Originally Posted by
Roody
Look into the Rails to Trails movement in the USA. Several state-wide systems of bike trails are being developed on old railroad beds. In time, campgrounds and other accommodations are established along some of these trails.
http://www.railstotrails.org/index.html
and, like others have said, check out the Touring sub forum.
(I bet a lot of those cool little campgrounds in Europe were built by the government. Not likely to happen here, where people are ideologically opposed to any government spending that doesn't directly benefit themselves.)
There's no point arguing for government to fund things considering the widespread opposition. The question is how to use private/legal methods to acquire property and create the kind of facilities desired. The only thing that government should do is to ensure that there are safe and efficient cycling routes between destinations. This can be dedicated roads or bike lanes on existing roads, but if it is possible to freely cycle from place to place, then private initiatives to provide amenities should emerge along the routes. Maybe people could propose such businesses and make them available for public investment in small businesses. I have seen some websites that solicits such small-scale funding by allowing people to post initiatives. The trick would be to come up with a plan and budget that would be affordable for people at any income level to invest in. Since simple facilities with little paving and volunteer/user maintenance would keep costs low, the issue would just be to find affordable land parcels in favorable locations.