Clayton County digital map, race tap into growing gravel biking trend
A new digital map highlights gravel bike routes in Clayton County—capitalizing on a growing trend among outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Routes are mapped throughout the county, including by Motor Mill. In October, riders can participate in the county’s first organized gravel biking event, the Volga City Gravel Race. (Submitted photo)
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
A new digital map prepared by Clayton County Conservation highlights gravel bike routes in the county—capitalizing on a growing trend among outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
“It’s this burgeoning thing throughout Iowa, this gravel biking. We have more roads per capita than any other state, so we’ve got a lot of resources there and now there are bikes developed to be specific to gravel,” said Kenny Slocum, resource manager/naturalist with Clayton County Conservation, who worked on the project with director Jenna Pollock.
Mat Fassbinder, a Clayton County native who began biking in college, also lent his support. Road biking exploded in the 1990s and early 2000s, with the success of Lance Armstrong, he explained. But as more riders started to get hit on hard surface roads, they transitioned to gravel.
“Then you could be out there for several hours and see five cars. It’s slower,” Fassbinder said. “It’s also that the bike industry has taken that and run with it, and selling those bikes has become big revenue. That’s why it’s gotten so big in Iowa, because there’s so much gravel. Think of how much gravel is in Clayton County.”
Pollock said the concept of creating a map was first mentioned by Darla Kelchen, executive director of the Clayton County Development Group, who saw other Iowa counties promoting their trails at last year’s state fair.
“People stopped at her booth and asked if Clayton County had bike trails, particularly gravel bike trails,” Pollock added.
Kelchen enlisted the help of Central students Luke Tuecke and Hazen Loan. The two consulted with county engineer Rafe Koopman and the Clayton County Secondary Roads Department and traveled potential routes, mostly within the Central School District. After establishing if the roads or trails were easy, moderate or difficult, they highlighted the points on a map.
Fassbinder also had knowledge of potential routes, not only through his biking experiences, but as a beekeeper traveling throughout Fayette and Clayton counties.
“Secondary roads was a partner from the aspect of we weren’t sure we wanted to promote all these roads because some are considered more dangerous. All of that was taken into consideration,” Pollock noted. “It’s heavily cautioned. You are biking on a gravel road in a hilly environment.”
Clayton County Conservation then took what was originally a physical map a step further.
“We thought it might be a little easier for people to us if it’s interactive on their phones,” said Slocum.
Fassbinder agreed. “When I’m riding, I have my phone or I have a program on a GPS to tell me where to go,” he quipped.
The digital map includes routes throughout the county, all color-coded by difficulty level and road type. Cities, parks, attractions, campgrounds, restrooms and medical facilities are also noted. Users can zoom in for more details and click on features and routes for links to more information.
“Once we got it digitized, it also makes it easy to add a route, especially as we develop things like the Pony Hollow Trail,” Slocum said. “Then you don’t have to re-print everything.”
Fassbinder said the map will be helpful as more people venture to Clayton County.
“Since I’ve grown up here, in 29 years, we have significantly increased how many trails we have. I see more people coming up to bike in this area,” he remarked. “There are groups from Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids that come up here because it’s the Driftless and it’s pretty. It’s also quieter. And some people like the hills.”
It got him thinking: Why not create a gravel bike race?
“Living in Volga and meeting the guys who run the Volga City Truck Cruise, it seemed like something that could bring some revenue,” Fassbinder shared. “It’s also a beautiful area that no one knows about. To the rest of the state, the rest of the Midwest, it’s kind of unknown.”
The first Volga City Gravel Race is slated to take place Saturday, Oct. 3. Any tire size or style of bike will be allowed, with the exception of e-bikes. GPS navigation will be posted a week before the race along with cue cards. There will be no course markings, so riders will be required to navigate on their own.
The route has 50- or 105-mile options that will include level-B roads and a few small water crossings. The course, which Fassbinder said is a loop through the Osterdock, Garber, Littleport and Mederville area, is hilly, with more than 10,000 feet of climbing in the 105-mile version. The race will be self-supported with three checkpoints for the 105-mile course and two checkpoints for the 50-mile course.
“Ideally, you have everyone together to start,” said Fassbinder, but due to COVID-19 concerns, “there may be a different format.”
Fassbinder and other gravel biking enthusiasts have been building up to the event with monthly gravel challenges in the area—two out of Decorah and one each out of West Union and Waukon. August’s ride is Elkader. Riders complete the challenge routes, which have been anywhere from 50 to 90 miles, at their own pace, any time during the month, then share their results virtually.
“Now it’s tying into doing a collective race instead of having everything on your own,” he said.
For more information about the Volga City Gravel Race, check out the Facebook event or go to bikereg.com/volga-city-gravel-race.
Check out the Clayton County gravel bike trails map at claytoncountyiowa.com or here.
