By CHUCK OFFENBURGER

COOPER, IOWA, May 5, 2007 – It seemed like winter hung on forever, didn’t it?

My wife Carla Offenburger and I kept wanting to open another bicycling season in an “official” sort of way, with a ride on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. But as the days went by, there would be just a hint of good weather, then another dive into cold weather, then a nice day when we were just too busy to ride, then rain. You know how it goes.

We finally decided that a late April Saturday would be our “start date,” no matter the weather. We were lucky enough that it was a gloriously sunny day, but the problem was, there was a huge south wind. We decided that didn’t have to be a problem at all!

We needed to drive nine miles north from our farm home near Cooper to Jefferson on that day, to buy groceries and do some other errands. So on that Saturday morning, we did that – in two cars.

We parked one at the RRVT trailhead, at the restored Jefferson Depot. We took care of our errands in the other car, then drove it home.

By mid-afternoon, the big south wind had become only stronger, and we couldn’t have been happier about that. We aired-up our bicycles’ tires, climbed aboard and carefully rode east on our gravel road to the RRVT. There we turned north, started pedaling on the asphalt trail and what ho! We did the nine miles north to Jefferson in about 35 minutes – and it seemed we barely had to pedal.

What a great way to start a cycling season!

We reached the trailhead in Jefferson, broke down the bikes, loaded them into our car waiting there and then drove home, hoping it can be a whole spring, summer and fall of pleasant weather and tailwinds.

This 18th year of the RRVT promises to be one of the most important yet for this 56-mile hard-surfaced trail in west central Iowa. Why?

There are two major enhancements in the works.

Negotiations are moving toward completion between the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Union Pacific Railroad for acquisition of the 33-mile “north loop” that is to be added to the RRVT. The foundation is representing the conservation boards in Dallas, Guthrie and Greene Counties that own the RRVT.

That “north loop” will extend from the current trail in Waukee, northwest through Dallas Center and Minburn to Perry, then swing west through Dawson and Jamaica, before reconnecting to the RRVT at little Herndon. As soon as those negotiations are successfully completed, construction of the new loop is slated to begin between Perry and Dawson, and just south of Perry. If additional fundraising is successful, it would still be possible for the 33 new miles of hard-surfaced trail to be completed during the 2008 season.

Just as important, the resurfacing of one of the earliest portions of the RRVT – from Linden through Panora to Yale – is slated to begin during this summer. About five miles of the trail, from Linden into Panora, is slated to be resurfaced with concrete this year, and hopefully the stretch from Panora north to Yale can be done during 2008, if funding is secured. That parts of the trail being resurfaced date back to the RRVT’s formal dedication in 1989, so the asphalt has far-outlived its normal life expectancy of 10 to 12 years.

There is another important trail construction project happening in the west part of the city of Des Moines, and it is expected to have a huge and very positive impact on RRVT traffic. A last mile of trail is scheduled to be hard-surfaced this summer, connecting the Clive Greenbelt Trail to the Bill Riley Bikeway in Greenwood Park, just south of the Des Moines Art Center. When that is completed, it will mean you can ride a bicycle on hard-surfaced trails all the way from Jefferson, south and east, right into downtown Des Moines. That would be a distance of 65 miles or more on the trails.

That metro connection is expected to increase usage of the RRVT dramatically in years to come, especially as communities along the RRVT add amenities for trail users – restaurants, galleries, shops, B&Bs, campgrounds, small hotels, live theater, small concerts and more.

For years, usage of the RRVT had been estimated at about 75,000 people per year. But when the trail connections into Des Moines and its western suburbs became reality the last two years, Dallas County Conservation director Mike Wallace said his agency’s surveys indicate usage topped 100,000 per year. With enhancements along the RRVT, those figures could triple or quadruple, some trail advocates believe.

This 2007 season will be the second full year that the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association has been working to market and promote the trail. We are a 501.C3 tax-exempt organization that sells memberships and seeks other financial contributions, to pay for the marketing and economic development work we are doing. You can read how to become a member by using the links on the home page of this Internet site.

A major initiative for the association has been a new $50,000 signage system that you will begin to see this spring and summer, with the research, planning and design work done two years ago by senior-level students in the Iowa State University College of Design.

This is the second year of this Internet site, and we are making it more interactive all the time. You will note that a new online store has been added, for the first time offering RRVT logo apparel.

We are arranging for cold drink machines along the trail in both Jefferson and Cooper. We are assisting Eagle Scout candidate Logan Laughery, in Yale, who is coordinating an effort to replace the pit toilets at the trailhead in that community with permanent flush toilets. We are encouraging the re-developers of an historic railroad inn at the trailhead in Jefferson and the old hotel in Yale, both of them probably a year away from opening. We are aware of two new bicycle shops opening in RRVT communities, and possibly a third. We are cheering on the developers of at least two new campgrounds that are planned, and another one that opened last year just east of Yale.

So we begin the 2007 season confident that it is going to be the most enjoyable yet along the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

Possibly not quite as enjoyable as our “official” opening day ride. But still very nice.

See you along the way.

The author of this column, Chuck Offenburger, is secretary of the RRVT Association and lives near the trail just south of Cooper. You can write him at chuck@Offenburger.com.

Article Published: 05-05-2007