JEFFERSON, Iowa, September 7, 2009 – It was a nearly perfect morning on the Raccoon River Valley Trail on Saturday, September 5, when the fifth annual “Trails & Trills” bicycle ride  attracted about 70 cyclists from across the state.

Most made the 16-mile round trip between Jefferson and Cooper, stopping frequently to hear local and regional musicians playing trailside, on what has been nicknamed “Iowa’s Slowest Bike Ride.”  They also enjoyed a leisurely lunch in Cooper, served by that community’s Committee for a Super Cooper, and another 10 people drove-in there to have lunch with the cyclists.

Riders registered from Waterloo, Sioux City, Mapleton, Greenfield, the Des Moines area and many points in-between.  One family, the Thompsons, had a three-generation reunion on the ride, with family members coming from four different communities.

More of the story is told in the photos and captions below.

Rick Morain, Jefferson newspaper editor and piano player, provided gathering music for an hour before the start of the fifth annual “Trails & Trills” bicycle ride on Saturday, September 5. He plays here on the plaza of the Jefferson Depot, the north trailhead of the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

Carla Offenburger, of Cooper, president of the RRVT Association, handled registrations in the Jefferson Depot.

The “SOB” team from across Iowa had a good contingent on “Trails & Trills.” Their full team name is “Sandburgs On Bikes.”  Left to right, they are Beth Sandburg, Des Moines; Brenda Sandburg, Atkins, IA.; Lou Ann Sandburg, the Des Moines suburb of Clive; Angie Sandburg, Lytton, IA.; Clay Sandburg, Lytton, and Kent Sandburg, of Clive.

The Teusches from Jefferson were also among the riders.  Left to right are Claire Teusch, the family’s American Field Service exchange student Nontaporn “Lee” Mayura from Thailand, Nancy Teusch and Dr. Jim Teusch.

Wayne Lautner and Peg Semke, of Jefferson, performed the National Anthem on trumpets before the ride began.

The riders during the National Anthem.

Joe Ellis, of Huxley, a regular with the well-known “High Society Big Bang,” was a hit with his pocket trumpet, which he played at the trail’s crossing of the North Raccoon River.  He rides his bicycle on “Trails & Trails” too, swapping his derby for a bike helmet when he jumps on his bike.

Here is Joe Ellis, chatting with riders between his performances on the south side of the 600-foot-long trestle bridge over the North Raccoon River.

Alyson Wilkins, a sophomore at Jefferson-Scranton High School, gave cyclists a nice stop with her mellow flute music trailside.

At one point, Alyson Wilkins was joined by another musician, Joe Ellis on trumpet, and a ringer, Chuck Offenburger, on kazoo, to form a trio on “Theme from Superman.”

Curt Nelson, of Jamaica, IA., had hoped to play on “Trails & Trills” with his music partner Dave Harding, of West Des Moines, in their duet “Ordinary Cowboys.”  But Harding couldn’t get off work, so Nelson decided to jump on his own recumbent bicycle and join the ride.  When one musician, Larry Dowd, of Jefferson, was unexpectedly absent from the line-up, Nelson pulled over, got out his harmonica and said, “I’m not Larry Dowd, but I know him – so I’ll play a little song here and see what happens.”  He led a group of riders through a rousing performance of “Lift Somebody Up.”

Jefferson Mayor Craig Berry and Diane Wise were among the “Trails & Trills” riders.  Berry and Wise have had a great bicycling season, getting ready and then doing RAGBRAI – the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa – for the first time.

At the lunch in Cooper, among those providing and serving were (left to right) Dot Lawton, her daughter-in-law Karen Lawton and Marty Scheuermann, all of the Committee for a Super Cooper.