People said, 'Build this [Eliza Furnace] Trail and no one will come' …Now commuters use it every day and families come on weekends to blade and bike and walk.  

—Tom Murphy, Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race. 

—H.G. Wells

Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym. 

—Bill Nye, The Science Guy

I have always struggled to achieve excellence. One thing that cycling has taught me is that if you can achieve something without a struggle it's not going to be satisfying. 

—Greg LeMond

Bicycling unites physical harmony coupled with emotional bliss to create a sense of spiritual perfection that combines one’s body, mind and spirit into a single moving entity.  Bicycling allows a person to mesh with the sun, sky and road as if nothing else mattered in the world.  In fact, all your worries, cares and troubles vanish in the rear view mirror while you bicycle along the byways of the world: you pedal as one with the universe. 

—Frosty Wooldridge

Americans are seeking trail opportunities as never before. No longer are trails only for the ‘rugged individualists’ pursuing a solitary trek through breathtaking wilderness … users include young people and senior citizens, families, individuals and organized groups, people with disabilities and the physically fit. 

—American Trails, Trails for All Americans report, 1990

Happiness, freedom, exhilaration, self-confidence, assertion, friendships, creative thinking, and physical fitness are gifts my bicycle has wrapped up and tied with a bow for me to unwrap every day! 

—Beth Geohagan

The [Great Allegheny Passage] Trail is already attracting a lot of people, and were just starting to market it. It’s a major asset for our region, not only because of the tourist dollars it’s attracting, but also because it’s a piece of our economic rebuilding efforts.

—John P. Murtha, U.S. Congressman (D-Penn)

Rivers, lakes, and other waterways are the lifeblood of our communities, connecting us to our environment, our culture, our economy, and our way of life. The new National Water Trails System will help fulfill President Obama’s vision for healthy and accessible rivers as we work to restore and conserve our nation’s treasured waterways.

—Kenneth Lee Salazar, Secretary of the Interior

“When modern stables are transformed into sheds or shops with racks for the steel steed – which is the coming horse and a very economical one, because it eats no oats and does not kick or cut up the road – it is absolutely necessary to provide for this new order of things. This is a fad which has come to stay, and the cyclers rightfully demand good roads or paths for their accommodation. We must therefore plan additional facilities and build practicable roads for the exclusive use of the wheel, the same as we have provided bridle paths for questrians in our parks…We must reconstruct our park roads and set aside a portion of the roadway for the exclusive use of bicycles, or make additional paths for them…Good streets  and roads will attract many people to a city or town which has them…If the townships of this island would construct excellent macadamised roads, they would double their population in a short time. The cool summer breezes and fine, level country roads would make them a perfect paradise for cyclers…Brooklyn is now seriously considering a plan for building a  system of good roads and cycling paths…which will give from twenty to thirty miles of excellent paths to the lovers of the wheel, and will prove a great attraction.”

—Charles Schieren, Mayor of Brooklyn