A lot of young people are choosing to ride to work rather than drive, Karidis said, and so some employers are using close proximity to Hank Aaron Trail or Oak Leaf Trail as a draw to cycling job-seekers. Karidis added that he met a woman in Glendale recently who is looking to open up a coffee shop on the 120-mile Oak Leaf Trail specifically to cater to the cyclist crowd.

“There’s economic opportunity with this,” he said.

Another big portion of this effort is establishing long-range connections, allowing people to ride to work or brunch or what-have-you in another municipality without having to spend any gas money.

Creating cycling options will create more bikers, Delmagori predicts.

“You can create more opportunities for people to use them. You’re connecting neighborhoods,” Delmagori said.

One of the most effective methods is reclaiming vacated railroads and converting them into bike paths. But even though the land is pretty open for the taking — there are few other uses for ex-railroads — it isn’t particularly cheap.

Pedaling on new paths