It is obvious from the rapidly worsening damage to human health and the environment from automobile emissions, that prompt action must be taken to encourage non-polluting forms of transportation. Bicycles are an obvious means of efficient, non-polluting local transportation. There is an urgent need for a safe, efficient, economical, non-disruptive bicycle transportation system in view of the inability of current transportation systems to meet the needs of the citizenry. Additionally, since bicycling is an excellent form of exercise, such bicycle track would serve dual purposes in improving the health of the users and relieving the clogged highways, particularly in the urban and city areas.
Bicycle paths to date have been little more than earthen paths running along the side of the highways. As an improvement within that art, macadam bicycle paths of the paved type have been attempted. However, to lay such bicycle paths conforming to the standards published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, one-way bicycle paths 1.5 m wide require heavy construction equipment to rough out the path, the necessity of an adequate stone or other subsurface base for the macadam overlay and some type of banking at the turns. Such macadam bicycle paths are expensive, permanent and aesthetically unpleasing.
Unfortunately, the existing transportation networks in many parts of the world are not designed for safe or efficient use of bicycles. In the cities, the streets are clogged with automobiles, trucks, motorcycles and the like. In the suburban and country areas, the speeds of the automobiles travelling the roadways are a constant threat to the bicyclists who now use the edges of the highways. Thus, there is an urgent need for a bicycle transportation system which is safe and efficient to ride, easy and economical to install and does not cause disruption to existing natural or manmade terrain features.
There has been little patent activity in the building of prefabricated multi-component tracks or paths capable of or specifically defined for bicycle transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,982 is directed to a bicycle path transport system consisting essentially of laterally spaced parallel rails having grooves on facing sides within which are positioned a plurality of end-to-end runners. The runners, which are of flexible sheet material, are provided with drain holes to drain off rain water or the like accumulating within the transport system rail and runner structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,601 is directed to a structure attachable to the rear of a bicycle for preventing an overtaking bicycle from riding up onto a lead bicycle riding along a track system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,593 is directed to a roller skating rink, particularly for use by skateboarding enthusiasts, with the rink having a length of approximately 250 feet and a width of less than half of that. Such structure may be prefabricated and set up on site. The roller skating rink is particularly directed to a generally FIG. 8 shaped track having portions which are raised relative to the others at crossing points.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,445,083 is directed to a ceramic tile having an anti-slipping or abrasive surface in the form of abrasive granules embedded in the outer face or tread portion of the tile.
While these patents tend to show some interest in the creation of a fabricated, or a prefabricated sectional bicycle path transport system, they do not appear to treat the needs of the populace, which involves the construction of a bicycle path, treating aspects of cycler safety, easy and quick installation, ready application to various terrain surfaces without the need for excavation and presurface treatment.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved bicycle track having a degree of self-guidance for the bicycles traversing the same, with the track configuration and structural makeup enhancing the safety and cycling efficiency of the bicycle riders, which bicycle track can be prefabricated sectionally, quickly installed and removed as needed, which provides a smooth surface for the bicycle wheels, which has excellent traction, which eliminates excavation, soil compaction, rutting and erosion common to unimproved trails, which can be suspended for passage across small gullies, streams and ground irregularities, which is not subject to heaving or cracking due to frost or growth of tree roots, and which permits passing of bicycles travelling in the same direction and ease in entry and exiting of bicycles from the track at various locations.