In June, the Mileposters rode the newest section of the Great Allegheny Passage, from Munhall to Duquesne, right after the celebration for the official opening of the segment, with an interview by a reporter from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mayor Ray Bodnar of Munhall and Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, were among the many speakers. Mayor Bodnar himself welcomed us through the gate onto the first bridge, which crosses Kenny Yard, a joint operation of two railroads: Norfolk Southern and Union. The most difficult section of the trail to complete, it required easements through 13 separate properties and building bridges over railroad tracks at two locations, at a total cost of $6 million. It is rail-with-trail for its entire length, paralleling very active railroad lines. Perhaps its most spectacular view is of two different roller coasters, on the bluff below Kennywood Amusement Park. It is the next-to-last missing link to connect the Point, in downtown Pittsburgh, with Washington, DC, via the Great Allegheny Passage to Cumberland, MD, and thence via the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal; the other is the section through Sandcastle water park, which will possibly be completed in November.
The new aluminum mountain tandem for Mileposters has been completed. It was designed and built on a small frame, with youth captains in mind. While the original youth captain will be its primary pilot, our second youth captain will also be qualified to operate it. Another youth captain will be in training this summer.
A bicycle repair clinic at a home in the Brighton-Woods Run neighborhood attracted a number of kids who needed attention to their bikes. It is expected that some of them will become Mileposters riders.
