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NEWS
Evansdale Bridge Now Open!
Posted July 25, 2011
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail bridge over the Cedar River in Evansdale is now OPEN! The Black Hawk County Conservation Board has work tenaciously to replace the bridge since the flood of 2008 washed it away. The public is invited to help participate in this momentous milestone by attending a Grand Opening Celebration this Sunday, July 31st at 4pm. The event is being hosted by the BHCCB and Evansdale Chamber of Commerce and visitors are asked to park at Jewett School, 600 Collins Avenue in Evansdale, and then walk or ride the trail tram over to the celebration site. This is an exciting development, restoring a vital connection once enjoyed by the estimated 100,000 people who used the bridge while bicycling, walking and skiing this stretch of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. One more bridge in McFarlane Park near LaPorte City will need to be replace to restore the 52-mile trail connection to Cedar Rapids. Fundraising for that bridge is in the final stages with hopes that work can begin next year.
Cedar Falls/Waterloo to host First Annual Iowa Trails Summit
Friday through Saturday, June 18 - 19, 2010
Join representatives from trail user groups of all descriptions including bicycists, equestrian, snowmobile, OHV, paddlers, hikers and walkers for educational sessions, networking and hands-on demonstrations. Click here for a full description of events and registration form.
Friday Night Loops Return to Cedar Falls
Every Friday Evening in May, 6pm, Cedar Falls Recreation Center, 110 E. 13th Street
The Cedar Trails Partnership, in cooperation with the Cedar Falls Bicycle Advisory Committee, will sponsor free Friday Night Bike Loops each Friday in May, National Bike Month.
These short loop rides, held in honor of National Bike Month, will be designed to help cyclists learn safe ways to share the streets with motor vehicles. It is recommended that children under 12 be in trailers or on “trail-a-bikes” attached to their parent’s bicycles.
Friday Night Bike Loop rides will be held on May 7, 14, and 28. Riders should gather at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center at Waterloo Road and Main Street, at 6:00 p.m.
May 7th’s ride will feature the “North Cedar Revival Loop,” an easy 7.5-mile ride through North Cedar.
On May 14, the “Hill Loop” makes a 5-mile circuit which includes College Hill.
The Friday Night Loop on May 21 will be “Pack the Racks”, sponsored by Community Main Street, Bike Tech, Runners Flat and the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau. This will be a recreational trail ride, which will start from the parking lot behind Bike Tech in downtown Cedar Falls.
May 28th’s ride will be “The Main Drag Loop,” a 5-mile circuit of south Cedar Falls. It will start from the Rec Center.
Ride to Work Week
May 17th through 23rd
National Bike to Work Week is coming and we're demonstrating our Bicycle Friendliness with plans to "Pack the Racks" in downtown Cedar Falls. Thanks to the Black Hawk Gaming Association dozens of new bike racks have been installed in the downtown area and we're going to fill them up! Ride your bike to work and win prizes. Stop in at Bike Tech, the Runner's Flat or Community Main Street office to pick up valuable downtown dining coupons and enjoy refreshments provided by Cup of Joe.
Scheel's and HyVee are getting in on the act, too, by providing free juice, water and samples of nutritional energy bars in the tent in front of the College Square store between 6:30 and 9am Monday the 17th through Friday the 21st.
Europa Cycle and Ski is also providing nutrional snacks during the week so get out and ride your bike to work!bers of the Cedar Trails Partnership.
Annual Trail Clean Up
Saturday, April 24, 2010, 9am to 11am
Members of the Cedar Trails Partnership, Cedar Falls Jaycees, Cedar Valley Cyclists and others will gather to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up the trails. Crew leaders will be located at the following locations:
Gateway Park
Pfiefer Park
Prairie Lakes Parking Lot
Valley View Park
4th Street and Washington-Downtown Waterloo
Bags will be furnished. Please bring your own gloves. Your help would be much appreciated . If you have any questions, please call Roger DeGroot at 319-266-6716 or e-mail Roger at rddegroot@cfu.net
1st Annual Cranksgiving
Saturday, November 21, 2009
11am, Landmark, 118 Main Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Bike Tech and the Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails (CVAST) will be hosting the first Annual Cedar Valley Cranksgiving on November 21, 2009 at 11:00am at the Landmark 118 Main Street in Cedar Falls.
The basic idea for Cranksgiving is pretty simple. Cranksgiving functions as a one day charity food drive, done by cyclist in a period of 2 hours. It is a low key bike race/ride, where bicyclist, are giving a list of 12 required items to be purchased within a circuit of grocery stores and convenience stores. The first person who returns to the finish line with all the items required and receipts to prove the purchases will win. There is no entry fee for this event, and all the food collected will be donated to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. A bicycle, a helmet and a small backpack are required to race. Free shirts will be provided to the first 50 participants who register at 11:00am. Race starts at 11:30am. Many prizes will be awarded at the end of the race, including door prizes and top finishers.
The intention of our bike race, Cranksgiving, is to make sure the less fortunate could have a decent meal over the Thanksgiving holiday, Cranksgiving has become an annual charitable cycling holiday across the country and we want to become part of such a great way to contribute to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and the less fortunate in the Cedar Valley.
We are encouraging you to join us and ride your bike for a fun noble cause, together we can make a huge difference, and help make Thanksgiving possible to those families in need of help on this family holiday.
For more information please visit http://www.biketechcf.com or contact Redgie Blanco at Red_blanco@hotmail.com or 319-215-9141.
Cedar Falls Named Bicycle Friendly Community
Released May 1, 2009
May is Bike Month and the Am
erican League of Bicyclists celebrated by announcing 13 new Bicycle Friendly Communities. Cedar Falls is the first and only community in the state of Iowa to receive this prestigious distinction. The League of American Bicyclists oversees the program and the process is rigorous. Applicants are judged on areas of engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation. Designations are made in four levels of accomplishment – platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Communities are encouraged to improve as they renew every four years. Cedar Falls received honorable mention during the last cycle and achieved the bronze level of recognition this time.
The Mayor’s Bicycle Task Force, an effort lead by Councilman David Wieland and comprised of approximately thirty volunteers from throughout the community, has been diligently working toward this goal. The vision of the Task Force is to make Cedar Falls a model city for utilitarian bicycling. Official designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community offers additional evidence of the quality of life enjoyed in the Cedar Valley and will further assist in efforts to retain and recruit young professionals to the area. It is believed that the strong interest and support demonstrated by area bicyclists and the Task Force’s development of a master plan were instrumental in pushing the Cedar Falls application over the top. Funding, received by the Cedar Trails Partnership and the Cedar Falls RAGBRAI Committee enabled the Task Force to hire the Iowa Bicycle Coalition and Active Transportation Alliance of Chicago to assist in developing the plan.
The Bicycle Task Force plans to celebrate this accomplishment by inviting the public to explore developing on-street bike routes each Friday evening in May.
Friday Night Loops
May is National Bike Month and the Cedar Falls Bicycle Friendly Task Force is celebrating on-street cycling. Cedar Falls is in the final stages of completing its 2009 Bicycle Plan that will encourage bicycling as a safe, healthy, cost effective and environmentally sensitive transportation alternative.
Each Friday (except May 1 st) in May at 6:00 p.m., an organized ride will be lead by local community leaders through the beautiful streets of Cedar Falls’ newly established bike network. Each “loop” will be between 6-9 miles. Riders should expect a reasonable pace of 5-15 miles per hour and all on-road cycling.
Each ride will start off with a brief description of the short and long term plan for the particular route including some of the points of interest as well as a description of the various facilities under consideration. One of the most important goals of the loops is to get bikers on the road where they should feel empowered knowing that biking on the road is perfectly appropriate and their legal right. As the public gains greater awareness of the rights and responsibilities of bikes and vehicles, Cedar Falls will have a safer and more accommodative transportation system sought by new and old residence alike.
NOTE: ALL BIKERS RIDE AT THEIR OWN RISK AND SHOULD TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO ENSURE A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE RIDE.
The Neighborhood Loop—Friday, May 8th
Loop Chair: Kathy Green/Jon Taiber
Start/End: Overman Park
Distance: 8.27 miles
Description: The Neighborhood Loop is a peaceful route that will take you through the eastside residential areas of the city. You will pass several neighborhood schools, including Lincoln, Cedar Heights and Orchard Elementary, as well as the Falls and UNI campus. This loop goes through dense housing and many urban destinations perfectly suited for bike transportation.
Route: Clay to 18 th, 18 th to Rainbow, Rainbow to Rownd, Rownd to Orchard, Orchad to Main, Main to Jennings, Jennings to Trail, Trail to College, College to 4 th, 4 th to Overman
The Rec Center Express Loop, Friday May 15 th
Loop Chair: State Representative Bob Kressig
Start/End: Cedar Falls Recreation Center
Distance: 6.36 miles
Description: The Rec Center Express Loop takes you due west past the Cedar Falls High School where eventually, we hope bikes will outnumber cars. The loop continues to Union Road where you will travel into the sunset. 12 th Street west past Hudson will have two bike facilities, shared path of the bikers, walkers and other recreational users and, of course, the road. More experienced bikers will take to the road for a safer, faster alternative to the shared use path. Also, on the loop is Holmes Junior High and Soratori Hospital, two more great urban biking destinations connected by the bike network.
Route: Beginning at the Rec Center, 12 th to Union, Union to Pleasant Drive continuing on 4 th to Clay, Clay to 12 th, 12 th to Rec Center.
The Dream Loop, Friday, May 22 nd
Loop Chair: Cedar Valley Cyclists
Start/End: Gateway Park
Distance: 7.89 miles
Description: The Dream Loop is one of the more challenging rides of the Friday Night Loop series. There are a number of lane changes, busy intersections and higher speeds to negotiate. The loop is on key arterial streets identified in the plan where bikers want to bike, but do not feel the facilities adequately address the bikers’ needs. Long-term this route could prove to be the most effective and efficient bike transportation routes in the city given the right design and construction of the streets. This route should be a confidence builder for those not yet comfortable with on-street cycling with higher vehicular traffic.
Route: Beginning at Gate Way, Main to 18 th/Waterloo Road, Waterloo Road to University, University to Hudson, Hudson to 1 st, 1 st to Main St.
The North Cedar Revival Loop, Friday, May 29 th
Loop Chair: Mayor Crews and Councilman Wieland
Start/End: Ice House Museum
Distance: 5.49 miles
Description: The North Cedar Revival Loop heads north past the Brown Bottle and through the heart of the North Cedar Commercial district. With minor improvements in Center Street bike facilities, the Center Street corridor has tremendous potential in being a primary route uniting North Cedar with its southern neighbors. Moving into the country, the loop will take you on some beautiful roads to North Cedar Elementary School then back to the Ice House Museum on Center Street.
Route: Beginning at the Ice House Museum, north on Center Lone Tree, Lone Tree to Big Woods Road, Big Woods Road to Lake, Lake continuing on Longview to Center, Center Street to Ice House Museum
lean up crews will gather at various points along the trails. Watch here for details or call 319-268-4266
Ride Your Bike to Work Day
Friday, May 15th, 2009, 6:45am to 8am
Bicycles are fun, but they're made for transportation, too. Ride your bike to work and better health and a cleaner environment. Free food and prizes on Friday. Check back for details or call 319-268-4266.
Other Area Trails Events
Saturday, June 13, 2009, 10:30am, Clarksville
PEDAL Power Ride, sponsored by Pathways Behavioral Services, is a part of Pioneer Days. Contact Vicki Mueller, 319-235-6571, or vicki_mueller@pathwaysb.org for details.
Recent Events:
The CTP celebrated Earth Day with an annual clean up project. CTP board member Roger DeGroote coordinated the effort with assistance from Bill Fee, other members of the board, and the Cedar Falls and Waterloo Parks Departments. Members of the Cedar Valley Cyclists, scouting and church groups and many other organizations. Crews met at various points along the trail to pick up trash.
Here are a few photos from the day...
Larry Buchholz at Prairie Lakes |
DeGroote's and Friends at Valley View Park |
Deb, Jay and Rocky Landau at Prairie Lakes |
Newsletter Archives
Fall, 2009 Newsletter (PDF)
Spring, 2009 Newsletter (PDF)
Fall, 2008 Newsletter (PDF)
Spring, 2008 Newsletter (PDF)
Fall, 2007 Newsletter (PDF)
Spring, 2007 Newsletter (PDF)