Five members of the September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance began a 23-day, 1300-mile bicycle journey where they’ll visit each of the three 9/11 National Memorials starting April 11, 2018. The September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance Advisory board members who are embarking on the inaugural bicycle trail ride include Chairman Andy Hamilton, Wayne Clark, Cyndi Steiner, Anne Maleady and Vice Chairman Eric Brenner. The Advisory board members are wearing red, white and blue jackets with a star on the back as a symbol of unity according to @davesutor’s Tribune Democrat article on the tour.
“We are one nation, instead of a series of states,
We are one memorial, instead of three separate memorials. We’re bringing them together, all as one.”
The 9/11 National Memorial Trail is a series of existing and newly designed trails that connect the memorials at the three sites that were attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001 - the former World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia and the field where Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The tour began at the Pentagon National Memorial on the morning of April 11th and will weave together a diverse group of people throughout the varied landscape as they ride the trail and visit each of the meaningful memorials.
By April 15th the riders had made it to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County where they saw the landscape and listened to park ranger John Bernstiel detail the brave account of the passengers aboard Flight 93 and how they fought against al-Qaida hijackers, preventing a vastly more destructive and intended end.
While the trail is not yet officially open to the public, folks are welcome to join the riders for specific portions of the trail as they make their way toward the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City on April 25th. The Alliance board members will then continue on and ride through many interesting places on the trail as they head back to the Pentagon Memorial to complete the ride on May 3rd.
“After September 11th, in every firehouse around NYC, the words “Never Forget” became the mantra. These words have special meaning to us, but in particular they mean Never Forget the individual lives that were lost that day. Never Forget who they each were. Never Forget their parents, their spouses, their children their legacy. So when you ride or walk this Trail, keep these people in your thoughts and prayers. Never Forget.”
The mission of the September 11th National Memorial Trail has been to develop a trail connecting the three 9/11 memorial sites and the affected communities as one. The riders and this trail seem to be doing just that.
photo credit @911memorialtrail
You can follow along and see photos of their progress by visiting their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/911trail/
To learn more about the trail visit the website here: www.911trail.org
