Latest news with #GreatAmericanRail-Trail
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Cyclist overcomes spinal injury, rides GAP trail on trip across U.S.
OHIOPYLE, Pa. – As Todd Gladfelter pedals past wildflowers in the Laurel Highlands under a canopy of trees blooming above the Great Allegheny Passage, the world almost feels normal. The 64-year-old from the Reading area has spent the past 31/2 years battling his way back to 'normalcy' after a fall from a roof left him with a broken neck and an incomplete C3-5 spinal cord injury in 2021. Doctors told him that he'd never walk again. Gladfelter and his wife, Cindy Ross, weren't about to settle for that diagnosis. Avid outdoor adventurers who met while hiking the Appalachian Trail, they weren't ready to give up their favorite hobbies. Now Gladfelter, Ross and a group of friends are riding portions of the Great American Rail-Trail to showcase the importance of accessible trails as part of Todd's Road to Recovery program. The 150-mile-long Great Allegheny Passage is one section of the 3,700-mile-long GART, which runs from Washington, D.C., to Seattle. The GART connects more than 150 existing rail trails, but there are still large gaps along it where cyclists need to ride on public roads. Gladfelter isn't willing to do that, but he and Ross hope to ride up to 2,000 miles during journeys over the next year and a half. 'We're taking the summer off because he can't get too hot,' Ross said Sunday during a 32-mile ride from Ohiopyle to Whitsett. 'We'll come back and do Indiana, Iowa and Illinois in the fall – and maybe Nebraska. Next year, we'll go back and finish out.' The GAP section isn't just the first portion of the ride – it's also one of the couple's favorites, they said. Ross is riding the GAP for the third time, while Gladfelter had completed it once prior to his injuries. 'It's an unbelievably nice trail,' he said. 'It couldn't get any prettier, especially this time of year. The trilliums are blooming.' For the couple, there's more to love about the GAP than the stunning views, they said. 'We live right by the Schuylkill River Trail, but I had to spend half the year fighting to get a handicapped toilet put in because he'd have to go to the bathroom and he couldn't,' Ross said. 'They really have that in place (on the GAP). There are handicap-accessible bathrooms everywhere, and the surface of this is fabulous.' Gladfelter uses a three-wheeled cycle that allows him to sit and pedal. It has electronic assistance that he says helps him ride an extra three to four miles per day. The group plans to ride the C&O Canal section, which runs from Cumberland, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., next. Gladfelter had to buy a mountain bike trike for that portion of the GART, because the C&O Canal section can have grass on the trail that could make it nearly impossible to ride with his existing trike. That's not a concern on the GAP, which has a crushed limestone surface over most of its 150 miles. Despite winding through the Laurel Highlands, the path has an average grade of less than 1%, making it an easy ride. 'This trail is phenomenal. It's such a great trail,' Ross said. 'This is my third time doing it, and I forget how much variety there is, from the viaducts and the tunnels to the waterfalls. (On Saturday in Somerset County), we probably rode past 20 different little waterfalls.' Gladfelter has worked hard to rehabilitate his body, and he can walk up to a mile per day with a cane, a walker and, at times, without assistance. Despite daily rigorous physical therapy sessions – both with medical staff and at home – walking is difficult and often painful for Gladfelter. 'When I'm walking with my walker or a cane, I have to focus on the roots and the rocks, and I'm looking down,' he said during a break outside Ohiopyle. 'My body's stiff when I'm upright. When I'm on a bike, for the most part, my body's pretty relaxed. Something like this, I can look around and I can see stuff. 'It almost feels somewhat normal,' he said. 'I'd rather be on a bike – I miss the maneuverability of standing, moving and jumping off – but this is all right.'
National Geographic
11-03-2025
- National Geographic
A first look at the Great American Rail-Trail—and which section to cycle in 2025
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). It takes but a minute to put wheels in motion for one of the greatest adventures you can have in America, yet nearly three months to experience it in full. Running from Washington State to Washington, DC, the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail moves from Pacific waves and old-growth forests at its western end to the White House and the Capitol in the east. Its east-west spine is made up of abandoned rail corridors that morph into urban greenways. Along the way, riders will get to experience national parks, forested canyons and prairie lands. The last stretch will run past the Lincoln Memorial to the United States Capitol — a fitting end, considering this portion of the route is based on Abe's 1860s transcontinental railroad. Due for completion in 2028, the Rail-Trail is still a work in progress, with a little over half currently ready for cyclists. With its varied terrain, Washington — forecast to have around 400 miles of cyclable track completed in 2025 — offers an epic taster. (This grand trail will one day connect Washington, D.C., to Washington State.) Natural highs: Olympic Discovery Trail The most memorable place to begin your adventure is on this 135-mile trail. From the get-go, the cycleway enters pine-shrouded Bigfoot territory, plunging into the temperate rainforests of Olympic National Park beneath the glacial caps of Mount Olympus. The trail then waltzes along the Strait of Juan de Fuca shoreline to Port Townsend, famed for its 19th-century buildings, with campground rest stops along the way. To travel this section is also a journey into the historic lands of the Klallam, Ho, Makah and other Native American tribes that put down roots long before the railroad came along. Fishermen's Terminal port in Seattle guards boats known from the reality TV show Deadliest Catch. Photograph by Don Wilson, Port Seattle City life: Burke-Gilman Trail The real Seattle can be found on this 20-mile path, which begins amid the shimmering wetlands of Golden Gardens Park before rolling to the north end of Lake Washington. In between, the neighbourhoods of Nordic-influenced Ballard, trendy Fremont and the University District pass by in a slow-mo blur. A salvo of coffee shops, bike fitters and craft breweries right on the cycleway will prompt the squeal of brakes, then you'll pass the Fishermen's Terminal dock, home to some of the crab boats featured in reality TV show Deadliest Catch. Finish up at Gas Works Park, watching seaplanes take off and land. Snoqualmie Falls was made famous by David Lynch's Twin Peaks, as were the surrounding towns where the cult 1990s TV series was filmed. Cyclists can explore the area via the forested, 31-mile Snoqualmie Valley Trail, which takes in filming locations including Salish Lodge & Spa, in Sanoqualmie; The Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn, in Fall City; and North Bend's Twede's Cafe — stop for cherry pie. Further east, the relentless beauty of the Cascade Range takes over. Some parts of the Great American Rail-Trail require a mountain bike. Photograph by Silvrshootr, Getty Images Into the wild: Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail This epic 236-mile trail runs from electric-blue Rattlesnake Lake over Snoqualmie Pass (2,600ft) and all the way to the Idaho border. Currently, this stretch is one of the country's longest rail trail conversions — thanks to the well-maintained Milwaukee Road, a former railway line that closed in 1986. It crosses steel railroad trestles, bridges and dozens of canyons on gravel tracks, so a mountain bike is essential. National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click Published in the USA guide, available with the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of(UK).To subscribe to(UK) magazine click here . (Available in select countries only). Inspiring exploration for over 130 years Subscribe now a get a free tote SUBSCRIBE
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Feds could owe Indianapolis residents on west side for proposed rail-to-trail conversion
A city proposal to convert an abandoned CSX line on the west side to a recreational trial could bring a federal payday to owners of property adjacent to the old rail easement. Lawyers from Missouri-based Lewis Rice filed a suit in January in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contending the federal government owes landowners for property along a 1.8-mile former CSX railroad. CSX abandoned the rail line that runs parallel to Kentucky Avenue between South Harding and West Raymond streets, according to documents the company filed with the Surface Transportation Board in October. Trains that once ran along the line have been rerouted and the rails haven't been used for more than two years. The City of Indianapolis in December requested to convert the entire abandoned rail line to a recreational trail, according to federal documents, and CSX agreed to negotiate an agreement with the city. The transportation board has given the pair a year to come up with an agreement. Lindsay Brinton, an attorney with Lewis Rice's Federal Takings and Rails to Trails practice, said once the tracks are no longer in use, adjacent landowners can declare ownership of the property previously used by CSX. The conversion from a rail line to recreational trail creates a new easement on the property, which means the federal government owes affected landowners the value of any land taken for the trail. Central Indiana residents similarly affected by the Nickel Plate Trail conversion were awarded money last year for their property rights. More: Work begins on $11M pedestrian bridge project linking Monon, Nickel Plate trails Indiana has converted 580 miles of former rail lines into recreational trails with the potential to convert another 342 miles, according to the Rails to Trails Conservancy. The Monon, which runs about 27 miles through Marion and Hamilton counties, was previously one of the early railways that helped Indianapolis grow into the city it is today. One of the longest stretches of these rail conversions will combine nine trails and connect Richmond in the east to the Chicago metro area when complete. It will be part of the Great American Rail-Trail that runs from Pennsylvania to Washington state. Repurposing the old rail is a form of eminent domain, and there's nothing a landowner can do to stop it, Briton explained. 'This is a valid exercise of the federal government's power," she said, "but landowners have a right to be paid for that taking.' Two plaintiffs have been named in the suit, but there are about 20 more landowners eligible to file a claim, Brinton said. Lewis Rice will host a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Hyatt Place Indianapolis Airport to explain how other landowners can be represented in the suit. Brinton and her colleagues at Lewis Rice previously worked on similar lawsuits in Indiana and expect the case to take about two years until landowners are paid. Landowners will have to prove they hold a title and valid claim to the property and then prove the government in liable for the taking. 'If landowners want to learn more, come to the meeting or call us,' Brinton said. 'We're happy to talk by phone or Zoom.' The firm will have paperwork at the Wednesday meeting for anyone who wants to join the suit. IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at Follow him on BlueSky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: West side property owners may be due money for rail-to-trail conversion
