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| A bike along a rural Kansas road during the Trans Am Race. Photo courtesy: Gert Van Kerkhove |
Cycling is more than just a sport in the U.S. According to the Adventure Cycling Association, it is one of the fastest growing types of outdoor recreation and tourism activities nationwide.
With an estimated 48 million people bicycling recreationally per year in the U.S., cycling contributes $96.7 billion per year to the economy, improves health, increases health-related savings, decreases traffic congestion and improves environmental health.
Many touring cyclists travel through Kansas each year via U.S. Bicycle Route 76 (USBR 76) also known at the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, one of the most well-known and most popular cross country bicycle routes. This 4,223-mile route from Astoria, Ore., to Yorktown, Va., meanders across the Kansas plains from just west of Tribune on K-96 at the Colorado state line to just east of Pittsburg on K-126 at the Missouri state line.
In addition to USBR 76, cycling tourists can often be found on Route 66, the Flint Hills and Prairie Spirit rails and many other non-interstate roads and highways in Kansas. Touring cyclists often choose low-traffic, scenic roads through less traveled areas because these roads and rural communities are easier to travel, offer local services and the opportunity to meet local residents.
Cyclists tend to travel slower, linger longer and enjoy a community or area for several days, often spending 40 percent more in a community than motorists or other tourists.
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, bike tourism accounts for an estimated $83 billion in trip-related spending in the U.S each year.
Cycling tourists who come through Kansas are from across the U.S., but are also from countries like Germany, Belgium, Italy and Australia. Wherever they are from, they bring the world to rural communities while choosing to see the U.S., “at their own pace and with their own eyes and not through the windshield,” as one German cyclist put it.
As you travel this summer, remember that cyclists are motorists too. Be sure to share the road. Take a second look and follow the Kansas three-foot law requiring motorists to give cyclists at least three feet of space at all times and only pass when safe to do so.
