November 28, 2006

Adventure Cycling honors Alliance for its Inaugural Pacesetter Bicycle Travel Award

Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association, America's largest cycling organization, is pleased to announce the winner of its inaugural Pacesetter of the Year Award.

"The first annual Pacesetter Bicycle Travel Award has been earned by the Allegheny Trail Alliance under the leadership of Linda McKenna Boxx,” said outreach and education coordinator Becky Douglas. “We are thrilled to be able to acknowledge the Allegheny Trail Alliance for their part in the creation of a national American treasure – the Great Allegheny Passage.”

Recognizing that Americans need safe and beautiful places to ride their bicycles, the Allegheny Trail Alliance has helped coordinate the creation of a showcase recreation corridor used by hundreds of thousands of people a year. The Great Allegheny Passage offers unparalleled opportunities for bicycle travel, recreation, and commuting and is making positive economic impact along its route. The Alliance’s community-building efforts and multi-tiered partnerships are a national model for other groups working to connect communities through recreational trails.

The Allegheny Trail Alliance is a coalition of seven, primarily-volunteer, trail-building organizations in Southwestern Pennsylvania and Western Maryland working for the construction, maintenance, and use of the Great Allegheny Passage. The 150-mile, traffic-free multi-purpose trail runs between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cumberland, Maryland, where it joins the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath to form a continuous, nearly traffic-free 335-mile touring route to Washington, D.C.

Adventure Cycling’s Pacesetter of the Year Award will be presented to the Allegheny Trail Alliance in a special ceremony at the Pittsburgh REI store on Thursday, December 14th at 7 pm. The store is located at 412 S. 27th Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. John Schubert, Adventure Cyclist magazine's technical editor, will be the Master of Ceremony for the event.

The national Pacesetter of the Year Award recognizes and applauds the efforts of those who have contributed to the success of bicycle travel across the U.S. through extraordinary efforts. There is only one winner selected from many entries each year.