After taking a hiatus in 2020, the Firefly Trail’s Ticket to Ride event is returning this year. Mark Ralston is President of Firefly Trial Incorporated. He says the event is one of the biggest fundraisers for the trail.
“The Ticket to Ride is an annual event that we began over 10 years ago, in order to raise awareness and funds for the Firefly Trail,” Ralston said. “It’s a mass participation bike ride with three starting points in Athens, Union Point and Winterville and folks can ride just a few miles along roads parallel to what be the route of the Firefly Trail or they can ride all the way from one end to the other and back again for about 84 miles.”
Ralston says the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing organizers to make changes to this year’s proceedings.
“We are not having mass starts in our starting cities, so folks will just come in, complete registration if they haven’t done it in advance, and then hit the road whenever they are ready. We’ll also be masking our volunteers and putting out packaged snacks and bottles of Gatorade and water instead having of the big containers everybody uses.”
Some 300 cyclists usually participate in the Ticket to Ride. Registration is now open for the 10th annual event at active.com. When completed, the trail will provide a 39-mile facility for walking, running, cycling and other non-motorized uses through three counties and seven towns and cities, from Athens to Union Point. This year’s event is scheduled for October 9th.
Once completed, the Firefly Trail will stretch 39 miles from Athens to Union Point.
