Fall bike rides build on local cycling culture with new mission tie-ins

CEDAR RAPIDS — As the cycle of plant life started to wind down this fall, Cedar Rapids nonprofits connected cyclists with nature through the launch of two new rides.

On Sept. 27, the Barn to Farm Bike Ride by Indian Creek Nature Center guided cyclists through trails connecting the Cedar Rapids nature reserve to its new permaculture property in Marion.

On Sept. 28, Chain Reaction Bike Hub convened with Open Garage to launch Harvest Ride, a 36-mile loop connecting riders to a fall festival of food, music and entertainment at Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins.

Here’s why cycling events are growing in popularity, what nonprofits hope to accomplish and why a subculture of cycling is growing in the Corridor.

What’s prompting these new events?

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It’s not hard to find a herd of cyclists touring the Corridor’s bike trails on any given weekend in good weather, said Evan Schmidtke, executive director of Chain Reaction Bike Hub, a nonprofit program that promotes equitable bike ownership in Cedar Rapids. But as organizers convened with Open Garage community programming and Bloomsbury Farm’s agritourism missions, they wanted a fundraiser that could do more.

“What we were looking for was to do something different. Take them on roads they wouldn’t typically ride. Frame it as a community ride,” Schmidtke said. “Others are ‘choose your own adventure.’ We wanted something where we could all ride together — not just (convening at) the end destination, but the ride itself.”

Harvest Ride, the newest fundraiser for Chain Reaction Bike Hub, was born with dozens of participants.

Indian Creek Nature Center, long a retreat from the city for nature lovers, wanted to showcase a new part of its mission: Etzel Grove Sugar Farm.

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The new Marion property on St. Peters Road, gifted in 2016 by the estate of the late George Etzel, has given Indian Creek new applications for its mission: a permaculture field, hundreds of hens producing certified organic eggs, fruits and nut trees, and an apiary of bees that thrive on them.

“Part of our education is being able to showcase that piece of our property as well as the good works going on there with our regenerative ag program,” said Sarah Botkin, organizer and Amazing Space Manager for Indian Creek Nature Center. “What better way to show how the trail system basically connects the property here on Otis Road up to the farm in Marion?”

In previous years, before the pandemic, the nature center partnered with organizations like Linn Area Mountain Biking Association (LAMBA) to host rides. Indian Creek’s new Barn to Farm ride is its first organized alone that connects both properties through the Cedar Valley and Sac & Fox trails.

Like Chain Reaction’s Harvest Ride, they hope for it to become an annual event as they ramp up education opportunities at the Marion barn.

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Chain Reaction’s ride was geared toward adults due to its bike paths, while Indian Creek’s event was family friendly.

“It's showing the nature center maybe in a little different light in the sense people don’t know we have the farm. What is permaculture, what is restorative agriculture? It gives them that educational piece that may not be in other bike rides,” Botkin said.

What’s the cycling culture like here?

Schmidtke, who is also a mechanic at Goldfinch Cyclery, sees cyclists across the spectrum in Linn County — from extreme racers with lightweight bikes to those who rely on their bikes as a form of transportation.

On the trails, those who ride bikes for sport, pleasure or utility cross paths. All of them, he said, have a culture of looking out for one another.

“There’s this heightened desire … to have a shared experience,” he said. “Whether that’s riding to the local bar on a weekend of a multi-day tour … the bike is the catalyst for a lot of that. If you find people as enthusiastic about riding a bike as you are, that’s a cool thing.”

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Chain Reaction’s mission, run entirely by volunteers, is to make it accessible for all. Their goal in their first year was donating one bike to organizations like Willis Dady, Foundation 2 Crisis Services and the Boys and Girls Club for every refurbished bike sold at their shop.

In their first year, they sold 180 bikes and donated 145. Volunteers can earn their own bike after 12 hours of refurbishing donated ones for others.

Donations that aren’t usable are recycled.

“Nothing that comes into our shop goes to waste,” he said.

Why are these rides becoming popular?

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It’s easy to have shared experiences on an area known for its quality trails and numerous bike shops.

Botkin, a transplant to Iowa, said the Corridor has better trails than any other state she has lived in.

“As much as I love walking, sometimes I wish I could do it a little faster,” she said. “Biking allows me to see more in the time frame I have.”

With the types of bikes becoming more diverse, she said the sport is gaining appeal among more types of people through mountain bikes, fat tires, hybrids, electric bikes, tandem bikes for couples and pull-alongs for kids or pets.

“I think you can really build a community with the bikes,” she said. “This is just another great way to get people out enjoying nature.”

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In a world more connected than ever, nature offers a disconnect that resets soul and mind. But with group rides, disconnecting doesn’t have to mean isolating from people.

“It’s just a way for you to relax, escape a little bit from everything that might be happening in your crazy life,” Botkin said. “Let your blood pressure go down a little bit.”

Through the power of regenerative agriculture and restored prairie, these rides leave another important metaphor in the tracks.

“We known it’s important to take care of the land,” she said. “If we do that, it will take care of us.”

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Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.