January 19, 2007

Adventure Cycling Association Honors Bicycle Travel Award Winners

Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association, America's largest cycling organization, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2006 Pacesetter, Bike Shop, and Trail Angel awards.

"Adventure Cycling's national awards program recognizes the 'above and beyond' contributions made by individuals and organizations in America to improve conditions for bicycle travelers," said outreach and education coordinator Becky Douglas. "These awards are celebrated across the bike industry, amongst cycling groups, and within local communities."

The first annual Pacesetter Bicycle Travel Award has been presented to the Allegheny Trail Alliance, under the leadership of Linda McKenna Boxx, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, for contributing to the success of bicycle travel across the U.S. through extraordinary efforts. The Allegheny Trail Alliance is a coalition of seven rails-to-trails organizations building the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile biking and hiking trail connecting Cumberland, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a 52-mile branch to the Pittsburgh International Airport. The Great Allegheny Passage offers unparalleled opportunities for safe 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 2006 Sam Braxton Bike Shop Award goes to Wheelworks in Belmont and Somerville, Massachusetts, for their support of active lifestyles. Wheelworks' staff patiently and proficiently guides customers through the processes of gearing up, fitting bikes, and choosing routes. As John Allis, a member of Adventure Cycling proclaimed in his nomination, "Wheelworks helped us prepare for our first long-distance ride. I think they tried eight saddles on my wife's bike while supposedly just adjusting her pedals." Wheelworks' staff is committed to getting more people excited about bike travel and goes to incredible lengths to achieve just that.

The 2006 June Curry Trail Angel Award goes to Gillian Hoggard from Ordway, Colorado. The term "Trail Angel" refers to a generous individual or group encountered during a bicycle tour that makes the traveling bicyclist's journey easier, or in some cases even possible, by helping the adventurer simply as a form of goodwill. Gillian provides free lodging to bicyclists along Adventure Cycling's TransAmerica Bicycle Route and is also active and sincere in encouraging her community to be welcoming and helpful to touring cyclists. Gillian has been a world adventurer herself—she bicycled around Europe on a three-speed with her three-year old wheeling behind her for 1500 miles—so she understands the mindset of her guests. Her generosity is a gift on the trail.

Adventure Cycling Association, a 501(c)(3), 43,000-member nonprofit, is America's largest cycling organization. Dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to travel by bicycle, Adventure Cycling's services include bicycle-route development and mapping, periodical publishing (Adventure Cyclist magazine and The Cyclists' Yellow Pages resource directory, to name a few), and a guided bicycle travel program. Adventure Cycling's National Bicycle Route Network comprises 34,926 miles of mapped, on- and off-road bicycle routes. For more information, visit www.adventurecycling.org.

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