When man invented the bicycle, he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.

—Elizabeth West

The bicycle is the noblest invention of mankind. 

—William Saroyan, Nobel Prize Winner

Three important things in life -- freedom, ambition, health. And that is why I ride a bike. 

—Harish DN, India 

People need immediate places to refresh, reinvent themselves. Our surroundings built and natural alike, have an immediate and a continuing effect on the way we feel and act, and on our health and intelligence. These places have an impact on our sense of self, our sense of safety, the kind of work we get done, the ways we interact with other people, even our ability to function as citizens in a democracy. In short, the places where we spend our time affect the people we are and can become. 

—Tony Hiss, The Experience of Place, 1990

Imagine walking out your front door, getting on a bicycle, a horse or simply donning your backpack and within minutes of your home, setting off along a continuous network of recreation corridors that could lead across the country. 

—President Reagan’s Commission on American Outdoors, Americans and the Outdoors, 1987

Blue Trails are an organizing tool that galvanizes citizen support for clean water and healthy riverside lands. They inspire people to protect important habitat and provide corridors for people and wildlife.  While specific protections vary from community to community, Blue Trails are often associated with conservation easements, land acquisition, stream buffer requirements, stream flow protections, and higher water quality standards.

—American Rivers