Inbdyfabz, I take your points, and didn't mean to make it sound like I was denigrating how you went about your cycle touring.

The points you make apart from the video go right to the heart of the issues.

The simple fact of the matter 8s that touring cyclists generally want to go the same places as people who take other modes of transport. Otherwise, there would be a large numbers of them wandering aimlessly through the Prairies. That means they often was a route that is almost as direct, if not as direct, as those taken by their car-driving cousins, they want to be safe about it, and they don't want to end up miles away from a destination because someone has confused cycle tourism with recreational riding.

If communities are serious about attracting cyclists, they need to go back to the fundamentals -- provide facilities that improve cycling amenity, such as good quality, swept shoulders; adequate, consistent and meaningful signage for bike routes when needed (such as leading riders on to quieter roads that parallel major highways); having adequate bike parking within town and city commercial districts; identifying where bike shops are; and so on.

Quite often, these things can be developed for little additional cost in parallel with other tourist facilities and promotions.

One of the best networks I have seen is the Oeverland Route in the Netherlands for its consistent signage and quality of the various paths. However, it still had its flaws, including missing signage (lack of maintenance) and the fact that the routes had longish distances between towns that could be considered refuelling stops or accommodation points.

Another really good route was through the Flanders battle fields of World War One. An indication of how seriously the local bike community takes it responsibility there is that we met a couple pulling a trailer with their child checking the route for signage and other issues. They were volunteers, were having a great day out, and were keen to ensure visitors enjoyed their time there.

Of course, that does raise the salient point of just how involved in cycle tourism do locals want to get.

Another area of cycle tourism that irritates me a little are the big charity or annual challenge rides. There is one here that is conducted by a bicycle organisation, and its prime aim annually is to raise money for that organisation. It attracts up to 8000 riders, and they move from town to town after 60 to 80km of riding each day.

Now you'd think that would be of great commercial benefit to the towns involved. Well, if you own a pub, maybe. But the food is brought in from outside, not sourced locally, the staffing is almost entirely brought in with a few local token volunteers, and the accommodation comprises tents on local sports grounds with a minor donation to the club for its trouble.

The hidden cost is in the clean-up afterwards by the local council, and the inconvenience to locals who then take their frustrations out on cyclists like me for the rest of the year.

Perhaps the intention of these types of events is to encourage cyclists to come back and ride the region again... but the majority simply don't.

I contrast all this with a major motor sport event I was involved in for classic, vintage and veteran cars. The man behind the event was insistent on ensuring the communities go their money's worth from the event, with local service clubs doing the catering for morning, lunch and afternoon stops, and competitors and their crews staying in hotel/motel/cabin accommodation, and gas stations getting their big share of business. There was heavy promotion of each area in the media, and it got to a point where communities were very anxious if they thought the route was going to be taken away from them.

The hidden benefit was that drivers and their families often did return to re-drive the roads at some later date because they enjoyed them so much.

The figures are a bit dated now because my involvement was 20 years ago, but the state government helped support the event to the tune of around $500,000 a year in cash and kind, and the return on that investment was estimated at $20 million to local businesses and in national and international tourism promotion.

Then,of course, the classic example of a huge cycle tourism event is the Tour de France. Now that is what all other cycle tourism events should be measured by in terms of cost-benefit ratios.

Oops. Rambling again But I hope you get my point(s) that unless there is a serious long-term commitment to create that "state of mind" Caretaker refers to, cycling advocats are just peeing in the wind.