The definitive regional bike map has been updated with lots of new routes and a significant price cut.
Metro’s Bike There! map, published since 1982, will release its ninth edition next month in the first update since 2010. There’s a lot to keep up with: the number of mapped bike routes in the Oregon side of the Portland metro area has shot up 71 percent since 2010.
The current bike map shows 675 miles of on-street routes and 234 miles of off-street paths. For the new one, it’ll be 1,008 miles of on-street routes and 550 of off-street.
Also added to the new edition of the map, according to Metro (our regional government): “popular recreational off-road destinations where [users] can enjoy the area’s natural beauty.”
The Bike There! map is respected for being so comprehensive — 56 cities are included — and for its carefully color-coded legend that distinguishes between higher-stress and lower-stress routes.
It’s also waterproof, which is more than you can say for an iPhone.
The other big change to the ninth edition, though, is a sign of the times: the map’s retail price is down from $9 to $6. That surely reflects the number of people who don’t bother with paper maps these days. (A scroll-and-zoom version of the Bike There map is also available free on the web, and it looks great on my own mobile screen.)
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One solemn note: the ninth edition of the map is dedicated to one of the people who made it possible.
Metro staff and Council have dedicated the 9th edition to beloved long-time Metro employee and avid bike rider Mark Bosworth. Mark, a principal geographic information systems analyst, brought his love and knowledge of riding to Bike There! beginning in 1991 and was integral in creating a map that relied heavily on GIS data, but remained practical for all types of bike riders. Mark was last seen in Riddle, Oregon, on September 16, 2011, during Cycle Oregon. His whereabouts are unknown.
The Bosworth family and friends continue Mark’s love of cycling by supporting the Mark Bosworth Fund, which sponsors first-time riders in the week-long Cycle Oregon ride. Scholarship winners are announced each year on Mark’s birthday, April 19, with this year’s winners announced this past Sunday, on what would have been his 58th birthday.
The winners of this year’s Mark Bosworth Fund scholarship to Cycle Oregon are Monique Ybarra, Emily Meagher, and Chris and Jenn Basham. Learn more about them at MarkBosworthFund.org.
The Bike There! map goes on sale May 25 at local retail outlets, bookstores and the many community events this summer where Metro will have a table.