2003 Year in Review

GITAP Riders Coming to Rockwood State Park

Friends of the Parks Welcomes GITAP bicycle riders to Rockwood State Park.

On Tuesday, June 17th, the first Grand Illinois Trail and Parks (GITAP) bicycle riders will arrive at Morrison Rockwood State Park as part of a week-long swing through northern Illinois' trails and state park systems.

The riders will primarily ride along the Grand IllinoisTrail, an ambitious loop of trails and little used roads that runs from Chicago to LaSalle/Peru, the Quad Cities, Galena, Rockford and the Chicago suburbs. When completed, the Grand Illinois Trail will form a continuous loop of more than 535 miles of recreational trails.

The ride is a camping ride, with riders setting up their individual tents every night and taking their meals in the parks. The state parks that the riders will be visiting include Staved Rock, Morrison-Rockwood, White Pines, Rock Cut, and Chain O' Lakes. Eleven different states will be represented by more than 140 riders. On some days the pedaling will be almost exclusively on recreational trails, but the routes on other days will utilize country and back roads that most motorists never see as they travel on interstates and highways across the state.

The ride is sponsored by the League of Illinois Bicyclists, a state advocacy group for all things bicycle. Partnering in the ride is the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the agency is charge of both the Grand Illinois Trail and the state parks that will be used on the ride.

This press release was provided to thecity1.com by Ann Slavin.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
June 6, 2003