In the late 1890s, an African-American dynamo exploded onto the bicycle racing scene at record-breaking speeds: Marshall “Major” Taylor.

On the anniversary of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC's) founding, rail-trail visionary and co-founder David Burwell passed away on Feb. 1, 2017, after a hard-fought battle with leukemia.

It may be a no-brainer that Seattle-born Bobby Whittaker has always loved the outdoors, having been raised by the first American to summit Mt. Everest.

May Theilgaard Watts was a writer, illustrator, naturalist, scientist and teacher. Her determination that Americans stay connected to their natural landscape in a time of increasing urbanization was the catalyst that led to the formation of the Illinois Prairie Path,

Susan B. Anthony, famed suffragette leader and women’s rights reformer, once said of the bicycle, “I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

RTC is excited to announce Marianne Wesley Fowler of Alexandria, Va., as this year’s Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion.