Flathead bike trails growing
As the Flathead faces its annual summer traffic, bicyclists appreciate even more all the trails being blazed across the valley.
Today is National Trails Day.
For 16 years hikers, bikers and equestrians across America have taken part in a variety of events to celebrate our national trails, miles of which have been paved with grassroots fundraising efforts.
Whitefish will dedicate a new leg of the Fish Trails bike and pedestrian path today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The BNSF Loop dips under the train trestle, linking the town to City Beach. Bring your kids and bikes to the trail at Railway Avenue between O'Brien and Lupfer Avenues. Spruce up your one, two or three-wheelers with the free decorations that will be available and join the bike parade. Raffles for great prizes, a barbecue and information on bike safety all are part of the festivities.
Meanwhile, Rails to Trails of Northwest Montana is stretching its legs in Kalispell. The nonprofit organization is applying for a 2007 Recreational Trail Grant from Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks to construct a new 1.3-mile segment between Kila's green boxes and Smith Lake Road.
Kila's kids would then be able to safely walk or ride to Kila School. The trail will also be used for field and physical education classes. This new trail would be an extension of a two-mile graveled trail section, a mile of which is on the docket to be paved sometime this year.
The fundraising efforts for these projects are never-ending. This year's Great Northern 5K run was held on a sunny Saturday morning in May on the Meridian Road trail. Seventy folks registered for the race, raising approximately $1,000.
The organization thanks its corporate sponsors and all the businesses who donated gifts for the prize drawing.
Their Somers trail is being renamed the Sonny Boon Memorial Trail in honor of one of the long-time volunteers who lived near the trail, maintained it for many years, and helped to raise thousands of dollars for Rails to Trails. Boon died in March at age 84.
Doreen Mortensen and her children wrote the Inter Lake to thank the Kiwanis Noon Club for the bike rodeo, ride and barbecue it hosted Mother's Day weekend on the Meridian Trail. Riders went through safety checks, their bikes were treated to mechanical adjustments, and they learned about riding safety.
Mortensen's son won one of two new bikes the club gave away, and she says now he can ride to and from school and around the neighborhood in style. "We are blessed to have the Kiwanis Noon Club working for the young people of the Flathead Valley," she wrote.
Safety always comes first, especially when bikes share the road with cars. Local bicyclists rode in the Ride of Silence May 17 as part of a worldwide event to honor those who have been injured or killed while cycling.
Here in the Flathead, 30 people participated in the 14-mile ride through the Lower Valley, riding silently at a slow pace to raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to public roadways, and to express their respect for bicyclists who have died in crashes with motor vehicles.