“Tour the Raccoon” back in June finally got some good weather — well, at least one of the two days it did — and about 60 cyclists had an enjoyable weekend ride on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. The new Jefferson Trailhead Campground was a real hit with the riders, who especially appreciated the new showers and restrooms and the close location to downtown. Here’s brief story & a dozen photos.
WAUKEE, Iowa, June 13, 2011 — In much better weather than its had in its previous years, the third annual “Tour the Raccoon” ride of the Des Moines Cycle Club attracted about 60 riders the weekend of June 11 & 12.
The tour, which is open to the public, uses the full 56-mile-long Raccoon River Valley Trail from Waukee to Jefferson on Saturday, then a return on Sunday. A highlight this year was that the tour was the first group to use the new Jefferson Trailhead Campground in Jefferson — the first full-service campground located right on the trail. Several of the trail towns had special receptions for the cyclists, and nearly all the riders took part in some of the events of the 32nd annual Bell Tower Festival that was going on in Jefferson all weekend long.
Saturday was one of the prettiest days of the cycling season with temperatures in the mid 70s and a light wind. Sunday’s conditions were a little more challenging, with some late-morning and early-afternoon rain showers and a stiff headwind that proved especially tough in areas where the trail is not well protected by trees.
DMCC tour director Danny Kruzic said he was happy with the turnout of riders, and said the club remains committed to growing the event. “We’ve got a good thing here,” Kruzic said.
You can learn more about the ride in the captions to the photos that will soon be posted below here.
Brigid Rocca, of Des Moines, leads a group riding into Linden on Saturday, June 11, on the first day of the “Tour the Raccoon” ride of the Des Moines Cycle Club. Behind her, on a similar recumbent “trike,” is her husband Eldon Rocca and their friend Peter Bowers, also of Des Moines. The reason Bowers was riding is because a couple weeks before the event, he heard Brigid Rocca give a speech about the tour at their Toastmasters Club and decided he had to give it a try.
Georgie Libbie, president of the Des Moines Cycle Club, discovered a flat tire on her bicycle at the very start of the “Tour the Raccoon” ride, and then had a second one later. Here, another cyclist John Sparks, of Ames, is doing a tire repair job for Libbie during a rest stop at the trailside shelter house in Linden.
There were 30 tents set up to house the 60 cyclists and a few visiting family membes when “Tour the Raccoon” became the first group to use the brand new Jefferson Trailhead Campground in Jefferson. The campground is located just south of the Jefferson Depot, and is between the RRVT and the Greene County Fairgrounds. In the background of the tents here, you can see the new restroom & showers building that serves the campground. The camping fee is $10 per tent, and you can pay at the campground, or make reservations with the Greene County Conservation Board in Jefferson (515) 386-5674.
A view looking south across the new Jefferson Trailhead Campground.
Carla Offenburger, of Cooper, president of the RRVT Association, stands in the middle of the new Jefferson Trailhead Campground, and shows one of the signs from a current public campaign in Jefferson about believing in and investing in your own community. The town is using the campaign as part of its effort to become part of the national “Main Street” program. Offenburger missed riding her bicycle on Saturday of “Tour the Raccoon” because of other duties for Jefferson’s Bell Tower Festival, but joined the group on Sunday.
Cam Coppess is a West Des Moines police officer who is also a bicycling enthusiast. He volunteered to drive Bike World’s luggage truck for “Tour the Raccoon,” and he is shown here just after loading the riders’ bags at Eason Elementary School in Waukee. Note his ankle socks, and go on to the next two photos.
Here is a close-up view of Cam Coppess’ cycling socks, which were a gift to him of a young bicyclist he met when he was an officer on the Bicycle Patrol of the West Des Moines Police Department. “But you’ve got to see the bottoms of these,” Coppess said. Go on to the next photo.
Here is what the bottoms of Coppess’ cycling socks look like. And he is a cop who is serious about donuts. “I’ll be a part of this ‘Tour the Raccoon’ as long as we keep getting those Bunkers Dunkers glazed donuts in Jefferson,” he said. Those famous donuts from the local bakery are part of the continental breakfast that Jefferson’s McFarland Clinic provides free to all the tour’s participants.
The Aulwes family, from Bondurant, decided to use their nifty camping stove to make their own breakfast Sunday morning in the Jefferson Trailhead Campground. Their meal perfectly fried eggs and these pancakes. Left to right are Kristin Aulwes, 2-year-old daughter Audrey and dad Joe Aulwes. He rode his bicycle on “Tour the Raccoon” and Kristin and Audrey were his support team.
Miranda Cassens (left), of Boone, and Angela Mickelson, of Ames, are shown here as they were ready to leave the Jefferson Depot on Sunday morning. They were on their first organized bicycle tour, and it was also the first time they’d ridden on the RRVT. They said they’re trying a few rides early this summer before deciding whether they’re ready to do RAGBRAI – the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa – in late July. They seemed to be strong riders, judging by others on “Tour the Raccoon.”
Here was another group of riders as they got ready to leave Jefferson Sunday morning for the return ride to Waukee on “Tour the Raccoon.” Left to right are Mary Topf, of West Des Moines; Jason Rose, of Ankeny; Stephanie Hinz, of Marion, with her children Kate Hinz and Sam Hinz; and Jeri Bartley and Carol Burt, both of Mingo.
