Why "Legend"?
Cycling maps are an important bridge between the rider and the roads with which we may or may not be familiar. Cycling maps are different from regular road maps in that the roads we find most useful and comfortable as cyclists are not the same roads we gravitate to in our cars. On a "road" map, the highways are the boldest lines. Cycling maps highlight the bike paths and lanes of our world; and where there are no such thing, the quiet country roads become the boldest lines. The highway all but disappears.
The Lay o'the Land cycling maps are in!The Legend is that part of the map that explains the language of the mapmaker. By describing places and terrain with symbols, the conversation between the map and the reader is simplified and more accessible.
It speaks to our experience in transit by bicycle. The process is important. In a car, we are rarely interested in anything besides getting from A to B. We roll up the windows, we turn up the music, and we head for the on ramp. We sit in traffic and make phone calls. We learn nothing about the world we are passing through. It is something to be avoided.
On a bicycle we are exposed to the world in which we live, work and play. We see our neighbors and say hello. We hear bits of conversations and smell food cooking. As we roll through neighborhoods we realize that there are no walls between the East Side and the South End; there are no curtains between Downtown and Olneyville. We are a city of citizens and the roads are where we come together. A Cycling map can help you find your way.
Legend Bicycle is the home office of Lay o' theLand, a series of local cycling maps that cover the greater Providence area and have appeared in recent issues of The Agenda, a local free “sporadical”. Lay o' the Land has recently published A Wayfinding Guide for the Urban Cyclist. This Providence-centered cycling map covers the area inside interstate 295 to the west and the Massachusetts border to the east and highlights "useful cycling roads" in addition to the dedicated bike paths and striped lanes of our beautiful and diverse city. Maps are available exclusively at Legend Bicycle for $5 or included free with every new bike purchase.
Also available at Legend are Rubel Maps. These are cycling specific road maps covering five regions of Massachusetts and one focused on Boston. Maps currently in stock at Legend are the Eastern Massachussetts and Boston.
Legend is also a dealer in local road and off road maps published by Great Swamp Press. These beautiful maps by Cliff VanOver cover the following areas:
Arcadia Management Area
Big River Management Area
Burlingame Management Area
Patchaug State Forest
Long and El Ponds
South County (Roads)