Dear Miami Valley RailTrails List Readers

10 March 2002 Happy Easter!

This is the fourth email that I've sent to you via our new mailing list at Microsoft and I have news for you.

1. Long Hiking Tours in France If you'll be traveling to France you'll want to see this site of trails in France. Just click on the English logo. His International Hiking and Outdoors Websites   (see his drop down list at bottom of page) includes a link to this website among many good US, England and other trails. 
   
2. Take a look at the Tour de Cure Website. They are associated with the American Diabetes Association. They run cycling events to support Diabetes and provide for an enjoyable outing. For example, they will have a 22 June cycling event in the Dayton area. 
   
3. The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission is the organization that plans transportation (including bicycle trails) is Montgomery, Greene and Miami County. The updated their long range plan and have all of the plans for bicycle trails in the document. The map below is a good copy that I downsized for your use. You can also order a CD copy of the entire report with all maps and attachments from the MVRPC.

4. The Miami Conservancy District website has been completely revised. They have added a lot of information about the multi-use trails they maintain and have added a "sneak preview" of the bicycle trail map that they and Five Rivers Metroparks are jointly developing.  See their Bike Trails web page. The map should be available this month but you can look at it now and download it. The trails in Montgomery will be remarked with a state-wide system of route numbers. For example "The Great Miami River Recreation Trail" is to be marked "Route 25" 

5. The Huron River Greenway trail project won a big one in court recently. It seems that the court in Erie County ruled that the Erie County MetroParks had a valid title to the right-of-way and could begin trail construction! This is a huge boost for the people of Erie County, Ohio. The Huron River Greenway folks wants friends of trails in the Miami Valley  to know that volunteer workdays on the Huron River Greenway in Erie County are scheduled for Saturday March 23rd and Saturday, April 20th (weather permitting, time and location TBD). You can help the Huron River Greenway  by volunteering on the Greenway during these sessions, as the effort to open the next link in the trail to the Mason Road trailhead moves forward. Erie MetroParks has struck a winning blow FOR trails in Ohio; it is up to Rails To Trails members and trail advocates throughout Ohio to thank them. f you can't attend a work session you might want to consider a contribution to:

Erie MetroParks  
3910 E. Perkins Ave.,
Huron, OH 44839

5. That’s all I have for today and this year. Enjoy yourself riding our beautiful new trails. I'll be seeing all of you on the trails this year. 

Thomas J. Recktenwalt
Webmaster
Miami Valley RailTrails