Our bike team spent Saturday the 25th on the Raccoon River Valley trail. We had planned to attend the Iowa Bicycle Festival but due to the weather the festival was postponed. Eleven of us met in Jefferson but had to wait out the weather, which was a good thing! We were able to pay a visit to All Ability Cycles; this bike shop was well worth the visit to see the different kinds of bikes they make. They also had an art show going on with some amazing prints! Our next stop in Jefferson was the Metro Club. We needed some pre-ride refreshments; Team Purple Jam was also there. Not a bad place to start a ride!
Our ride ended up being from Jefferson to Minburn and back. Roughly 67 Miles.
Riding out of Jefferson on the trail you will see some beautiful scenery especially when crossing the Raccoon River. The first town along the trail is Cooper which does have a public restroom trailside. Next along the trail is the town of Herndon which is the connection to the new north loop. No services exist in Herndon at this time. Heading east on the newly paved trail was a treat! We all loved the width of the new trail.
Jamaica
We had planned to stop at Tojo’s in Jamaica but they were closed for the weekend. So we made a stop at the convenience store which unfortunately has a sign on the door saying they are closing permantly on June 1st. On our return trip through Jamaica we the found a place called the Do Drop Inn. This bar is not a bicycle bar but they did treat us good. We were pretty much the only ones in the place.
Dawson
Dawson was just a pass through town for us on this trip. They do have a very beautiful restored depot trailside with restrooms.
Perry
We were all getting very hungry by the time we arrived in Perry. We found a place called the Otley Cat, and what a find it was! Full menu with great food! If you get the chance to meet J.C when here enjoy because he is a riot. We will definitely visit this place again! On our way back we stopped at the Crooked Rail. Most of us have been here before on our Brr ride adventures. This is another good stop along the trail.
Minburn
We made a stop at Mudders when we arrived in Minburn. Not a bad little place to enjoy a refreshment! Make sure to check out the key collections on the walls.
We really wanted to ride to Dallas Center but time was not on our side or was the weather! Overall we are looking forward to coming back to this trail and ride the whole length.