COOPER, Iowa, November 1, 2010 — Just in time for holiday gifts, a colorful and top-quality bicycling jersey featuring the Raccoon River Valley Trail is now available.  The front of the jersey features a fun portrayal of the trail by Brian Duffy, the cartoonist and cyclist from West Des Moines who has long been a user of the RRVT.    His familiarity with the trail is evidenced by his inclusion in the drawing of a smiling raccoon looking things over from a tree limb overhead, and a red-winged blackbird keeping an eye on things from the other side of the trail.

The back of the jersey includes a full map of the RRVT, including all the trail towns.  There are also three pockets on the backside, and each of them carries the name of one of the counties the trail goes through — Greene, Guthrie and Dallas.  The background of the jersey is white knit that includes the RRVT logo in “watermarks,” as they’re known.

The jerseys are made by the Louis Garneau company, based in Newport, Vermont, and in St.-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec, Canada, regarded as one of the best producers of bicycle apparel and equipment.

You can check the details of the jersey in these accompanying photos, with artist Duffy serving as our model:

The jersey is offered by the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association, the non-profit group with a mission of marketing and promoting the trail and all the communities along it.  RRVTA board member Daniel Willrich did much of the research and design work, and he was careful in selecting the Garneau company.  Designers at Garneau told us the jersey’s “diamond-shaped construction provides good ventilation and moisture-wicking properties.”  They added that the fabric is “60 percent mat polyester microfiber and 40 percent glossy polyester,” a perfect combination for long life and easy care.

The jersey is now available from the “RRVT Store,” which is located on the right side of the home page of the RRVT site on the Internet.  You can go directly to it by clicking here.

The cost of the jersey is $75 for most sizes, $80 for the largest size, plus shipping and handling expenses.

This jersey is more about being a marketing tool for us at this time, rather than a revenue producer,” said Carla Offenburger, president of the RRVT Association.  “We’ve kept the cost down to meet our expenses.  It’s a bargain at $75-$80, plus the shipping and handling charge.  That might not always be the case, so we encourage folks to purchase it in 2010.”

And, as a bonus, a RRVT lapel pin is included free with every jersey purchase.