Champions Page 6

Photo © Hartford Courant

Connecticut Finally Celebrates the Little Bridge That Could

Posted 04/12/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Champions, Connecticut

Peter Marteka, the hiking and outdoor recreation columnist for the Hartford Courant in central Connecticut, wrote earlier this month about the newly built Andover covered bridge. Marteka is certainly not the only person to have wondered from time to time whether the much-anticipated bridge over what has come to be known as the 'Andover Gap' along the Hop River State Park Trail would ever be complete.

Photo of North Central State Trail © TrailLink.com/David Yates

Michigan Reaps the Dividend of Growing Rail-Trail Network

Posted 04/06/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Case Studies, Champions, Facts and FIgures, Michigan, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) 25th Anniversary celebration last year, we recognized the trail-blazing achievements of Carolyn Kane and the late Fred Meijer, two Michiganders who during the past few decades have made a remarkable contribution to the development of America's rail-trail network.

Photo of the disused Bloomingdale Line © Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail

Chicago Mayor Announces Funding in Place to Begin Building the Bloomingdale Trail

Posted 03/12/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Illinois, State and Federal Programs, Urban Pathways

Though often prefixed by the words "long-awaited," and "delayed," the Bloomingdale Trail project to convert an elevated rail line in Chicago into a multi-use recreational space is moving ahead pretty quickly these days.

Photo © Katherine Jeter

The Cowback Century: 100 Miles Through Georgia and Alabama

Posted 03/03/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Alabama, Champions, Georgia, Health and Active Living, Ohio

For her 70th birthday nearly four years ago, Dr. Katherine Jeter decided to mark the occasion with an extraordinary physical and philanthropic feat: cycle 70 miles in one day on the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Ohio, and raise $70,000 for charity. We ran a story on her challenge in Rails to Trails magazine, and Jeter ended up surpassing her fundraising goal. And even though she'd only picked up cycling in her late 60s, she'd found her pedaling stride.

Photo © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy/Scott Stark

Ed McBrayer's Passion for Biking Shaped a Better Trails Landscape In Georgia

Posted 02/17/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, Georgia, Private Fundraising, State and Federal Programs

At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) 25th Anniversary celebration in October, we honored a group of men and women--the inaugural Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions--who have made a remarkable contribution to the rail-trail movement during the past quarter century. We will be posting a blog story on each of the honorees during the coming weeks. Today we recognize Ed McBrayer, a concerned citizen who went on to become one of Georgia's most effective advocates for bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

A Tough Year for the Wobler Family

Posted 01/10/12 by Jake Lynch in Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, Indiana, Local Organizing

After losing his wife to breast cancer, Gary Wobler is now planning the first-ever Pedal 4 Pink, a day-long event of bike races, family games and auctions, to be held in and around the city of Carmel. He envisions the event to be "like the [Susan G.] Komen walk for cancer research, but for cyclists and rollerbladers."