Success Stories Page 5

No Excuses! How a Tenacious 66-Year-Old Achieved His 5,458-Mile Cycling Goal

Posted 02/23/15 by David Ira Kagan in Success Stories | Tagged with Health and Active Living, Pennsylvania, Success Stories

David Ira Kagan immediately after achieving his 2014 goal of riding 5,458 miles | Photo courtesy David Ira Kagan

For some of us, the cold reality of winter is enough to stop us in our tracks…curtailing our grand plans to get out on the trail and be more physically active. But not so for Kagan, who, despite numerous health issues and some sporadic East Coast weather—managed to achieve his 2014 biking goal of 5,458 miles.

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Photo courtesy Girls in Gear

Bike-Savvy Middle Schoolers Help Reclaim—and Redesign—Columbus Streets

Posted 02/03/15 by Katie Harris in Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Biking, Ohio, Schools and Young People, Young Champions

A formidable group of young women travels the streets of Columbus. Helmet clad, they roll through town on their bikes, searching for sidewalks and bike lanes and assessing street lighting. They know the names of the city council members who represent them, and you may find them behind a microphone at a town hall meeting advocating for the local bicycling movement. They also help cyclists themselves; they can fix a flat bike tire without giving it a second thought. They are an impressive group. Oh, and they’re in middle school!

A Black Women Bike DC/Kidical Cupcake Ride | Photo courtesy Randall Myers

Yes, Black Women Bike!

Posted 02/03/15 by Katie Harris in Success Stories | Tagged with Biking, District Of Columbia, Success Stories

It was a simple exclamation from a young girl that set Veronica Davis’ wheels in motion to found one of the District of Columbia’s most vibrant female bike clubs. As she rode through her southeast Washington, D.C., neighborhood on a summer afternoon in 2011, she watched this girl tug her mother’s sleeve and yell, “Look, mommy! Look at that black lady on a bike!”

The Bella Donnas | Photo CC Jillian Imilkowski

Ride, Women, Ride

Posted 01/09/15 by Katie Harris in Success Stories | Tagged with Biking, Success Stories, Wisconsin

When Carmen Berte met The Bella Donnas, Milwaukee’s self-described “premier all-girl, noncompetitive, mentoring and motivational cycling group,” in 2008, she wasn’t sure it was the right place for her. Her hesitation didn’t last long.

Photo by Leo Boudreau

RTC's Year in Review: Highlights from 2014

Posted 12/10/14 by Katie Harris in Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Success Stories

2014 was quite a year for RTC and the rail-trail movement. We saw our fair share of challenges, and we saw our work bear fruit, as projects we fought for came to fruition, and our collaborative energies helped make possible some amazing milestones for trail initiatives across the country. For a little year-end inspiration, here are 10 highlights:

Ruby Falls | Photo by Kelly Winstrom

Stewards of Lookout Mountain: Preserving a Tennessee Legacy

Posted 12/08/14 by Katie Harris in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Cross-Sector Collaboration, Ecology and Environment, Tennessee

A unique partnership is being forged on a Tennessee mountain, both above and below ground. The Lookout Mountain Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust based just outside of Chattanooga, and Ruby Falls, a commercial business, are teaming up to celebrate and preserve the natural area they both call home.

Photo courtesy Freewheelin' Community Bikes (FWCB)

Positive Peer Pressure: Indy Earn-a-Bike Program Teaches Bike (and Life) Skills

Posted 11/18/14 by Katie Harris in Success Stories | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Indiana, Schools and Young People

Freewheelin' Community Bikes is a nonprofit ​ ​that uses bicycles to “bring out the best in people and their community.” It’s eight weeks of commitment for kids ages 10 to 16, with a big pay off at the other end: a set of wheels, and the knowledge and confidence that comes from knowing how to repair a bicycle.

Photo © Streetsblog USA

An Engineering Wonder, a Bike Commuter’s Dream: The Cal Park Hill Tunnel

Posted 08/12/14 by Katie Harris in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Design Strategies, Products of Good Policy, State and Federal Programs

Christina Toms’ commute is the definition of multi-modal. From her front door in Fairfax, Calif., she hops on her bike and cruises down to the Larkspur ferry terminal. From there, she catches the ferry that brings her across the bay to the city of San Francisco. That commute is possible in large part to the Cal Park Hill Tunnel, an engineering triumph that makes the vital connection between San Rafael and Larkspur in Marin County, Calif.

Photos © Rick Pruetz

The Profitable Tail of the Silver Comet Trail

Posted 05/07/14 by Rick Pruetz in America's Trails, Trail Use, Success Stories | Tagged with Case Studies, Facts and FIgures, Georgia, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses

A 2013 study by the Northwest Georgia Regional Planning Commission recommends more than doubling the length of the Silver Comet Trail —at its “tail” end—with spurs to nearby commercial centers and longer extensions to Marietta, Rome and Atlanta’s growing bike-path network.