Fourth annual Tour de Trail rides through Flight 93 memorial

Sep. 24—SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — Rick Marafino took a minute to collect himself in the overflow parking lot at the Flight 93 Memorial National Memorial site on Saturday.

He'd just biked around 13 miles from Berlin, but the trek was easy, he said, noting that he'd rode from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, this week.

The Hidden Valley resident was one of more than 120 participants in the September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance's fourth annual Tour de Trail event that stretched from Berlin Brothersvalley High School to the national park.

"We wanted to support the new trail they're setting up," Marafino said as to why he signed up.

The in-progress route connects all three attack sites from Sept. 11, 2001, and is a 1,300-mile multi-use trail that uses existing and new infrastructure to complete a loop.

Proceeds from Saturday's event go back to maintaining the path from Washington, D.C., to Pennsylvania and New York.

Saturday's event was more than just the fourth ride from Berlin, it was also the 20th anniversary of President George W. Bush signing the Flight 93 Memorial Act that created the national park and National Public Lands Day, a nationwide volunteer effort that "celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits."

Marafino said the weather — blue skies, a light breeze and temperatures in the low 50s — made the ride perfect and the scenery along the way was fantastic.

Tom Omiatek, who was also taking a break in the lot, agreed.

He said it was a little chilly, but nice.

Fred Zelt, who'd ridden the full length of the trail in June with a group of bikers, led Saturday's pack with an American flag attached to his bicycle.

"What a great day for cycling," he said.

Zelt said he took part in the ride "to honor the people of 9/11, particularly the people on Flight 93."

He added that for those that rode the entire route in June, the Shanksville site was a favorite because of the rangers there.

"They were incredibly knowledgeable," Zelt said.

After arriving at the memorial site, the riders were invited to sit on benches near the Wall of Names and listen to ranger Robert Franz tell the stories of the brave passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 that fought back against the terrorists 21 years ago.

He provided details about the plane's size, heading, flight path and pilots while weaving in other memorable moments from that fateful day.

Jeffrey McCauley, September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance acting president, said this opportunity provides the riders a better understanding of what took place in Shanksville and the meaning of the memorial where the plane crashed.

"Everything seems to be working well," 9/11 Trail board of directors member Eric Brenner said about the event.

He was in charge of welcoming riders and monitoring the lot while the participants listened to the ranger talk.

Brenner said everything felt right about this year's event because all the signage was up and the riders were entering the site where the National Park Service wanted them to, along Skyline Road.

"The rangers here have been great," Brenner said.

After the talk, the participants could explore the site before riding back to Berlin high school with the option to stop at the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company where a rest area was set up.

For more information about the 9/11 Trail, visit www.911trail.org.