Messages

61

Underground Railroad / Topography from Erie to Pittsburg

« on: March 18, 2008, 09:47:35 am »

Hi John,
I have asked our route researcher in Pittsburgh (also the president of the Pittsburgh Major Taylor Cycling Club), Bruce Woods to address your question regarding the route between Pittsburgh and Erie.

We tried to use rail trails when possible through Pittsburgh and back roads all the way up to Erie but Bruce will be able to provide you with more detailed information about the route.

Have a wonderful time!
Ginny Sullivan

62

Underground Railroad / UGRR - start in New Orleans ?

« on: February 11, 2008, 05:32:41 pm »

Hi Char,
You can contact the Louisiana Dept of Transportation. You can email the state bike/pedestrian coordinator from this page on their website: http://www8.dotd.louisiana.gov/dotdaz/definition.aspx?termID=47
And access their maps at this site:
http://www8.dotd.louisiana.gov/dotdaz/definition.aspx?termID=47
I noticed they have one for New Orleans.

Once you get squared away for NO, you may wish to jump onto the ACA Southern Tier route - maybe in Vancleave? Take a look and see what works best for you. The bike/ped coordinator should be able to advise you on roads that will help you connect between NO and our Southern Tier - which brings you right into Mobile.

As far as touring NO - there are tons of great opportunities that biking provides. A little research and you'll have a host of things to "not miss."

Best of luck.

63

Underground Railroad / has anyone ridden the southern section?

« on: June 27, 2007, 06:09:02 pm »

I forwarded your request on to Mike and Joan and Mike said he would try contacting you. they have completed the Southern portion of the route and are now in Milford, OH heading North. Check out their blog:
 www.mikenjoan24.blogspot.com

Mike has created turn by turn instructions for the route to compliment the maps.

Hope that helps! Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Ginny Sullivan

64

Underground Railroad / how to get home from Owen Sound

« on: June 27, 2007, 06:26:49 pm »

I am forwarding this information from phred.org Touring group. Go there to get Jamie's original posting. Hope it helps Joan.

Owen Sound is one of the larger "near north" cities and as a hub city,
> it has all of the services you'd expect of a city 4 times it's size.
> It no longer has passenger rail service, but does have Greyhound bus
> service.  There are also car rental places (as you'd expect) but
> one-way rentals on cars are expensive. (http://www.owensound.ca).
>
> There is a regularly scheduled run from Owen Sound to Buffalo via
> Greyhound.  There are also more frequent Owen Sound to Toronto and
> Toronto to Buffalo runs.
>
> The part of Ontario you'll be in is actually the most densely
> populated part of Canada and the bus service matches that.
>
> You may find it easier (based on schedules) to go Owen Sound ->
> Toronto -> Niagara Falls Canada and then ride across to the states --
> Niagara to Buffalo isn't that far and you can get in a couple of
> additional stops for sightseeing.
>
> (Of course, all the caveats of travelling by Greyhound apply.)
>
> There is another carrier that does the Guelph - Buffalo portion of the
> route you're taking called Coach Canada
> (http://www.coachcanada.com/coachcanada/) -- they take bikes
> underneath the bus and ask only that you bag them (bag cost is $10 at
> the terminal).  Owen Sound to Guelph is a fairly easy ride (yes it's
> over a set of glacial drumlins, but the elevations trends down (: )
>
> Of note, the Bruce Trail parallels most of your route, and there are
> many services for those who are thru-hiking it.
> http://www.brucetrail.org/
>
> You'll have a lot of fun - I grew up going back and forth from Guelph
> to Owen Sound / Sauble Beach - there's lots to see and do.
>

65

Underground Railroad / Underground Railroad - Trail Surface

« on: March 22, 2007, 08:57:35 am »

Hi Scott,
Fred is quite right, most of the UGRR is on roads - quiet back roads and/or roads with shoulders suitable for bicycling. We do follow the Little Miami Scenic Trail and the Western Reserve Greenway, both in Ohio. There are two more bike trails on the route in Ontario.

However, you seem interested in doing this route via your road bike and that would be the perfect bike for it. Our maps provide turn-by-turn instructions for staying on the right roads and also provide elevations, weather conditions and service information for camping or hotels. Let us know if we can answer any of your questions. Feel free to call our office at 800-755-2453.

Thanks.
Ginny Sullivan
New Routes Coordinator
Adventure Cycling Association

66

Underground Railroad / Erie-Oberlin-Cleveland Loop Tour

« on: March 18, 2008, 09:57:20 am »

Hi all,
The Underground Railroad route definitely goes through Oberlin. The Northern Tier and the UGRR meet up in Ashtabula, OH and travel the same route through Erie, PA into NY. By the next addendum, they will continue along the same route all the way to Buffalo.

Thanks to a great volunteer route reseacher in Ohio (Thanks Tony!) we will be posting a connector route between the Northern Tier and the UGRR in Oberlin by next week (3-26-08). Go to "Connecting ACA Routes" Forum and you will be able to get this information.

Thanks. Ginny

67

Underground Railroad / UGRR North from Pittsburgh

« on: January 04, 2007, 11:32:31 am »

Dear 10thgear -
That's great news! Please be sure to write about your experience in our Ride Registry.

Unfortunately, we've not conducted the research for this spur to the main corridor. The research for that part of the route will be done this spring. We are currently concentrating on getting sections 3 - 5 (north of Owensboro to Canada) ready for the printer and that is taking all of our time and energy.

You may want to contact Bike Pittsburgh at 412-726-5872 as they are very familiar with routes north from Pittsburgh to Erie. I'm sure Scott Bricker would be able to help you. You can get more information about them at www.bike-pgh.org.

Thanks for writing and best of luck with your youth tour!
Ginny Sullivan
New Routes Coordinator

68

Underground Railroad / An Anti-Slavery/Underground Railroad conference

« on: August 04, 2006, 10:53:24 am »

Hi Karen
I am creating a calendar of events for the UGRR website pages and will post the information on it if you'd like.

Thanks and keep us informed!

69

Underground Railroad / Walking the Adventure Cycling Route

« on: June 29, 2006, 05:45:49 pm »

If you'd like to see a preview of what you might experience cycling the Underground Railroad, you should read the on-line journal featured by Otawa Citizen reporter Chris Lachner. His journey commemorates the Underground Railroad through parts of KY and Ohio and uses portions of Adventure Cycling's route.  You can read all about the wonderful people, sites and history he's encountered by visting here:  http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/features/freedom/index.html

It's a fascinating read. Enjoy.

70

Underground Railroad / Libraries and the UGRR

« on: December 04, 2006, 09:09:25 am »

Thank you for you offer to help us contact libraries along the route. We have mailed a great number of libraries along the route a letter and brochure inviting them to become part of WebJunction's on-line community. In the near future, we will be asking that libraries as well as bicycle shops, museums, historic sites and others participate in the UGRR bicycle route in a more hands-on capacity. Information about our Conductor project will be coming soon. Stay tuned - and I will be in touch when we have it ready to roll. Thanks again.
Ginny Sullivan

71

Underground Railroad / Libraries and the UGRR

« on: May 10, 2006, 11:56:26 am »

We're currently looking for Public Libraries, especially those along the route corrdidor and those that have Underground Railroad collections to join an online message board designed for public and rural libraries. It is administered by Online Community Library Center (OCLC) and is supported by the Gates Foundation.  By joining the WebJunction community, Libraries can share UGRR resources and collections with eachother and traveling cyclists.  Adventure Cycling now denotes libraries in our service directory on our maps.  We've found touring cyclists utilize libraries for the internet and a nice place to relax (cool down or get warm/dry...)

We anticipate libraries along the route will become involved with the touring cyclist, possibly building community programs around educating and sharing knowledge with the cyclists.  Please invite your public library to join WebJunction. It's a free resource for any public library.  http://www.webjunction.org/do/Home

Thank you.  
Ginny Sullivan
Adventure Cycling

This message was edited by GSullivan on 5-12-06 @ 7:49 AM

72

Underground Railroad / Hitchcock House

« on: November 30, 2005, 11:04:57 am »

We are looking at eventually providing "Spurs" to the main corridor so that as many UGRR sites can be included as possible. We are still developing a proto-type and can't include every site/community in the country, but we are interested in providing the best combination of historic cycle touring possible.  Please send documentation about your community to gsullivan@adventurecycling.org  Thank you.

73

Underground Railroad / Idea for the route

« on: November 02, 2005, 03:10:55 pm »

Chuck,
Love your idea. I'm going to discuss it with CMH on Friday.  This would be a great way to involve agencies at a local level.

Keep the ideas coming!

74

Underground Railroad / Meetings in the Ohio and Pittsburgh Areas

« on: October 10, 2005, 02:43:33 pm »

I, Ginny Sullivan, New Routes Coordinator from Adventure Cycling will be in Ohio and Pittsburgh.

A Regional Meeting will be held at Clippard Instrument Laboratories, 7390 Colerain Ave at 7 pm on Thursday, October 13.  Hosted by the Cincinnati Cycle Club, you man join us for this informational meeting that highlights the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.  Call Ginny at 800-755-2453 x 229 if you are interested in attending.

There is another meeting at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati on Friday morning at 8:30 am. All those particularily interested in the new route should join us - space is limited so do call me to request a seat by Tuesday, Oct. 11.

After stops in Columbus for meetings with ACA Life Members, I will be heading to Cleveland for the National Scenic Byways Conference.

On Wednesday, the Center for Minority Health will be hosting me in Pittsburgh. Among all the planned activities, the Major Taylor Cycling Club will be taking me for a ride! Log onto the CMH website and find out how to join us for this ride. I will be riding on a Bike Friday....curious about these incredible traveling bikes? Check out this portable bike by joining us!

75

Underground Railroad / More News Coverage

« on: September 08, 2005, 08:48:49 am »

Adventure Cycling made the local newspaper in Missoula, MT - great article WITH the map and mentions of all the partners that are helping us along the way!  If you'd like to read a more in-depth article about the UGRR bike route, go here:

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/09/08/outdoors/od02.txt