This week, Winneshiek County Conservation will be using the "Iowa Data Bike" to collect and record trail conditions on the county’s bike trails. The bike is an electric bike equipped with sensors to read and record pavement roughness, cracks, bumps, and much more. The project will also record trail conditions with photos using a GoPro Hero5 camera and will capture Google Street View images using a GoPro Max 360 camera. This information then will be used to create targeted maintenance strategies and to secure grant funding for trail maintenance and repairs.
Winneshiek County resident Ray Torresdal has volunteered to operate the Data Bike, riding more than 30 miles of the Prairie Farmer Recreational Trail, Trout Run Trail, and Freeport Trail in both directions.