Bicycle path through New Albany: The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route.

Did you know that 2007 marks the debut of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route?

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route honors the bravery of those who fled bondage and those who provided shelter. This route passes points of interest and historic sites along a 2,058-mile corridor. Beginning in Mobile, Alabama – a busy port for slavery during the pre-civil war era – the route goes north following rivers through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Waterways, as well as the North Star, were often used by freedom seekers as a guide in their journeys to escape slavery. Upon crossing into Ohio, the route leaves the river to head toward Lake Erie and enters Canada at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, New York. In Ontario, the route follows the shores of Lake Ontario and ends at Owen Sound, a town founded by freedom seekers in 1857. Owen Sound is located on the southern side of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay.

Did you know that the route passes through Corydon, down the Knobs via Corydon Pike, and up Main Street in New Albany in route to Madison and points beyond?

Well, it does. My friend Mr. G is about to take a month to travel the route from New Albany to Ontario, with fully loaded panniers, camping gear, an occasional libation in his belly and a song in his heart. I hope he’ll keep in touch as he peddles northward.

You do remember the significance of the Second Baptist/Town Clock Church on Main Street, right?

If the cycling tourists soon to be rolling through town aren’t unduly enticed by the adult bookstore in Westendia-Coffeyville, perhaps they’ll include the Carnegie Center’s permanent exhibit on their itineraries:

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad in the Indiana and Kentucky Borderland.