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From CBS News:
At first glance, everything seems out of place on the map of a new interstate road system taking shape across the nation.
Interstate 95 runs down the stunning sweep of the Pacific Coast, not the congested blandness of the Eastern Seaboard. Route 1 meanders along country roads, not strip malls. And you’ll get your kicks on Route 76.
Mapmakers gone wild? Not quite.
State officials and bicycle enthusiasts are stitching together more than 50,000 miles of pedal-friendly pavement to form a vast network of bicycle routes connecting byways, cities and offroad trails in a system like the one created for cars and trucks over half a century ago.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, working with the Adventure Cycling Association and other groups, recently approved a plan, four years in the making, that lays the foundation for the network. Now it’s up to each state to create the routes and put up signs.
“It’s a big turning point,” said Jim Sayer, executive director of the Adventure Cycling group, the authority on transcontinental bike travel.
