- U.S. Bicycle Route 76
U.S. Bicycle Route 76 is a cross-country
bicycle route east of theMississippi River in theUnited States . It is one of the two original U.S. Bicycle Routes, the other beingU.S. Bicycle Route 1 . U.S. Bicycle Route 76 runs from the midwestern state ofIllinois to the eastern seaboard state ofVirginia . It is also known as theTransAmerica Bike Route .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 [ [http://www.transportation.org/sites/scote/docs/2004meeting/presentations/Moeur.pdf AASHTO Ad Hoc Task Force on U.S. Bicycle Routes (PDF)] . Retrieved May 12, 2006.] .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 ").cite web |url=http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm |title=TransAmerica Trail |date=2007 |accessdate=2007-09-22 |author=Adventure Cycling Association]Route description
Illinois
In the state of
Illinois , U.S. Bicycle Route 76 intersects theTunnel Hill State Trail in southern Illinois and passes through the following counties [http://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/trailist.htm Illinois Department of Transportation: Trail List] :
* Randolph County
* Jackson County
* Williamson County
* Johnson County
* Pope County
* Hardin CountyKentucky
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 [http://transportation.ky.gov/planning/pdf/bkgd.pdf Kentucky DOT Bicycle Tours Guide (PDF)] .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 [ [http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?FeatureID=352 Bicycling in Virginia - Cycling the Commonwealth: Virginia Is For Lovers ] ] .The route passes along the following roads and through the following counties and communities:
* State Route 80 (Virginia) from Elkhorn City, Kentucky toMeadowview, Virginia in Washington County
* Washington County
** Meadowview to Damascus
**U.S. Route 58 from Damascus, where the route crosses theVirginia Creeper Trail and theAppalachian 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 theWilson Creek Bridge , tallest bridge in Virginia, and part of theVirginia Smart Road
** Lusters Gate Road (County Route 723) from Ellett to Lusters Gate passing throughEllett Valley with the North Fork of theRoanoke River to the east and theEastern Continental Divide a few miles to the west
** Catawba Road (County Route 785) from Lusters Gate to the Roanoke County line [http://www.montva.com/departments/plan/plancom/arch/2000/minutes/011900.php Montgomery County Planning Commission held on January 19, 2000] passing throughCatawba Valley
* Roanoke County
** Catawba Road (County Route 785) from the Montgomery County line to Catawba passing out of the Roanoke River watershed and into theChesapeake Bay (James River) watershed
** County Route 779 from Catawba to the Botetourt County line
* Botetourt County
* Rockbridge County
* Augusta County
* Just south of Waynesboro nearAfton Mountain , the route runs along theBlue Ridge Parkway for 25 miles, overlooking theShenandoah Valley to the west and Nelson County's Rockfish Valley to the east [http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureID=363&md=1 Bicycling in Virginia - US Bicycle Route 76] .
* Albemarle County
*Charlottesville
* Fluvana County
* Goochland County
* Louisa County
* Hanover County [http://www.co.hanover.va.us/planning/complan/heritage.pdf Hanover County Preservation District Overlaf (PDF)]
* Henrico County
* Charles City County
* James City County
* Williamsburg
* York County
** YorktownReferences
External links
* [http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm Adventure Cycling - TransAmerica Trail]
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