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Health & Fitness

Plymouth Bicyclists Have New Online Map Resource In Time For Spring: Bikeverywhere

Launching in March, Bikeverywhere, a bicyclist community website offering Plymouth, Twin Cities, Minnesota and Upper Midwest riders interactive route planning and printing services.

Plymouth and Twin Cities bicyclists have a new resource, starting late March, when Bikeverywhere launches its interactive map making and printing community site. It is created for the explorer in every rider.

Twin Cities small businessman, Doug Shidell, has taken his lifelong passion for bicycling and turned it into a forty year publishing business, originally named Little Transport Press which specialized in bicycle maps and guide books for the Upper Midwest.  Over the years, Doug’s company has captured this niche market. For example, since 2002, when Doug began tracking his sales, he has sold over 78,000 Twin Cities’ maps. Magers and Quinn, a noted Minneapolis bookstore, told Doug that his maps are consistently their number 3 best seller during the summer, right after the current two most popular novels.  In addition, Doug has worked with local businesses and organizations to promote bicycle commuting and recreational riding.

Now, Doug is transforming Little Transport Press into Bikeverywhere.com, an interactive web site for the Upper Midwest bicycling community.  Bikeverywhere provides riders the ability to create and print their own unique maps with the same high quality data that is found on Doug’s printed materials and much more.

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Bikeverywhere merges information from numerous sources into a mapping application that uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data to accurately position bike friendly streets and roads, points of interest, water fountains and restrooms, and more.  This data is available to users in layers that overlay the base map. Riders use these layers to research an area and to map a route that reflects their interests.  Once a route is mapped the user can save it locally, print and share it.

Bikeverywhere is for the explorer in every rider. Unlike the sites competitive riders use to keep their riding times and such, Bikeverywhere encourages riders to share their photos and route information that others can use in their planning. Bikeverywhere is a shared resource rather than a personal training diary.

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Bikeverywhere offers a community and services that complement bicycle clubs and advocacy organizations.

Bikeverywhere’s interactive site opens in late March, in time to begin planning rides and building a more vibrant bicycling community.  

If you’re interested in learning more about Bikeverywhere here are some links:

Bikeverywhere - http://bikeverywhere.com/home/

Indiegogo funding campaign, video and explanation of the new Bikeverywhere -  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/320424/x/2116975  

Transparency Note:  In 2005 I worked with Doug, as a contractor, assisting him with gathering and verifying data for his Bicycle Vacation Guide. Currently, I am working on Doug’s fundraising project as his video editor and copy writer.

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