50,000 miles

Yep, 50,000 miles. That's how many miles I rode last month. That was 50 chains, 25 cassettes and and 5 der...

What, you don't believe me?!?!

You caught me, I didn't ride that far last month--or in the last 10 years, for that matter--but that is how many miles a new proposed U.S. bicycle route system will be, making it the longest in the world.

Seriously, how cool is that?

From the press release:

The United States is on a path to creating what could become the largest official bicycle route network in the world, thanks to the approval of a new plan by America's leading authority on national route designations. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has just approved a National Corridor Plan laying out the framework and guidelines for the development of this system.

The plan identifies corridors connecting America's urban, rural, and suburban areas. The corridors cover well over 50,000 miles, which, if transformed into routes along roads and trails, would create the largest official bicycle route network in any country or on any continent. By comparison, the planned Euro-Velo network in Europe is projected to be 60,000 kilometers or 36,000 miles.

The U.S. plan has been under development for nearly four years under the auspices of an AASHTO task force on national bicycle routes, with representatives from federal and state transportation agencies and nonprofit organizations. The plan has gone through more than a dozen revisions - with input from hundreds of federal and state officials, cycling advocacy groups, and individuals - as well as review and approval by AASHTO's committees on traffic engineering, design, and non-motorized transportation.

The full text of the press release can be seen HERE.

If they manage to pull this off, it should make commuting, touring and general recreation via bicycle easier and safer.

I, for one, am pulling for this to happen.