Route 66 in the News
Route 66 Bike Trail to Open
2007-05-11 06:44:26
LINCOLN, Ill. - Bicyclists and other “trail breakers” will travel the entire 369 miles of Illinois’s new Route 66 Trail June 2 during the bike route’s debut event.
According to the League of Illinois Bicyclists’ Web site, the event will highlight bike tourism on the Route 66 Trail, while giving a boost for road and trail improvements along the way.
“We are encouraging people to sign up,” said Logan County tourism director Geoff Ladd.
Anyone who signs up will receive a free T-shirt.
Ladd said the tourism bureau is planning with the Lincoln-Logan Chamber of Commerce to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Scully Park that day.
“Local dignitaries will cut the ribbon and ride,” he said.
In Lincoln, cyclists will congregate at Scully Park at 8 a.m., then head north to Atlanta or south to Elkhart.
“People don’t have to ride the entire route,” said John Sutton. “Maybe they’ll just ride to the park district, or to Lawndale. Or from Lawndale to Atlanta or from Atlanta to McLean. The road between Atlanta and McLean is pretty flat.”
Sutton is an alternate representative for the central region of The Route 66 Trail. Phil Mahler is the representative.
A reception or rest stop is planned for cyclists at 9 a.m. June 2 in Atlanta and Elkhart.
Participants across the state will ride one of 14 legs of the Route 66 Trail simultaneously, covering the entire distance of the route. They will converge in six different Route 66 towns, where ceremonies will be held at noon in Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Joliet, Staunton, Pontiac and Edwardsville.
People can register for the event at www.bikelib.org/route66/event20070602.htm.
Ladd said the new trail doesn’t always follow Route 66, as when the route turns into interstate or has heavy traffic.
“It parallels Route 66 through alternate roads that are less traveled,” Ladd said. “One challenge in Lincoln is where Old 66 crosses the Salt Creek Bridge.
“We will route riders around that via Primm Road and then west to Broadwell.”
Sutton said last week about 40 people had registered for the ride.
He has been working toward a bicycle trail in Logan County since he and Burt Rawlings, a former bicycle shop owner, got involved in the effort in 1999.
At that point, the men were hoping for an asphalt trail running through the county similar to Constitution Trail in McLean County.
“That’s taken a back seat to getting a state-wide trail going,” Sutton said. “There’s only limited funding. They are putting grants out, but they tend to go to the Chicago area.
“We don’t even have a Logan County Bicycle Club.”
Maps with various segments of the Route 66 Trail can be downloaded at the League of Illinois Bicyclists Web site. Brochures will also be available at the Information Station, 1555 Fifth St.
The Route 66 trail breaking was organized by the League of Illinois Bicyclists, the Route 66 Trail Executive Council, the Illinois Department of Natural resources and volunteers.
~Nancy Rollings Saul, LincolnCourier.com
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