Henry County High Wheelers invite bicycilists to join club, weekly rides

MT. PLEASANT – As the summer season winds down, so does the Henry County High Wheelers bicycle club's weekly rides.

'We ride every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.,” said Patsy Kruse, as she waited in Mt. Pleasant's Central Park for more riders to gather for the evening's 24-mile round trip to Salem.

'We would love to have people join us,” she continued. 'Anyone is welcome. You don't have to be a member.”

'We'll get you there and back,” said HCHW president Mark Hamilton.

Kruse said the club, which has about 18 members, starts the riding season in the spring with shorter routes of 10 to 15 miles. Then, miles are added as the daylight hours become longer and riders' legs become more conditioned.

'The furthest we've gone is a 36- or 38-mile ride,” she said. 'We try to be back by dark.”

Hamilton said the weekly rides will continue through September, although there is always a debate each year about when exactly the last ride will be.

'We're not a tight group, so whoever shows up, shows up,” said Hamilton. 'Daylight hours get shorter, people don't have lights on their bikes people get busy with kids in school, that's the struggle and fewer people start showing up.”

Hamilton said the HCHW has a reputation for being a RAGBRAI club, but that is a myth he would like to dispel. RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state.

'A lot of people in town ride, but think we're only a RAGBRAI club and that we ride too fast,” he said. 'We're not, and no one cares how fast you go. The fast riders can go together and the slow riders can go together. We'll all get there. Let's just go ride as a group. Let's get outside.”

Riding in numbers is safer, according to Hamilton, because the riders can call out instructions and warnings, such as 'car coming.”

While HCHW isn't a RAGBRAI club, some of its members do ride in RAGBRAI.

'When you register as a group, you have a better chance of being ensured of getting tickets,” said Hamilton. 'That is why we first formed 20-plus years ago. They give preference to teams because teams follow the guidelines.”

Hamilton is the club's RAGBRAI contact. The riders' tickets come to him and he distributes them. The rider tickets and bike tags associate riders with certain group, and the group is responsible for a rider's actions. Plus, the club promotes RAGBRAI's guidelines and safety rules. The club helps riders learn and remember rules of the road, such as the ride starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m., calling out warnings and instructions, don't wear earbuds, don't travel in pace lines, ride to the right side of the road and to have a good time, but remember RAGBRAI is a family event.

Hamilton would like to see the HCHW numbers and ride participants grow. He said he would like to see the club offer a gravel ride.

'Gravel rides are up and coming in the biking world,” he said, pointing out that a new offering on RAGBRAI are the gravel loops along the route for those who want to ride on gravel.

Hamilton also would like to see the club be able to offer rides twice a week; one with shorter routes between 10 to 15 miles and the other with longer routes of 60 or 70 miles.

Anyone is welcome to join HCHW or participate in the weekly rides, and can contact Hamilton for more information by calling 319-385-7137 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for details.