Charles City has tight-knit group of cycling enthusiasts

By Mary Pieper, Special to the Press

Bicycling is a big deal in Charles City, and not just during RAGBRAI.

Almost every Tuesday evening in the spring, summer and fall, anywhere from 10 to 30 people gather to ride their bicycles around the Charles City area.

Those who participate in these Bike Around Tuesday (BAT) rides generally range in age from their 20s to their 70s, according to Dick Neal of rural Floyd, one of the group’s founders.

“It’s just a good way to meet people,” he said. “When you are on a bicycle, you are all the same. You can be a doctor and I could be a bum, but we are all out there doing the same thing.”

There’s also the annual Charles City Bike Ride, which started in the early 1990s. This ride attracts anywhere from 10 to 50 cyclists.

Organizers plan this event for some time around the Fourth of July. This year’s ride is set for Saturday, July 2.

Participants can choose one of three routes. The shortest is 26 miles and the longest is 55 miles.

Cyclists from Charles City also travel to other places to go on organized bike rides. For example, this month some of them participated in the 2×4 ride originating in St. Ansgar, and four BAT members went all the way to Montana to participate in a six-day road tour there.

And then there’s RAGBRAI. Each year around 20 to 30 Charles City area residents go on this annual bike ride across Iowa. They call themselves the CC Riders.

Neal is part of this group, as is Charles City resident Steve Martin.

Martin, 55, said he got into cycling about 30 years ago when he got a mountain bike. When he participated in his first RAGBRAI in 1996, he got a road bike.

Later on, he bought a tandem bike to ride with a friend. These days he rides it with his daughter.

A few years ago, Martin purchased a fat tire bike.

“It’s a lot more friction and a lot more work,” he said. “It’s a workout, but it’s fun.”

Bike riding in general is a great way for those from ages 45 to 65 like him to keep in shape, according to Martin, who said he can’t run anymore because of knee surgery.

Cycling is “really good for your knees and conditioning,” he said. “It’s so good for your legs and cardio.”

Although many of them are middle-aged or older, the Bike Around Tuesday participants “are really good bike riders,” Martin said. “They do a lot of riding and they are in really good shape and condition for it. They go faster than what people think.”

Neal said the Bike Around Tuesday group used to ride further afield, but after accidents claimed the lives of several local cyclists over the past few years, “we have been staying a lot closer to town” and taking “the roads less traveled.”

As a cyclist, “you are really vulnerable” on the road because of inattentive drivers, he said.

That’s why cyclists are encouraged to wear bright colors, put a mirror on their bike, and be mindful of their surroundings, Neal said.

Fortunately, for those who want to avoid the possibility of getting hit by a vehicle, there are a lots of nice trails within a 20-mile radius of Charles City, he said. In addition to the Charley Western Trail around the most of the outer limits of Charles City, there’s the Wapsi-Great Western trail from Riceville to Elma and the Shell Rock River Trail from Clarksville to Shell Rock.

The Charles City cyclists are a tight-knit group, according to Neal.

“They look out for each other, and there’s plenty of good camaraderie there,” he said. “More are welcome.”