How's the bike infrastructure where you ride?

[6zfshdb]

We are fortunate here on Cape Cod to have several rail trails, but they are not connected. A lot of the main "back roads" have wide (6ft.-8ft.) sidewalks where the cops are OK with cyclists on them. The main trail is undergoing a westward expansion that's supposed to be ready next year. When that opens up, I should have an option to ride to work.

When I last rode the main Cape Cod Trail in 2023, I was told by a park ranger at the trailhead in Dennis, that e-bikes were not allowed and asked to leave. I rode the Shining Sea and Cape Cod National Seashore trails instead. I've heard similar stories about e-bikes on the Cape Cod Canal MUPs as well.

Has Cape Cod eased up on their anti e-bike attitude since then?

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

cycled in this morning and wore my fitbit just for fun to see heart rate data, turns out my heart rate was perfectly at the top end of zone 2 for me, my ride is only 20 minutes but total per week that's an easy 3.3 hrs of light easy zone 2 effort which is so good for the heart. the fresh air alone gives me massive mental health benefits plus a nice little buffer before getting home to family after work.

thanks for sharing that study, really interesting and encouraging health data. i've cycled 1,000's of miles now this past decade of bike commuting. i'm still a bit surprised i haven't had a run in with a car and very grateful for that. i will say the past few years i've started cycling a lot more conservatively around cars/pedestrians/etc.

 

[stompandgo]

When I last rode the main Cape Cod Trail in 2023, I was told by a park ranger at the trailhead in Dennis, that e-bikes were not allowed and asked to leave. I rode the Shining Sea and Cape Cod National Seashore trails instead. I've heard similar stories about e-bikes on the Cape Cod Canal MUPs as well.

Has Cape Cod eased up on their anti e-bike attitude since then?

I wave and say hello to the Rangers every time I see them, which is often. I have never asked if e-bikes were allowed, because they're everywhere. At the shop, most of the e-bike rentals end up on the rail trail. Several shops are located right on the trail and rent e-bikes. I also see Sur-Rons and Super73's, usually piloted by kids or someone smoking weed. If they are not allowed, it's not enforced.

 

[Chazmo]

I wave and say hello to the Rangers every time I see them, which is often. I have never asked if e-bikes were allowed, because they're everywhere. At the shop, most of the e-bike rentals end up on the rail trail. Several shops are located right on the trail and rent e-bikes. I also see Sur-Rons and Super73's, usually piloted by kids or someone smoking weed. If they are not allowed, it's not enforced.

Boy, I think you got screwed, @6zfshdb What kind of bike were you on? I wonder if the rangers would give me s**t on my e-fatty? I hope not. I hope one of these days to make it down to the Cape and have @stompandgo show me around (before he buries me in a cloud of sand, that is).

 

[6zfshdb]

I wave and say hello to the Rangers every time I see them, which is often. I have never asked if e-bikes were allowed, because they're everywhere. At the shop, most of the e-bike rentals end up on the rail trail. Several shops are located right on the trail and rent e-bikes. I also see Sur-Rons and Super73's, usually piloted by kids or someone smoking weed. If they are not allowed, it's not enforced.

Apparently, things have changed for the better in 2 years.

 

[6zfshdb]

Boy, I think you got screwed, @6zfshdb What kind of bike were you on? I wonder if the rangers would give me s**t on my e-fatty? I hope not. I hope one of these days to make it down to the Cape and have @stompandgo show me around (before he buries me in a cloud of sand, that is).

Without the battery, you have to look twice to see it's an e-bike. It's a hub drive with 26 x 2.2" tires, but the big down tube mounted battery gives it away.

 

[Chazmo]

Without the battery, you have to look twice to see it's an e-bike. It's a hub drive with 26 x 2.2" tires, but the big down tube mounted battery gives it away.

Interesting, 6… Well, I think you just ran into an annoying ranger. My bike has a honkin’ battery on the down tube as well. There’s no mistaking it for an unassisted bike. Then again, I don’t ride it hard unless I’m in a place where there are no pedestrians. There is a DCR (protects the watershed) ranger nearby in an area of the central MA rail trail that has been undergoing construction for years. She has shooed away people occasionally, but now has no raison d’être… I almost feel sorry for her. Almost. Now she can pick on dog owners for even more ridiculous reasons.

 

[stompandgo]

The Tesoro with the second battery is visually and aurally an e-bike. No mistake about it.

 

[6zfshdb]

Interesting, 6… Well, I think you just ran into an annoying ranger. My bike has a honkin’ battery on the down tube as well. There’s no mistaking it for an unassisted bike. Then again, I don’t ride it hard unless I’m in a place where there are no pedestrians. There is a DCR (protects the watershed) ranger nearby in an area of the central MA rail trail that has been undergoing construction for years. She has shooed away people occasionally, but now has no raison d’être… I almost feel sorry for her. Almost. Now she can pick on dog owners for even more ridiculous reasons.

That incident, when I was asked to leave, was well over 2 years ago and E-bike popularity has increased since then. Perhaps the park rangers are simply looking the other way now.

 

[Art Deco]

Apparently, things have changed for the better in 2 years.

Reports from Ohio, which once had a bad rep for ebikes , agree with that, including ebikes in the "green necklace " parks around Cleveland now. IDK if legal, but apparently so or not enforced.

 

[stompandgo]

MA has one of the most progressive left governors in the nation. She has been plowing gazillions of dollars into e-bike subsidies for residents near the poverty line. It would not make sense to be giving away $1,500 e-bike vouchers only to ban them from the rail trails.

 

[6zfshdb]

MA has one of the most progressive left governors in the nation. She has been plowing gazillions of dollars into e-bike subsidies for residents near the poverty line. It would not make sense to be giving away $1,500 e-bike vouchers only to ban them from the rail trails.

Many states have similar programs and I agree, it seems counterproductive to keep e-bikes off MUP's
However, in the case of NY, this voucher program is to give low income folks a cheaper form of on road transportation and maybe get a few vehicles off the road.

 

[dblhelix]

Reports from Ohio, which once had a bad rep for ebikes , agree with that, including ebikes in the "green necklace " parks around Cleveland now. IDK if legal, but apparently so or not enforced.

Not sure what 'green necklace' refers to, but in 2018, 2019 and 2021 I rode an obvious Class 3 ebike between Cleveland and New Philadelphia, partially along a towpath, then extensions thru Stark County, Canal Fulton and then Cuyahoga everything. Absolutely no problems. I'd go as far as to say never ran into LE, period, or another ebike.

an underrated OH trail is the North Inland Coastal, from Elyria to Elmore (greater Toledo). Never saw another bike.

 

[dblhelix]

Baltimore-Washington. I split my time between the two metros and bike all around and in-between.

#1. biggest problem is that infrastructure is hyperlocal, meaning a lack of continuity and severely abrupt changes.
#2. 'Bikers Share the Road' signs are state-sponsored death traps.
#3 between the metros are a lot of distribution centers = lots and lots of trucks
#4. city bike lanes = parking for amazon, ups etc. This could be its own post, but I'm a bit suspicious that bikes get leveraged to build 'infrastructure' for others. Corollary: bridge bike lanes in proposals that are eliminated once funding is secured.

On the flip side,

#1. Wash DC to Pittsburgh via trails. Thank you, Justice William O. Douglas.
#2. DC is very bikeable, and Baltimore isn't too bad.
#3. Regional rail (MARC) and DC Metro shout-out.
#3. I'm not dead yet. How bad can it be?

The quintessential American 'bike lane battle' is underway -- the Chesapeake Bay Bridge proposed re-do connecting Maryland's Eastern and Western Shores. Current status: no bike access. In a recent internet skirmish: 'My tax dollars shouldn't fund your hobby,' or 'you think you can get out of paying tolls.' In fact: EZPASS is required for cyclists on the Hatem (US40, Susquehanna River) Bridge, currently Sundays-only for bikes. MD MTA is required by law to collect a toll eastbound for all vehicles, not just cars. Facts are terrible things!

 

[Art Deco]

Not sure what 'green necklace' refers to, but in 2018, 2019 and 2021 I rode an obvious Class 3 ebike between Cleveland and New Philadelphia, partially along a towpath, then extensions thru Stark County, Canal Fulton and then Cuyahoga everything. Absolutely no problems. I'd go as far as to say never ran into LE, period, or another ebike.

an underrated OH trail is the North Inland Coastal, from Elyria to Elmore (greater Toledo). Never saw another bike.

They used to refer to the parks around the south side of Cleveland as the "green necklace" and had no ebikes signs when ebikes were the hot new thing. I lived in both Canton and New Philadelphia OH for a long while decades ago, and attended Kent State. That's quite the ride .

 

[dblhelix]

They used to refer to the parks around the south side of Cleveland as the "green necklace" and had no ebikes signs when ebikes were the hot new thing. I lived in both Canton and New Philadelphia OH for a long while decades ago, and attended Kent State. That's quite the ride .

That's so interesting. On my return in 2021, I was running behind schedule, so I rode all night. I hit a Sheetz in Kent, and when I realized, yes, this Kent, I visited campus around 4am. I was surprised -- the Jeremy Miller site (Life cover) did not seem to be the correct location/orientation. I hope to return.

Eastern OH is always a challenge, have tried many routes. I went Kent to Columbiana to Darlington, PA but lived to regret 51 into Pittsburgh (oddly bike-legal). I have more or less settled on Panhandle Trail to Steubenville to Erie Towpath to navigate Eastern OH.

 

[Art Deco]

we do have some RR trails( sadly national forest wants nothing to do with ebikes,the trail bikes destroy and mixed use trails or roads) finally some cities and towns are starting to paint some lines on the streets.

Moving right along, I guess. Even a painted line involves a battle with car drivers and delivery trucks today.

 

[6zfshdb]

They used to refer to the parks around the south side of Cleveland as the "green necklace" and had no ebikes signs when ebikes were the hot new thing. I lived in both Canton and New Philadelphia OH for a long while decades ago, and attended Kent State. That's quite the ride .

It was called the "Emerald Necklace" back when I attended the U of Akron from 67' thru 70'. Perhaps the same time you were at Kent State? The riots occurred just before I left. A terrible terrible time indeed.

I was planning a nostalgic ride on the Ohio & Erie Canal Trail this spring. It runs up through Akron, Cuyahoga NP and parts of the Emerald Necklace into Cleveland. A few friends I keep in touch with out there advised against it due to crime and homeless people populating sections of the trail. Might just be their opinion, but a long drive wasted if true.

 

[Art Deco]

That's so interesting. On my return in 2021, I was running behind schedule, so I rode all night. I hit a Sheetz in Kent, and when I realized, yes, this Kent, I visited campus around 4am. I was surprised -- the Jeremy Miller site (Life cover) did not seem to be the correct location/orientation. I hope to return.

Eastern OH is always a challenge, have tried many routes. I went Kent to Columbiana to Darlington, PA but lived to regret 51 into Pittsburgh (oddly bike-legal). I have more or less settled on Panhandle Trail to Steubenville to Erie Towpath to navigate Eastern OH.

That area is still a challenge, even in a car.

 

[Art Deco]

It was called the "Emerald Necklace" back when I attended the U of Akron from 67' thru 70'. Perhaps the same time you were at Kent State? The riots occurred just before I left. A terrible terrible time indeed.

I was planning a nostalgic ride on the Ohio & Erie Canal Trail this spring. It runs up through Akron, Cuyahoga NP and parts of the Emerald Necklace into Cleveland. A few friends I keep in touch with out there advised against it due to crime and homeless people populating sections of the trail. Might just be their opinion, but a long drive wasted if true.

You know how to investigate a planned route better than almost anyone on here, so investigate. But I probably wouldn't do it.