1. I was one of the original 16 GIT Trail Blazers in 2000-2001. A Trail Blazer is someone who completes the entire 500+ mile route within a year.
2. My publisher contacted me about writing Biking Illinois after reading my GIT report online.
3. Roughly a quarter of the rides in my book are on trails and roads that make up the GIT, including at least five that I previously had ridden only as part of the GIT.
4. In the past, I have cited my GIT tour as a critical precursor to both this book and my coast-to-coast tour.
5. I still wear my GIT Trail Blazer T-shirt regularly.

With all that, I can't imagine how it slipped my mind, but it did. To remedy this situation, I set out to verify some facts before writing a paragraph for my book. I pulled out the latest GIT brochure from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which I had collected this summer (I collected hundreds of tourist and cycling brochures this summer--you could call me instead of calling 1-800-2CONNECT). I opened it up and started skimming for anything new or interesting that I could use. Then I got to the section titled "Become a Trail Blazer." My eyes skipped right over the paragraph of normal type to the boldface quote below. Hey, wait a minute... Those are my words! They spelled my name correctly, too.

Now just imagine how embarrassing it would have been to leave out the GIT when I was quoted in their brochure. Or imagine how terribly snubbed the IDNR would feel if one of their Trail Blazers who was quoted in their brochure wrote a book about Illinois bicycling and didn't bother to mention the GIT at all. Wow, I guess you wouldn't find my book at IDNR gift shops, eh? Fortunately I figured out my mistake while I could still correct it.

Labels: Biking Illinois, GIT

- posted by David Johnsen @ 9:11 AM