Battenkill Sports has always been excited about cycling for
recreation and exercise.
Now we are excited about adding cycling as a means of transportation.
WOW, get you exercise, have fun, and save the planet!!
| For errands less
than 2 miles, take your bike. |
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Link to Trek Advocacy |
The following is a quote from John Burke of Trek bicycles.
We all know the world has some problems; gas is expensive and cars pollute, the
roads are congested and humans are getting bigger. And not in a good way.
Luckily, there is a solution to these problems. A solution that burns calories,
not gas. It doesn't waste fuel sitting in traffic. Something that could even
bring communities closer together.
The solution is the bicycle
From Wikipedia
A bicycle's performance, in both biological and mechanical terms, is
extraordinarily efficient. In terms of the amount of energy a person must expend
to travel a given distance, investigators have calculated it to be the
most efficient self-powered means of transportation.
From a mechanical viewpoint, up to 99% of the energy delivered by the rider into
the pedals is transmitted to the wheels.
On firm, flat, ground, a 160 pound man requires about 100 watts to walk at
3 mph. That same man on a bicycle, on the same ground, with the same power
output, can average 15 mph, so energy expenditure is roughly one-fifth as much.
At this time Manchester Vermont doesn't
appear to be the most bike friendly town. We have no bike path and no roads have
bike lanes or even share the road signs. Students don't ride to school.
Visitors with children are surprised.
Our goal is to improve this.
The Green Mountain National Forest has promised to open trails with the
closest access being the Rootville Road.
My understanding is the MD&G rail bed may be converted to a trail to Dorset. The
Dana Thompson Recreation area has already started a trail to MEMS school and to
Riley Rink. We need to find any remaining Ancient Roads and connect all these.
We need to include historical, artistic, cultural, and natural
elements.
Locals can get down town, and visitors can explore.