U.S. Bicycle Route 76
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U.S. Bicycle Route 76 is a cross-country bicycle route east of the Mississippi River in the United States. It is one of the two original U.S. Bicycle Routes, the other being U.S. Bicycle Route 1. U.S. Bicycle Route 76 runs from the midwestern state of Illinois to the eastern seaboard state of Virginia. It is also known as the TransAmerica Bike Route.
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[edit] Route description
[edit] Illinois
In the state of Illinois, U.S. Bicycle Route 76 intersects the Tunnel Hill State Trail in southern Illinois and passes through the following counties[1]:
[edit] Kentucky
In the state of Kentucky, U.S. Bicycle Route 76 is unsigned but a map is available as part of a state bicycle tours publication[2].
[edit] Virginia
In the state of Virginia, part of U.S. Bicycle Route 76 is signed, and a map is available as part of a state bicycling publication[3]. The route passes along the following roads and through the following counties and communities:
- State Route 80 (Virginia) from Elkhorn City, Kentucky to Meadowview, Virginia in Washington County
- Washington County
- Meadowview to Damascus
- U.S. Route 58 from Damascus, where the route crosses the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Appalachian Trail to County Route 603 through Smyth County to Troutdale in Grayson County
- Grayson County
- State Route 16 from Troutdale to Sugar Grove in Smyth County
- Smyth County
- Wythe County
- Pulaski County
- Radford
- Montgomery County
- County Routes 787, 664, 600, and 666 from Radford to Christiansburg
- Ellett Road (County Route 723) from Cambria in Christiansburg to Ellett just east of Blacksburg passing under the Wilson Creek Bridge, tallest bridge in Virginia, and part of the Virginia Smart Road
- Lusters Gate Road (County Route 723) from Ellett to Lusters Gate passing through Ellett Valley with the North Fork of the Roanoke River to the east and the Eastern Continental Divide a few miles to the west
- Catawba Road (County Route 785) from Lusters Gate to the Roanoke County line[4] passing through Catawba Valley
- Roanoke County
- Catawba Road (County Route 785) from the Montgomery County line to Catawba passing out of the Roanoke River watershed and into the Chesapeake Bay (James River) watershed
- County Route 779 from Catawba to the Botetourt County line
- Botetourt County
- Rockbridge County
- Augusta County
- Just south of Waynesboro near Afton Mountain, the route runs along the Blue Ridge Parkway for 25 miles, overlooking the Shenandoah Valley to the west and Nelson County's Rockfish Valley to the east[5].
- Albemarle County
- Charlottesville
- Fluvana County
- Goochland County
- Louisa County
- Hanover County[6]
- Henrico County
- Charles City County
- James City County
- Williamsburg
- York County
[edit] History
Bicycle Route 76 was established in 1982 as an original U.S. Bicycle Route, along with U.S. Bicycle Route 1 from Florida to Virginia. The use of U.S. Bicycle Routes since 1982 has been nonexistent, but a 2003 conference encouraged the establishment of new bicycle routes[7].
It was preceded in 1976 by the Adventure Cycling Association's TransAmerica Trail, which itself was formed upon the creation of the Adventure Cycling Association (then called "Bikecentennial").[8]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/trailist.htm Illinois Department of Transportation: Trail List
- ^ http://transportation.ky.gov/planning/pdf/bkgd.pdf Kentucky DOT Bicycle Tours Guide (PDF)
- ^ Bicycling in Virginia - Cycling the Commonwealth: Virginia Is For Lovers
- ^ http://www.montva.com/departments/plan/plancom/arch/2000/minutes/011900.php Montgomery County Planning Commission held on January 19, 2000
- ^ http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureID=363&md=1 Bicycling in Virginia - US Bicycle Route 76
- ^ http://www.co.hanover.va.us/planning/complan/heritage.pdf Hanover County Preservation District Overlaf (PDF)
- ^ AASHTO Ad Hoc Task Force on U.S. Bicycle Routes (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2006.
- ^ Adventure Cycling Association (2007). TransAmerica Trail. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
