Friday, July 27, 2007

Help Save the Continental Divide Trail for Mountain Bikers



While I was watching the Tour de France and drinking coffee this morning I noticed an article in the Rocky Mountain News – "Parts of the Continental Divide Trail may be banned to bikers".
Basically, there is an effort through a USFS Proposed Directive to exclude mountain biking as a non-motorized use on the Continental Divide Trail. This is unfortunate and frustrating. It seems that cyclists are always having to fight for the right to be an accepted, non-motorized user group. I have ridden a few sections of the Continental Divide trail on my bike. Every time, it was a very enjoyable and unique experience. See below for a map of my favorite section from Copper Mountain to Searle and Kokomo Passes.


If you have ridden sections of the Continental Divide trail and feel compelled to comment to the Forest Service, please submit a letter through the IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) website: http://www.imba.com/news/action_alerts/07_07/07_03_divide_trail.html


What is the Continental Divide? If you’ve ever been to Colorado you probably have a picture of yourself as a kid sitting in front of the Continental Divide sign on some mountain pass…


Now for the geography of the Continental Divide:
A continental divide is an elevated natural boundary that separates water that flows into either the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean. The "Great Divide", one of four in North America, runs from Alaska through Canada and the coterminous United States to northwestern South America.



More Continental Divide resources:


Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_divide


About Geography - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_divide


Continental Divide Trail Alliance - http://www.cdtrail.org/

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