year is to bring attention to the NBG Visualization Plan (a business plan less financials). A view of how America could look with a bicycle and greenway economy instead of one based on cars, trucks and high speed roads, this inspiring document is contained in my new book "How America can Bike and Grow Rich, The National Bicycle Greenway Manifesto".
Before we make the words found in my manifesto real, however, we must identify the network of roads and paths that connect San Francisco with the birthplace of the bicycle in America, Boston. As many of you will likely recall, there was no annual Mayors' Ride in 2007 because I took that time to devise an on line mapping program, that we could use to figure out where the Greenway will run. What I came up with is fun to use and runs like a game as it builds community and, by default, the National Bicycle Greenway.
That is not what we have at our site now, however. Until we locate funding, what we do have now, with humble and deferential thanks to Grey Lowell, has the purpose of beating an on line trail to Bikeroute.com as the place to go to look up as well as learn about the best way to get anywhere on a bike. As routes get added to our present mapping service, they will ultimately form the underlay for the dedicated bike map (where bike roads and not car roads are the reference points) Grey's awesome work will become. It is our hope that my ride will flesh out the investment capital required for this second phase make over undertaking we foresee.
In the interim, and before I hit the road next 5/5, as I am doing fund raisers and those other revenue generating programs that will be needed so I can procure the bio diesel bus that will support my third coast to coast bike crossing, I need your help with the route I will be taking. The San Francisco to Boston bike connection, most of what I will have ridden will become the main trunk line for the National Bicycle Greenway, off of which all the others will feed.
With regard the route inventory below, NBG Director, Faye Saunders, has agreed to help us fill in the blanks flagged below with an asterisk. She will soon be contacting all those Scouts who have ridden Mayors' Ride relay legs for us over the years. If you have not ridden for us and still want to help us make any of these missing connections real, do contact me at NBG@bikeroute.com
1. Oakland to Berkeley
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=115
2. Berkeley to Napa
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=128
* Napa to Sacramento
* Sacramento to Folsom
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=119
(ALONG AMERICAN RIVER PARWY - NEEDS EDITORIAL COMMENTARY)
5. Folsom to Reno
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=116
* Reno to Salt Lake City
(NEEDS SHORT DISTANCE FROM RENO TO FALLON)
- Fallon to Ely
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=77
- Ely to Baker
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=79
- Baker to Salt Lake City
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=80
* Salt Lake City to Boulder
* Boulder to Denver
- Boulder to Golden
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=69
(DIRECTION OF TRAVEL NEEDS TO BE REVERSED)
- Golden to Denver
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=113
* Denver to Omaha
* Omaha to Des Moines
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/showRoute.php?routeid=96
(NOTES FROM: http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/Omaha/DesMoinesToOmaha.html NEED TO BE ADDED TO ABOVE ROUTE)
* Des Moines to Chicago
* Chicago to Indianapolis
* Indianapolis to Cincinnati
http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/Indianapolis/CincyTOIndy.html
(DIRECTION OF TRAVEL NEEDS TO BE REVERSED & PLOTTED TO BIKEROUTE.COM MAPS)
* Cincinnati to Columbus
http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/Cincinnati/ColumbusTOCincinnati.html
(DIRECTION OF TRAVEL NEEDS TO BE REVERSED & PLOTTED TO BIKEROUTE.COM MAPS)
* Columbus to Pittsburgh
http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/Pittsburgh/PittsburghTOColumbus.html
(DIRECTION OF TRAVEL NEEDS TO BE REVERSED & PLOTTED TO BIKEROUTE.COM MAPS)
* Pittsburgh to Washington DC
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=144
(NEEDS EDITORIAL COMMENTARY ADDED FROM TROY BOGDAN'S DC TO PGH AT
http://www.bikeroute.com/ConnectingRidesFolder/WashingtonDC-PittsburghPA.html )
* Washington DC to Mt Rainier
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=110
(NEEDS EDITORIAL COMMENTARY ADDED)
*. Mt Rainier to Baltimore
http://www.bikeroute.com/BRdC/routeViewer.php?routeid=97
(NEEDS EDITORIAL COMMENTARY ADDED
* Baltimore to Philadelphia
* Philadelphia to New York City
* New York City to Boston
THX 4 all of U!!
Btw: Keep an eye on my '09 ride Visualization Page at http://www.bikeroute.com/HBGR . Soon I will be itemizing an itinerary of needs for the ride that maybe you can help me with...