Rep. Gerald E. Connolly will be immortalized as a bike trail this Saturday, effectively cementing his place in regional history for a good long while.  

The Virginia Democrat is poised to see his name added to the Cross County Trail on Saturday at 10 a.m., during a ceremony at Laurel Hill Park in Lorton, Va.  

The official renaming comes some 15 years after local leaders first dreamed of piecing together the 40-mile stretch of recreational roadway, a project that Connolly, during his tenure as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, helped make a reality.  

“He already is informally considered by many to be the ‘father’ of the CCT, and this trail naming is a well-deserved tribute to Mr. Connolly for his dedication and support of the Fairfax County Park Authority,” board members wrote last summer, in a report endorsing the name swap.  

This cycling enthusiast is very familiar with the rolling terrain destined to bear Connolly’s brand into perpetuity; I even plotted a few choice spots to grab a bite along the way a few years back.