Posts by Maureen Hannan

Illinois Wheelchair Bike Program Restores Health, Happiness One Ride at a Time

Posted 11/07/16 by Maureen Hannan in Health and Wellness, Trail Use | Tagged with Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Illinois

Barbara Brown, founder of Healing Rides, with her mother on the Constitution Trail in Illinois | Photo courtesy Barbara Brown

On a summery Saturday morning, 23-year-old T.J. sets out to ride a stretch of trail in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois. As he gathers speed on the canopied straightaways of the Constitution Trail, he shouts for joy and races the other riders. T.J. rides as a passenger in a wheelchair bike. He’s a participant in a community-based program called Healing Rides, which pairs disabled or elderly “guests” with trained volunteer “pedalers.”

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Inaugural September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance ride, Liberty State Park, Sept. 10, 2015 | Photo by Gail Zavian

Trail of Tributes: September 11 Memorial Trail Honors America's Fallen Heroes

Posted 09/08/16 by Maureen Hannan in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Featured Magazine Articles, Trail Destinations

Fifteen years after the 9/11 tragedy, the September 11th National Memorial Trail provides a reflective journey of pilgrimage and remembrance, nation-building and resilience in America. Read about the route, which links three national memorials honoring America's fallen heroes and first responders.

Artist Lorraine Vullo's labyrinth memorial at the Historic Homestead Pump House in Pennsylvania | Photo courtesy Kordite | CC by 2.0

10 Amazing Things on the 2016 Pennsylvania Sojourn

Posted 03/16/16 by Maureen Hannan in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Encouraging Trail Use, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

RTC’s 2016 Pennsylvania Rail-Trail Sojourn will be a breathtaking 110-mile bike trip westward along the historic Great Allegheny Passage. Celebrate Mother’s Day weekend with a three-day bike ride through scenic woods and rushing waterfalls, lofty trestles and surreal tunnels, wide rivers and old coal towns! It's going to be amazing.

Photo by Jason Barnette - Southeastern Traveler/Courtesy Abingdon Convention and Visitors Bureau

Appalachian Engine: The Virginia Creeper Trail Keeps Bringing Visitors Back

Posted 05/15/15 by Maureen Hannan in America's Trails | Tagged with Featured Magazine Articles, Trail Destinations, Virginia

Though it may feel antique to the families who return year after year, the Virginia Creeper Trail is a fairly recent development—and one that almost didn’t happen. The trail is a beloved regional asset and economic boon that once ignited fierce opposition from neighboring landowners. A relic of the railroad age, it came within a pen stroke of simply vanishing into the forest.