Underground Railroad Bicycle Route

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route is a 2,000-mile bicycle touring route from Mobile, Alabama, to Owen Sound, Ontario. It was developed by Adventure Cycling Association with the Center for Minority Health (now called the Center for Health Equity) at the University of Pittsburgh. The route was built to loosely follow the network of paths that African American slaves used to escape to the northern states and Canada.[1]

Route

The route begins on the shores of the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, where the last ship to bring slaves to the U.S. docked in 1860.[2] Cyclists then follow the Drinking Gourd north, with stops to visit historic Underground Railroad sites like museums and safe houses. Since its development in 2007, the original route has been augmented by spurs to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio, and an alternate route through Detroit, Michigan. The endpoint is Owen Sound, Ontario, “the Underground Railroad’s most northerly safe haven.”[2]

Terrain

The route varies from flat farmlands and rolling hills in Alabama and Mississippi to steep climbs and descents in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.[3] The route is mostly rural aside from the spurs into Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and the alternate route through Detroit.

Areas visited

Historic sites[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Bleyer, Jennifer. "A Bike Trail that Traces the Way to Freedom". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Biking the Freedom Trail". Associated Press. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "UGRR route description". Adventure Cycling Association. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "New Cycling Route Bring Underground Railroad Alive". Adventure Travel News. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "If you go...Underground Railroad Bicycle Route". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
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