Sierra Cascades & California Highway 89

When we released the Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route maps in the spring of 2010, it was with our usual excitement. As the summer passed, we received the normal amount of corrections and additions associated with a first edition. What we didn't expect to receive was the feedback about the riding conditions of California State Highway 89 (SR 89). Cyclists were concerned about their safety, sharing this often shoulder-less highway with large vehicles -- logging trucks in particular.

In response to this, we added a statement to the online addenda, wrote a blog post, and began a conversation with California Transportation Department (CalTrans) about the conditions and possible reroutes (which we decided not to do, learn why).

We also started looking into who was actively logging this area. Most of my inquiries were met with curiosity and interest -- especially once I established I wasn't attempting to curtail their activities -- I just wanted to understand their operations and explain about bicycle travel.

We created a flyer with these logging professionals in mind. One side of the flyer addresses how to share the road safely with cyclists and California state law regarding cyclists. The other side features general information about Adventure Cycling and specific details about our Sierra Cascades route. As a result of our inquiries, we were able to distribute the flyers to many of the logging companies to share with their fleets.

All this communication was followed up with a press release in late July (New Sierra Cascades Bicycle Route Grows Tourism and Cooperation on Highway 89). It seems to have been well-received and was even covered by ANewsCafe.com (a Northern California online news magazine), in their article, "Highway 89 Bike Corridor Gains Prominence." We've heard there may be more articles in the hopper as a result of the release. Let us know if you come across any.

Cover image from Routes & Mapping department

--

GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/08/sierra-cascades-california-highway-89.html

nalini cycling