Join Scott from BIKEIOWA.com to hear about what's on his radar in the Iowa cycling scene this weekend. #FridayFives is a new series for Summer 2020 and we plan to share fun destinations, events and happenings each week.
Reminder - Green Plaid Gemini Tanks Pre-orders close on Monday, June 15th and all jerseys, crews and tanks in the BIKEIOWA store are $50.
GREEN PLAID TANKS: https://www.bikeiowa.com/Feature/1811/
$50 JERSEYS, CREWS & TANKS: https://bikeiowa.myshopify.com/…/jersey…
For Week #4, it is:
1) FLAT TIRE LOUNGE - NEW MANAGER!
Scott Bellis is now the manager at the Flat Tire Lounge in Madrid! You'll probably recognize him from his time at Whistlin' Donkey Sports Bar and Grill in Woodward and Nite Hawk Bar & Grill in Slater. Flat Tire also has a new food truck (Helga's Home Cookin) and they are planning to host Sunday Funday rides (with no live music through July).
2) CYCLING IS BOOMING!
If you've been watching the news or out on the trails, you know that biking is booming! Scott shares reports from Bike Tech of Cedar Falls, Iowa (which has a Pint Night Ride to SingleSpeed Brewing Co. coming up), Bike Country of Ankeny (with their awesome selection of women's cycling clothing and new PEARL IZUMI gear) and Lakeshore Cyclery of Storm Lake, Iowa (where even the mountain bikes are selling)!
3) FORMER RAGBRAI DIRECTOR MOVES TO ARIZONA
TJ Juskiewicz, former RAGBRAI Director and founder of Iowa's Ride, has announced that he's leaving the state. He's moving to Arizona and will work on El Tour de Tucson. He intends to return to Iowa for the inaugural Iowa's Ride (set for July 18-24, 2021).
4) NEW BIKE SHOP - HALL BICYCLE
Hall Bicycle Company, a fixture in Cedar Rapids, Iowa since 1898, has opened a new location in Cedar Falls! The new Hall Bicycle Company is located in the former Europa Cycle & Ski. Check out their website for lots of cool info about the company history: https://www.hallbicycle.com/…/our-histo…
5) RIVERDALE CLOSES CONNECTOR PATH
We first mentioned this a month ago, and now the City of Riverdale is going to spend $20,000.00 to build a fence to keep cyclists from using a local Connector Path to avoid crossing US Highway 67 (very near Arconic Davenport Works, an aluminum mill with heavy truck traffic).
There's a trail underpass under US Highways 67, that we think the City of Bettendorf, Iowa Government built with federal grant money, but with the Connector Path closed cyclists can't use the underpass. They have to use an at-grade crossing - and we all know that just because a crossing meets federal guidelines doesn't mean it's the safest option.
The shortest summary about it is: It's nuts. Somebody is going to get killed.
Read The City of Riverdale Mayor Mike Bawden's Blog Post on the official city website. You'll know you found it because it starts with a stock image of a cyclist flipping the bird to the camera. It's interesting that the Mayor says the city has a "long-standing reluctance to document things," which we think State Auditor Rob Sand might be interested to know...
https://riverdaleiowa.com/there-are-tw…/
And check out Stop Riverdale from Cutting Access Between MRT and Duck Creek Trail.
And finally, it's still a pandemic. It's still important to SOCIAL DISTANCE!
If you've got any ideas for future Friday Fives, send us a message!
Have a great weekend, RIDE SAFE and stay healthy!