Trails turn small towns into cyclist sanctuaries

This story first appeared in the 2024 Cycling Guide, a new annual special section distributed in The Gazette aimed at telling the stories of the businesses, people and local efforts that have made The Corridor a cycling destination.

The increasing number of trail connections in Eastern Iowa have made cycling safer for bikers — both serious cyclers who want to train and families out for a weekend ride — while also connecting communities and bringing a boost to businesses in the small towns they pass through.

The Cedar Valley Nature Trail, which follows an abandoned railroad right-of-way, connected to downtown Ely in 2010. Ely was then connected to Solon in 2020 with a continuation of the CVNT, which becomes the Hoover Trail when it crosses into Johnson County.

With these connections from both the north and south, “Ely went from not really having much of a destination theme, and this trail has now opened up a whole new avenue for us to market our community,” said Ely City Administrator Eldy Miller.

Miller says that Ely is now a weekend destination for riders. With bike events or even just large groups of bikers coming into town every weekend in good weather, the city has started a downtown revitalization project to increase bike parking and amenities. This includes new public parking lots opening by Dan and Debbie's Creamery and Ely City Park, and a water-refilling and bike repair station planned in the downtown area.

“It's been a real economic boost. Before we had the trail, we had a lot of turnover on businesses because they had a hard time staying open,” Miller said. “As our town has grown but also as the trail has come in, (businesses) have had to gear up to be able to handle the boom, especially on weekends in the summer.

“It is just non-stop in our downtown with cyclists,” he added.

Longtime Ely restaurant Odie's Bar & Grill has revamped its look and its logo to cater to the cyclist crowd. Within the past two years, its owners have added a large outdoor patio and bike parking outside, while also redoing their indoor décor to be more bike-centered.

A new multi-use development that plans to break ground in April was designed with the bike trail specifically in mind. Instead of having a back entrance, Main Street Legacy — a planned two-story building with condos upstairs and commercial businesses on the main floor — will have a front for the bike trail side and a front for the street side. A pass-through was also designed to help create flow and continuity between the two sides.

“My main office has been in Ely for a long time, and we observed as this trail came through all the bike traffic, it was just amazing,” said Mark Krob, president of Main Street Legacy. “We realized that we really had something that could be of great value to the bikers and to the community with where we were situated.”

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Dan and Debbie's Creamery opened in Ely the summer before the trail did and chose its location more because it was only five minutes from their farm. When the trail was built right behind the creamery, Josie Rozum, director of operations (and oldest daughter of owners Dan and Debbie Takes), said it's been a blessing to their business.

“We were hoping that we would see any amount of growth from year one to year two, obviously being new and building awareness. But I definitely think that our business in particular has been a great stop along the trail. It's quite motivating to ride your bike and then get a scoop of ice cream at the end,” Rozum said.

With plenty of outdoor seating and a large sign on the back of the building facing the trail that says “You made it,” Rozum says even riders who didn't know about their business make the stop while riding along on the trail. And ever since the six-mile segment from Ely to Solon opened, Dan and Debbie's traffic has increased even more.

“We're kind of a central location for those families and individuals who want to go for a ride,” Rozum said.

With the trail going right past downtown Ely, “it really isn't hard to convince cyclists to stop and check out our businesses,” said Callie Stulz-O'Brien, Ely's director of Parks and Recreation.

Solon invests in place-making

Solon already had an identity as a place for recreation before the trails existed because of its proximity to Lake Macbride. A 1989 project created the North Shore Trail, a five-mile trail from Solon to Lake Macbride State Park, that could be used by hikers, bikers and snowmobilers.

As trail connections started to happen around Solon, the city prioritized Main Street reconstruction projects to update the infrastructure and attract new businesses. Since 2012, these new businesses have included a bike shop, cafe, bakery, diner and sushi restaurant.

Big Grove Brewery, now with locations in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, started on Main Street in Solon in 2013. They've leaned into the bicycle culture with a large outdoor patio, bike rack and fence for propping bikes up, a bike repair stand out front, bike jerseys for sale, and even a created-for-RAGBRAI golden ale called “Tail Wind.”

Big Grove also hosts bike events. A few years ago, they had Brew to Brew in collaboration with House Divided Brewery in Ely. Throughout the summer, they host time trials for CRANDIC, the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Racing Club. They also participate in the Hop Passport, which encourages people to try new breweries.

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“Bikers love craft beer. So, a lot of bikers are riding from brewery to brewery to brewery, and they're not just doing it because they love biking, but they're doing it because they love beer too,” said Katie Neuzil, general manager of Solon Big Grove. “So it's just a cool way that you can engage people in multiple communities and support other businesses too.”

Big Grove will be holding its Big Rove event this year on Saturday, June 29. With the opening of the Cedar Rapids location, riders can start there or at the Iowa City location at 7 a.m. Riders coming from the north will have paved trail the whole way, while riders from the south will have a short road segment on Mehaffey Bridge Road before meeting at the Solon location for live music, beer tents, food and games. They expect 1,200 riders.

“Biking is a very prominent thing in the state of Iowa, and we join in on that where we can,” said Dacey Johnson, Big Grove's marketing and event manager.

Solon City Administrator Cami Rasmussen says the town is currently looking for ways to let people coming into town off the trails know what is in Solon. The trail doesn't go through downtown Solon like it does in Ely — the entrance is through a trailhead for both the Hoover and North Shore trails at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area. The trailhead has maps to Main Street, and wayfinding signage and advertising signs are planned for the future.

The Solon Spartan head and orange and black “S” are prominent as soon as you exit the trail into town.

“We're constantly looking for ways to tell our story through place-making,” Rasmussen said.

Future projects catering to the trails include a mixed-use building with shops, apartments and even a hotel, so that in addition to the restaurants already on Main Street, bikers can make a weekend out of their visit to Solon.

“Being a community with a lot of cyclists is just part of who we are, and we try to have the attitude that our welcome sign is always open,” Rasmussen said.

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Trails boost infrastructure

As Ely has grown from a population of 500 in the 1990s to almost 2,500 currently, residents — many of whom came from or work in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids — want amenities when they move to town. The boom in economic activity from visiting cyclists has allowed the city to reinvest in the area. Roads that were more than a century old are getting fixed, parks are being created, and signage downtown is getting updated to help make the area feel unique and inviting.

“The trail definitely has redefined our community over the past 10 years, not just keeping businesses open but just how we're planning for the future,” Ely's Miller said.

Miller says the city is looking at changing subdivision ordinances to accommodate trail connectivity when new residential developments are created.

By making it a priority to connect neighborhoods to the trails, “it makes it more attractive for people to move to town because they can access the trails safely,” Miller said.

More than recreation

Not only do cyclists use the trails recreationally, but having a safe, paved connection to Cedar Rapids and Solon also created a transportation corridor for work commuters.

Without a recreation center in Ely, it's also a boost for residents looking to maintain their exercise routines throughout the year. City staff maintains the trails to keep them open year-round within town limits and is working with Linn County to try to keep more of the trail open along the Corridor year-round as well.

“As much as the trail's great for riders coming in and out, it's also become an avenue of transportation for our community internally,” Miller said. “People will jump on the trail and walk to downtown, or they will find ways — instead of jumping in their car — to use the trail to get from one end of town to another.”