The Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD - which connects with the C&O Canal from Cumberland to DC - is about to celebrate the grand opening of the Mount Savage Tunnel, recently refurbished at the expense of $14M and about to officially open for the first time.
Which begs the question - who gets to ride through the tunnel first? Who's the official "first rider"?
This being a trail that's still in fundraising mode, there's an auction on Ebay for the priviledge of
taking yourself and 11 friends through the tunnel as the first official riders.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7225299431 is a link for the Ebay sale. This was just announced on the Great Allegheny Passage Yahoo-Group and promises to be quite interesting.
Here's the message from the Somerset County Rails to Trails Association -
Bid early, bid often! (email message follows)
Friends,
As you know, the Somerset County, Pennsylvania portion of the Great Allegheny Passage will officially open this year.
As a preview event to that celebration in the late spring, the Somerset County Rails to Trails Association (SCRTA) is holding a fund raiser that should interest all of you that are anxious to ride this new section of the Great Allegheny Passage.
SCRTA is auctioning via eBay the opportunity for you and 11 friends to be the FIRST people to officially ride through the Big Savage Tunnel when the doors open in early April.
The eBay Item number is 7225299431. You can go onto eBay and enter this number into the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen to go to the item and make a bid.
Or you can use this URL
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7225299431
The SCRTA board has asked me to get the word out about this auction and I am doing so by contacting as many internet rail trail groups as possible. If you know of anyone else that will be interested in bidding, PLEASE let them know.
The proceeds of this auction will go to SCRTA, and be used for the maintenance of the trail
The winner will be allowed to bring eleven (11) guests. You might want to get together with friends to make a combined bid on the item.
Transportation to the Deal, PA, Somerset County, near Meyersdale, PA will be the responsibility of the winner. SCRTA volunteers will meet the winner and their guests at Deal and take them to the tunnel for the portal opening and the historic ride. The opening will be on a weekend day Saturday or Sunday in early April. The exact date will be determined once the auction is over. Payment will be by personal check, money order, or certified check.
This is an historic cycling opportunity since the group will be the FIRST people through the tunnel since the construction has been officially completed, and the right-of-way and trail is now owned by Somerset County.
Bid high and bid often, Good Luck
Sorry for the multiple posts to all the regional trail groups, but we SCRTA want to get the word out.
Paul g Wiegman
Board Member, Somerset County Rails to Trails Association