Topography & Bikes - 1984 Boston Bike Map

This was originally posted on June 17th 2011, but later removed due an organization realizing they did not hold the proper right to grant MapLib Blog permission to use the full 1984 Boston Bike Map.
The complete map is available in our paper map collection: (G3764 .B6 E63 25 1984

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One of the perks of being staff at the Map and Data Library is that sorting though the paper map collection is part of the job. It's difficult to not get distracted by some of the fascinating and beautiful maps tucked into the stacks of flat files.

Having a passion for bikes, I've leafed through all the related maps and this 1984 Boston bike map is one of my favorites. (A strong contender is the 1896 Portland Bicycle Road Map) The first edition was published in 1978 and was a collaborative production between local bike coalitions, riding groups, environmental organizations, urban design groups and cyclists.
Since 1994, Rubel Bikemaps has been releasing updated and improved editions of the map with the most recent being the 2007 9th edition. The maps are primarily for sale in bike related business around Boston, but also via their site and additionally on MassBike.

The design is splendid and the contour lines make it unique in our small collection of bike maps. Including 10foot intervals lines adds a deeper layer of information to the map - and it looks just dashing.