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Life's little detours can expose fresh new trails
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle This trail had been in the cornfield all along. In fact, friends of ours who had moved to Pittsford from Iowa had found the trail and told me about it, and I remember thinking, "I'm not walking into the cornfield; there are scary things there. … |
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Brinker-Cedar link backed
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier The city has authorized the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments to prepare the application for $684760 from the Federal Recreational Trails Fund. Plans call for the $171190 local matching funds to come from gaming revenues earmarked through … Waterloo seeks federal grant to build channel, connect Brinker Lake to Cedar River |
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Wine country: Taste autumn in a glass along Iowa's many trails
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier There are at least 80 vineyards and wineries in Iowa, and five well-established wine trails traversing the state: Amana Colonies Wine Trail, Heart of Iowa Wine Trail, the Iowa Wine Trail, Scenic Rivers Wine Trail and Western Iowa Wine Trail. … |
Last May the Iowa Bicycle Coalition launched the biggest bicycle challenge ever – Iowa Goes By Bicycle. The Challenge continues through October 14th and everyone that participates has the chance to win one of two Trek bicycles plus hundreds of other prizes. The last phase of the Challenge: bicycling with you friends, starts Monday, September 19th.
There is still time to sign-up for the challenge, commit to riding a bike more, and be entered into the drawing to win bikes and bike gear. The goal is to get 1,000 people across the start signed up and logging minutes traveled by bicycle. 820 people have signed up. “There’s no better time than now to sign up for the Iowa Goes By Bicycle Challenge.” Says Mark Wyatt, Director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. “If you log your minutes by bike this month you are almost guaranteed a prize, and with weather this nice, there is nothing left to lose.”
For the past five months the Iowa Goes By Bicycle Program has been awarding dedicated Challenge participants all sorts of quality bicycle gear simply for riding their bikes. “We believe that bicycling is part of the cure to Iowa’s obesity epidemic. Live a bicycle-friendly lifestyle and healthy habits follow.” Says Audrey Wiedemeier, Program Coordinator of the Iowa Goes By Bicycle Challenge.
“With the bicycling information we provide to participants, and the incentive of big bicycle related prizes, we want to get as many Iowan’s as possible hooked on riding.” Says Wiedemeier. The last month of the Bicycle Challenge is a chance for anyone who hasn’t been logging their minutes or has not yet signed up, to win some serious prizes.
One participant from Des Moines, Iowa commented, “I love being able to log my house and see how many calories I’m burning. The log helps keep me focused to improve my abilities and stay on track with consecutive rides. The information on the website is wonderful for a newbie to the sport.”
Event Details:
September 19th – October 14th
IowaGoesByBicycle.com
Click to send a message to your member of Congress.
This year, around $700 million of Federal transportation funds, which in reality is less than 2 percent of total transportation dollars, will be spent on bicycling and walking. In 2012 that figure might be a big zero.
We expect that in the next few days, Senator Coburn (R-OK) will ask Congress to eliminate the federal Transportation Enhancements program – the primary funding source for the past 20 years for bike lanes, trails, bike racks on buses, bike education etc. This isn’t safe or smart; it’s not good for the economy or the environment; this is bad health policy and bad transportation policy. But they are going to try because they don’t think bicycling matters.
Even though bicycling projects create more jobs per dollar than highway-only projects and cutting enhancements won’t impact the deficit – the money just won’t be spent on bicycling – some Members of Congress want to force us backwards to a 1950s highway-only mindset: as if oil embargoes, congestion, smog, the obesity epidemic and climate change never happened.
Now is the time to Save Cycling, so we are asking you to contact your Senators and urge them to support continued funding for biking and walking. Don’t let them take away this vital investment program for smart, sustainable, safe transportation choices.
Please Take Action today.
Thank You.
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Iowa cyclists are pedaling into the sunset and beyond
DesMoinesRegister.com There is no sign-up or formal organization; just join in with your bicycle and lights from trailheads along the trail. Most riders start in Slater. “It's cool,” said Scott Sumpter of bike iowa.com. “We're finally getting trails connected and businesses … |