Montour, Panhandle touted as key segments of Great American Rail-Trail
Montour, Panhandle touted as key segments of cross-country Great American Rail-Trail
Rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of the 20 or so bicyclists who pedalled along the Montour and Panhandle trails Tuesday during the first leg of a more than 200-mile trip this week to raise awareness for the cross-country Great American Rail-Trail project.
The group held a ceremonial send-off at Point State Park in Pittsburgh at the western terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage before traveling by van with their bicycles in tow to Coraopolis to officially begin their journey at mile-marker 0 of the Montour Trail.
The three-day trip from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio, is designed to highlight the Great American Rail-Trail project launched in 2019 that the organizers hope will one day offer a continuous patchwork of trails from Washington, D.C., to the state of Washington.
This was the fifth year that the Rails to Trails Conservancy, which is trying to connect the cross-country trail, has put on such a ride after previously focusing on other segments in Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois and near Seattle. This year, RTC partnered with BikePGH and Friends of the Riverfront to tout the success of the Montour and Panhandle trails, while also highlighting the need to complete a nearly 10-mile gap between Pittsburgh and Coraopolis where bicyclists must share the road with motor vehicles.
Kevin Belle of Silver Spring, Md., who is the project director of the Great American Rail-Trail initiative, was impressed by the condition and beauty of the Montour and Panhandle trails that weave through Allegheny and Washington counties and bisect near McDonald.
“It’s perfect. The trail is in great shape. We’re so lucky to have them,” Belle said of the ride so far.
The annual ride invites elected officials, non-profits’ leaders, journalists and bike enthusiasts to raise awareness about the cross-country initiative and work to “fill the gaps” where the trails are not yet connected. The trail currently connects across 3,700 miles and is more than 55% complete, according to RTC.
“We know (policymakers) make better decisions when we talk about it and they experience it,” Belle said.
The decision to start in Coraopolis at the beginning of the Montour Trail was a “real honor” to Julian Wolfe, who is board president of the Montour Trail Council.
“It’s a real privilege to kick off their ride,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said the ride is designed to “highlight both the success and the gaps” of the trail system and explain how elected officials, non-profits, philanthropic organizations and private industries can work together to raise money and acquire right-of-ways for new trails.
“It shows off what we’ve accomplished and what still needs to be done,” Wolfe said. “You have to bring all of these people together. And as we were talking about on the trail, you need patience.”
The Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath trails already offer an uninterrupted 330-mile ride from the nation’s capital to Pittsburgh, while the Montour and Panhandle trails currently connect riders from Coraopolis to Weirton, W.Va. All are integral parts of the Great American Rail-Trail system in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
And there was no better example of the early success of the Great American Rail-Trail initiative than Steve and Sharon Milliman, who were visiting from Sebastian, Fla., and riding along the Panhandle Trail when they stopped for a break in Midway. The couple was staying overnight in Burgettstown and cycling on the paved bike trail through Washington County as they headed west along various trails on their way to Indiana.
“We do rails-to-trails wherever we go,” Steve Milliman said.
“This is beautiful,” Sharon Milliman added.
They were aware of the Great American Rail-Trail – having read a book about the project – and they were excited to learn they were biking just a couple of miles ahead of a group promoting it during this year’s ride.
“It’s nice to have the connecting trails so you don’t have to go on the road,” Sharon said.
That was welcome news to Belle as he and the Rails to Trails Conservancy is working to make more people aware of the initiative and the need to finish the connections between trails all over the country.
“I am not surprised to learn people are doing these long rides on the Great American Rail-Trail,” Belle said. “We have people from around the world on these trips.”
After a pizza lunch at Paradise on the Trail inside the old Burgettstown train station, Belle’s group of bicyclists continued on the Panhandle Trail traveling through the northern panhandle of West Virginia before staying overnight near Steubenville, Ohio. They planned to continue their ride through Ohio today before arriving in Columbus on Thursday night.
For more information about the Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Great American Rail-Trail project, go online to www.railstotrails.org/site/greatamericanrailtrail.