Supporters and users of the popular Minuteman Bikeway in Massachusetts celebrated its induction into the Rail-to-Trails Conservancy's Hall of Fame with a rolling celebration by bicycle last weekend.

The 11-mile bike path connects Bedford, Lexington, Arlington, Cambridge and Alewife, an area many of us remember from our history books for its part in the opening salvos of the American Revolution.

The nationwide trails advocacy group has chosen seven trails for its Hall of Fame so far and plans to name a total of 25 to coincide with its 25th year anniversary in December 2011. The seven are:

Great Allegheny Passage, Maryland-Pennsylvania, July 2007;

Katy Trail State Park, Missouri, August 2007;

Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, Florida, October 2007;

Burke-Gilman Trail, Washington, February 2008;

Minuteman Bikeway, Massachusetts, June 2008;

Illinois Prairie Path, Illinois, August 2008;

Elroy-Sparta State Trail, Wisconsin, September 2008

These trails range from one of the first rail to trail conversions -- Illinois Prairie Path in the 1960s -- to the longest -- the Katy Trail at 225 miles.

They're chosen from 1,500 railroad lines that have been converted to bike and pedestrian paths, stretching over 13,000 miles of landscape. Another 750 are in development.

Tom Sexton, northeast regional director of Rails-to-Trails, told the Lexington Minuteman that the prime reason the Minuteman Bikeway was chosen for the Hall of Fame was the way it brings the communities together, allowing people to travel by bicycle.

The Minuteman has been around since about 1992, after the railroad collapsed in the 1980s. There are still a couple of interuptions in its route, so check with local bicyclists or look for trail maps.

The trail is accessible from downtown Boston via the red line subway to Alewife. There are spur trails that lead to Somerville and Concord.

More details at TrailLink and the Minuteman Bikeway website.