2004 Year in Review

GITAP riders will travel through Morrison June 15

GITAP riders enjoying the hospitality of Friends of the Parks last year.

The second annual Grand Illinois Trail and Parks (GITAP) bicycle riders will arrive on Tuesday, June 15,at Morrison Rockwood State Park as part of a weeklong swing through northern Illinois trails and state park systems.

The riders will primarily ride along the Grand Illinois Trail, an ambitious loop of trails and little used roads that run 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. 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 League of Illinois Bicyclists, a state advocacy group for all things bicycle, sponsors the ride. Partnering in the ride is the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the agency in charge of both the Grand Illinois Trail and the state parks that will be used on the ride. The Friends of the Parks Foundation will host the riders locally.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
June 10, 2004