Cycling infrastructure

Cycling infrastructure refers to all infrastructure which may be used by cyclists. This includes the same network of roads and streets used by motorists, except those roads from which cyclists have been banned (e.g., many freeways/motorways), plus additional bikeways that are not available to motor vehicles, such as bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks and, where permitted, sidewalks, plus amenities like bike racks for parking and specialized traffic signs and signals.

The manner in which the public road network is designed, built and managed can have a significant effect on the utility and safety of cycling. The cycling network may be able to provide the users with direct, convenient routes minimizing unnecessary delay and effort in reaching their destinations. Settlements with a dense road network of interconnected streets tend to be viable utility cycling environments.

History

Bikeways

A bikeway is a lane, route, way or path which in some manner is specifically designed and /or designated for bicycle travel. Bike lanes demarcated by a painted marking are quite common in many cities. Cycle tracks demarcated by barriers, bollards or boulevards are quite common in some European countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. They are also increasingly common in other major cities such as New York City, Melbourne, Ottawa, Vancouver and San Francisco. Montreal and Davis, California, which have had segregated cycling facilities with barriers for several decades, are among the earliest examples in North American cities.

Great Divide

Great Divide or The Great Divide may refer to:

Places

Film

Divide Mountain

Divide Mountain (8,665 feet (2,641 m)) is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Divide Mountain is located south of Saint Mary, Montana on the border of Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

See also

References

Mountain bike

A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB; or ATB, for all-terrain bicycle) is a bicycle created for off-road cycling.

Mountain bikes are typically ridden on mountain trails, fire roads, logging roads, single tracks and other unpaved environments. These types of terrain commonly include rocks, washouts, ruts, loose sand, loose gravel, roots, and steep grades (both inclines and declines). Mountain bikes are built to handle this terrain and the obstacles that are found in it like logs, vertical drop offs, and smaller boulders.

Mountain bike construction differs from a typical bicycle in many ways. The most noticeable differences are the inclusion of suspension on the frame and fork, larger knobby tires, more durable heavy duty wheels, more powerful brakes, and lower gear ratios needed for steep grades with poor traction.

Since the development of the sport in the 1970s many new subtypes of mountain biking have developed, such as cross-country (XC) biking, all-day endurance biking, Freeride-biking, downhill mountain biking, and a variety of track and slalom competitions. Each of these place different demands on the bike requiring different designs for optimal performance. MTB development has included an increase in suspension, typically up to 8" or 203mm, and gearing, up to 30 speeds, to facilitate both climbing and rapid descents. However, advancements in sprocket design has recently led to the "1x (pronounced one by)" trend, simplifying the gearing to one Chainring/Sprocket in the front and multiple sprockets on the rear of the drive train, more commonly, 9, 10 or 11 speed.

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is a continuous long distance bicycle touring route from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA. As of 2010, the route is 2745 miles (4418 km) long; its length is likely to change over time as the GDMBR is continually being refined to improve it. The GDMBR was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) and was completed in 1997. A set of highly detailed route maps and a guidebook are available from the ACA.

Route description

Following the Continental Divide as closely as practicable and crossing it 30 times, about 90% of the GDMBR is on unpaved roads and trails and requires basic off-pavement riding skills to complete. The unpaved portions of the route range from high quality dirt or gravel roads to a few short sections of unmaintained trails which may not be possible for most people to ride at all. The GDMBR has over 200,000 feet (60960 meters) of elevation gain and loss for the rider to contend with. While most of the GDMBR is off the pavement, the route does not require highly technical mountain bike riding skills. The route has been designed to provide a riding experience primarily on very low trafficked roads through mostly undeveloped areas of the Rocky Mountain west.