Miami, FL – Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 10am, a dream of bike enthusiasts will come true when Commissioner Marc Sarnoff cuts the ceremonial ribbon and officially opens the new Virginia Key Bike Trail, 4201 Rickenbacker Causeway.

After three months of countless hours clearing brush and molding sand and dirt, by a dedicated set of 25 volunteers every Saturday, the 4.1 mile trail will be available 7 days a week for all levels of bicycle riders. Hoping that it will be an entire family destination, the trail has courses that are designed for family outings and those that will appeal to intermediate and advanced riders.

The Virginia Key Bicycle Club with the blessing of the City of Miami Parks Department was the driving force behind the movement and put into motion the plan utilizing available resources in the biking community for technical assistance and planning. Thanks to the expertise of trail builder Bernard Riviera aka “Frenchie” and the services of the IMBA trail building crew, the volunteers were able to transform under utilized land on Virginia Key into the first City of Miami bike trail.

Thanks to the proximity to the urban core of Miami, the hope is that the Virginia Key bike trail will become a destination for many of the residents who live in the downtown area who are looking for new fitness and recreation destinations.

While most of the trail was built through donated time and resources, including $10,000 from Mack Cycle and Fitness, the City of Miami also provided $11,646 through Homeland Defense Neighborhood Improvement Bond Dollars. Looking beyond the grand opening ceremonies which will include guided tours of the trails and bicycle demos by the company Giant Bicycle, the Virginia Key Bicycle Club hopes to continue extending the trail so that as the popularity grows the trail will be able to keep up with the demands of local riders. Trails will be open daily.

The trail is accessible through the entrance to Virginia Key (across from the Miami Sea Aquarium), residents can follow trail signs that will take them to the northern end of Virginia Key. The trails are ideal for mountain bikes but not suited for road bikes.