October 30, 2025
by Tom Ewing
A recent blog post by the Virginia Bicycling Federation lists several ways that cycling tourism benefits communities: bringing tourists to small towns, boosting outdoor recreational tourism, offering a sustainable travel option, connecting people to history, and attracting events and visitors to bicycle-friendly communities.
The organizers of the Bikecentennial shared many of these same objectives as they planned the route and the trips leading up to 1976. These goals were echoed and amplified in newspapers covering these plans. On April 25, 1976, for example, the Boston Globe encouraged the “adventurous but budget-minded young traveler” to consider “a sub-festival called Bikecentennial ‘76,” which was intended to “introduce Americans to the delights of long distance bike touring and unveil our new Trans-America Bicycle Trail — longest recreational bike trail in the world.” According to organizer Daniel Burden, as reported in the Boston Globe, the Bikecentennial is “a trek back into the history of the nation,” as the route in many cases follows “old highways that have been supplanted by interstates.” A drawing of a cyclist, wearing sunglasses and no helmet, with fully loaded bags, reinforced this message of youthful adventure for those willing to plan their summer adventures around cycling.
These same goals of encouraging bicycle-travel, welcoming cyclists, and connecting to history are central to the PEDAL initiative of the Bike 76 VA project, which offers funding to museums, historical societies, and local governments along the route to create public exhibitions, displays, art, and logos. Guidelines and deadlines are available from the project website: https://bike76-va.vt.domains/home/pedal-call-for-proposals/
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