(Update: April 17, 2008 – “TransAmerica Trail Angel's home destroyed in Colorado fire”)
What makes someone a Trail Angel? In Gillian Hoggard's case, it's providing free lodging to cross-country bicycle tourists who have made it to Ordway, Colorado.
The Adventure Cycling Association named Gillian as the recipient of the 2006 June Curry Trail Angel Award. In its fourth year, the award goes to an individual or group that makes bicycling journeys easier by their acts of goodwill.
Word of mouth on the TransAmerica Bicycle Route has identified Gillian's home at the end of a gravel driveway on the north side of Ordway as a welcome respite while passing through the often hot, dry eastern Colorado plains (that picture was taken enroute to Ordway in 1984).
Becky Douglas, outreach and education coordinator for the association, said that in addition to offering free lodging to bicyclists, “Gillian is also active and sincere in encouraging her community to be welcoming and helpful to touring cyclists.”
The hostess has first-hand knowledge of what cyclists need on a bike tour; she's has bicycled 1,500 miles around Europe with her 3-year-old in tow.
Gillian couldn't find a better place to bestow her goodwill on cross-country bicycle tourists. Ordway is in the middle section of the TransAmerican bike route, and the high plains are the locale for heat, wind and the occasional torrential thunderstorm.
One visitor recalled staying with Gillian and her son at the house, which is also home to a couple dogs, horses and a few other animals. In addition to a place to sleep, Gillian cooked dinner and breakfast for her guest.
I'd like to know where was Gillian 20 years ago. That's when my friend and I stopped in Ordway after a 128 mile bike ride from Tribune, Kansas. We ended up eating pizza at a convenience store and crashing in a dusty hostel hotel in the town.
A home-cooked meal and comfortable room would have been a great thing for us that night. That's why Gillian's efforts are so appreciated by bicyclists.
Congratulations Gillian!
The award is named for none other than the Cookie Lady herself, June Curry. June has been dishing out hospitality and a place to stay in Afton, Virginia, since the first TransAmerican bicyclists started struggling up Afton Mountain in 1976. She received the first award in 2003.
See the Adventure Cycling website for more about the Trail Angel Award.
Other awards handed out by Adventure Cycling for 2006 include the Sam Braxton Bicycle Shop Award to Wheelworks, with bike stores in Belmont and Somerville, Massachusetts.
Earlier, I wrote about the Pacesetter award earned by the Allegheny Trail Alliance.
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