This article is the twenty-third in a series profiling the varied and amazing nominees for the 2009 Alice B. Toeclips Awards, which will be presented to five winners at the Alice Awards & Auction on March 7th. We won't be able to profile everyone, so read the nominees' descriptions online. This profile was written by BTA correspondent John McLaren.

Clackamas County has completed its first bike map in 14 years. It is packed with graphics and information to help cyclists negotiate the 1,879 square mile county, and its creators have been nominated for an Alice Award.

The full-color, water-resistant map shows the entire county on one side and the urban areas of the county on the other. The map is designed to help bicyclists pick the best routes, whether for work or recreation.

Among other things, the map shows:

–Bike lanes, paved multi-use roads and planned multi-use paths
–Roadways, rated on their suitability for bicycles to share with vehicles – most suitable, moderately suitable, less suitable and difficult._
–Hard-surfaced roads and gravel roads in Mt. Hood National Forest
–Single-track and double-track mountain bike trails

It also highlights 10 suggested recreational bike rides in both the urban and rural portions of the county, from seven to 73 miles long, from relatively flat farmland to challenging climbs. Each recommended ride has its own map, ride summary, elevation profile and points of interest. Phone numbers for biking organizations, safety tips and a list of bike shops in the county are included in the map.

The Bike It! map is available for $5. It can be purchased at the Planning Division office located at 150 Beavercreek Road in the Development Services Building in Oregon City (or request one by email), and is being marketed through county publications, bike shops, and outdoor recreation stores. The money raised will go toward updating the map.

The Clackamas County Tourism Department and the County Business and Community Services Department contributed to the map’s design and production. The process of creating the map also included volunteers biking trails and roads and reporting on the quality of the terrain.

Three county employees took the lead in researching routes, detailing paths and design of the Bike It! map: Scott Hoelscher and Lori Mastrantonio in the Planning division; and Jim Lugosi in the Geographical Information Systems division. They worked closely with a group of citizens serving on the County Pedestrian/Bikeway Advisory Committee who assisted in the inventory work and map elements including road data/classification system and bike route data .

The county paid for the map with a $35,000 grant from Metro, the regional government. Financial assistance was also provided by the Clackamas Regional Center Transportation Management Association (CRC-TMA), Kaiser Permanente, Clackamas County Tourism and Cultural Affairs and others.

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