COOPER, Iowa, December 18, 2008 – The Raccoon River Valley Trail will be host to a major new bicycling event next June — a “Tour the Raccoon” ride being sponsored by the Des Moines Cycle Club.

Officials of the club, one of the longest-established cycling organizations in the state, say they are sponsoring the ride for the general public, not just their club members.  With extensive promotion planned between now and June, they expect from a few hundred to several hundred riders taking part on June 13 and 14.

They will ride from the Des Moines metro area on Saturday, June 13, to an overnight stay in the north trailhead town of Jefferson.  On Sunday, June 14, they will ride the RRVT back to the Des Moines area.

That is the same weekend as Jefferson’s 30th Bell Tower Festival, which means the cyclists will come into a full-blown celebration with street vendors, community suppers, beverage garden and lots of entertainment.

The 56-mile-long, hard-surfaced RRVT stretches from Jefferson to the west side of the Des Moines metro area, connecting into the capital city’s trail system.  It goes through nine towns – Jefferson, Cooper, Herndon, Yale, Panora, Linden, Redfield, Adel and Waukee.  The “Tour the Raccoon” is expected to inspire special activities in all of the communities along the way.

“This kind of event is exactly what we’ve wanted to happen along the trail,” said Carla Offenburger, of Cooper, president of the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association, which will coordinate activities on the trail and in the towns. “Most people who go on a bike ride like ‘Tour the Raccoon’ are excited about the experience, not just the ride.  They’re not racing to ‘get there.’ They want to explore along the way.  It will be a tremendous opportunity for our trail towns.”

She said the RRVT Association was approached about hosting the new event about three months ago by Danny Kruzic, president of the Des Moines Cycle Club, and that plans came together in a series of meetings “and a flood of e-mails.”

Kruzic said joining the DMCC and the RRVT Association as sponsors are the Des Moines Downtown YMCA, the Bike World bicycle shop based in Des Moines, and Dee Zee Inc., a Des Moines based truck accessory business where Kruzic is a marketing executive.

In its news release about “Tour the Raccoon,” the DMCC announced: “Can’t take an entire week off of work for a bike tour? Are you a little nervous riding on streets? Are you looking for a cycling tour for the entire family? Need to get in shape for another, longer bike tour? Not a big fan of hills? Then this is the bike tour for you.  The eight pass-through towns will be prepared to show you a great time and our overnight town, Jefferson, is also hosting their very popular Bell Tower Festival that same weekend. So you’ll have plenty of activities to keep you entertained. Your overnight bags and camping gear will be trucked via Bike World to our campground so you can concentrate on enjoying the great scenery of the Raccoon River valley.”

Registration for participants is expected to begin about February 1.

Information is also available at the Internet site www.dmcycleclub.com.

Article Published: 12-18-2008