To lifelong bicycle enthusiast and Lakeshore Cyclery owner Larry Godfredson, the time is ripe for Storm Lake to launch a destination bike trail project."This town could benefit bigger in tourism from a project like that than anything else we could do. It's huge, and we're missing out on it," he said.
Godfredson reported that customers who come to his shop from all over western Iowa ask on a daily basis why Storm Lake does not have a recreation trail around the lake. The LakeTrail gets heavy use, but it's not what many riders are looking for.
"It's a trail that doesn't go anywhere," he said.
More and more, the riders he encounters say they don't ride streets or roads at all, but use their weekends and vacations to travel to places with a destination trail where they can enjoy riding without the risks of vehicle traffic.
The Storm Lake bike dealer often travels to events at the major trails around the region, and has grown disappointed that Storm Lake has not followed through on such a project of its own.
Godfredson took part in a fundraiser recently for the Sauk Rail Trail, a 33-mile asphault and concrete trail that runs from BlackHawk Lake State Park at Lake View to Swan Lake Park near Sac City.
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