PANORA, Iowa, July 4, 2009 –  “I’ve got a mini news flash for you, with an emphasis on that ‘mini’,” Joe Hanner, the Guthrie County Conservation director said in a recent late afternoon telephone call. “I’ve bought a bicycle, and I’m headed to the Raccoon River Valley Trail right now for my first ride ever on the trail!”

The Conservation Boards of Guthrie, Greene and Dallas Counties own and operate the RRVT, so Hanner is one of the three conservation directors who are in charge of the trail.  He was a member of the Guthrie Conservation staff before he was director, so he’s been around the trail for 20 years without ever giving it a try on a bicycle until his recent ride.

He was accompanied on his maiden trail cruise by his 13-year-old daughter Alison.  They both had new bicycles.

What kind of bikes?

“You know, I don’t even know for sure,” Hanner said. “I think they’re Schwinns.  They’re not too high-end, though. We bought them at Target.”

He said they were going to start their ride at the RRVT trailhead in Panora, head south and “ride a couple of miles and see how we’re doing.”

But when we checked in with Joe Hanner the next day, it turns out he and Alison had enjoyed the ride so much they rode six miles to Linden, took a rest, and then rode back — a total of 12 miles!

“We had a great time,” Joe said. “We got to Linden, re-watered there and then toodled on back to Panora.  Here’s my tip of the week for other riders — raspberries right alongside the trail.  We stopped to eat some on the way to Linden and again on the way back. Delicious!”

How’d dad and daughter feel the next day after their ride?

“We held up pretty good,” Joe said.

Meanwhile, his counterpart at the head of Dallas County Conservation, Mike Wallace, is an occasional rider on the RRVT and has also ridden on other trails around the Midwest.

But, there’s still one hold-out: Greene County Conservation director Dan Towers has still never ridden a bicycle on the RRVT.  Pressure’s on him now!