Conference noted::bicycle

    The phone number for the State Transportation Library is:
    
    617-973-8000
    
    You may order multiple copies.
    
    Ironically, it turns out that my commute to MRO is part of the trail.

    	Is this the project that John Allen has been working on for
    about 3 years?  At NEAR '85 in Amherst, he had a wall covered with
    maps and was asking for comments.  It's incredible how much gets
    done and what you can learn/who you can meet at NEARs!  I hope that
    all Northeastern US readers of this conference will make it to NEAR
    '87 in Durham at the end of July.  - Chris

    Has anyone gotten any use out of this map?  I have found it to be
    only marginally useful.  It recommends some roads I refuse to take
    because of poor terrain, while not recommending others that I always
    take because of great terrain.
    The criteria seem to be weighted towards roads with reduced
    traffic as opposed to best pavement.  Unfortunately the best paved
    roads are usually the most heavilly trafficked.  
    The biggest problem is that I live near the New Hampshire border,
    but the map stops at the border!  

	Last week, I got the two I had ordered.  Fairly useless to
	all but newcomers.  The only other experience I've had with
	bicycle maps are ones published by New York State for the Finger
	Lakes region.  The most important thing missing from the
	Massachusetts one is grades.  The NY one shows grades (by range,
	with percent described in the key) for the recommended routes.

	It was interesting what the Mass. one has instead.  -They
	photographed the back of topo. maps for the shadows and
	superimposed it on the bike map (reversed again, I hope).  Of
	course, the shading is SO subtle that it's useless.  I haven't
	been able to locate any recognizable mountains on the map yet...

	It does, however, include some useful info. on the area around
	Littleton, as locally available maps are pretty inaccurate.
	-Names of side streets, etc.  (There are no signs on the streets.)
	Of course, even on the bicycle map, there is the classic
	local phenomenon of the main road being switched with the side
	road at intersections.  (What is really straight ahead is
	listed as a left turn, and what they show as straight is a
	right turn.)  Route 62 in Sterling is mislabeled like that.

	They did have some surprisingly nice safety tips, though.
	(Actually standard procedures, such as left turns from the left
	lane if not walked across from the curb.)

 New Hampshire Bike Map

	Department of Resources and Economic Development
	State of New Hampshire
	Concord, NH 03301

I got mine the other day, and it looks useful as
a starting point for planning trips.  The thing
that I noticed about the suggested routes was that
all of them have WIDE sholders to ride on.....

R.

I used mine while in P-town last weekend and agree that the map is only good
for initial planning.  It suggested a bike path that went north from Head of
the Meadow Beach.  I took the path and ended up on a dirt road in a cranberry
bog.   I had to carry my bike for a 1/2 mile as I just built the wheel and 
didn't want to crud them up.  (I should have brought the junk bike for 
vacation riding).  On the way back I took 6A which was narrow, but paved.

(That bike path is in poor shape.  Narrow path, overhanging trees, wall of 
bushes on each side, and a winding path meant that I could never see more than 
20 feet ahead.)

The map also recommended side roads through Truro and Wellfleet, but didn't 
say which ones.  Rt. 6 has such good shoulders that I just stuck to the 
highway after getting lost on the back roads.

cbs