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What The EXPLORE Act Has In Store For Adventure Cyclists

What The EXPLORE Act Has In Store For Adventure Cyclists

Utah’s Bonneville Shoreline Trail / Photo by Eric Acre for IMBA When President Biden signed the EXPLORE Act into law, adventure cyclists across the country…

Wednesday, Jan 29

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Utah’s Bonneville Shoreline Trail / Photo by Eric Acre for IMBA When President Biden signed the EXPLORE Act into law, adventure cyclists across the country also celebrated the passage of the Biking on Long-Distance Trails Act, a piece of legislation that was included as part of the massive public lands omnibus bill.

The BOLT Act was passed as a standalone bill by both the House and the Senate last year, but failed to move to the president’s desk before the end of the Congressional term. Supporters worked to include it in the EXPLORE Act, which finally push the BOLT Act over the line and into law.

The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) initially proposed the creation of federally funded long-distance bike trails in 2018, according to Eleanor Blick, Director of Communications at IMBA. The bill was first introduced in Congress by Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in 2021.

“In New Mexico and across America, there are millions of acres of federal lands that have gone untapped for responsible outdoor recreation use,” said Senator Lujan in a statement back in 2021. “This bipartisan legislation will make bike trails more accessible and safer across America and will provide a much-needed boost to the growing outdoor recreation economy.”

The BOLT Act is basically a big tip of the cap from the federal government to the mountain biking community. An acknowledgment that adventure biking has grown to the point of assuming a place alongside traditional, and often federally protected, activities like hiking, climbing, […]

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