Mayor and City Council’s Bike Ride is May 18

Ames Mayor John Haila and members of the Ames City Council invite the community to participate in a family-friendly bike ride around Ames, starting and ending at City Hall. The 12-mile ride will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 18, in the west parking lot at Ames City Hall, 515 Clark Ave. Bicyclists of all ages and experience levels are welcome to join the ride. There is no pre-registration necessary or cost to participate. Bike helmets are strongly encouraged.

"May is National Bike Month, so it's a great time to get out and enjoy our city on bicycle," said Mayor Haila. "This year's route will take us to several sites around Ames. As we've done in the past, we'll stop to hear about improvements such as new playground equipment at Lloyd Kurtz Park in north Ames and our new pickleball courts at Emma McCarthy Lee Park."

Bicyclists will exit the City Hall parking lot and head east on Sixth Street, eventually ending up at the Ames Municipal Cemetery for a brief stop. The route heads north from the cemetery to East 20th Street and Homewood Golf Course where bicyclists turn west toward Duff Avenue.

From the intersection of 20th Street and Duff Avenue, the route follows Duff Avenue north to Inis Grove Park for another brief stop to discuss improvements. Bicyclists continue along Duff Avenue across Grand Avenue and onto 30th Street. The route turns north at Hoover Avenue and west at Bloomington Road to Lloyd Kurtz Park for water refills and another stop.

From Bloomington Road, bicyclists continue west to George Washington Carver Road. The route turns south and follows the shared-use path system to Moore Memorial Park and then Stange Road. The route continues south on Stange Road to 13th Street, where bicyclists will turn west. Bicyclists will head to Emma McCarthy Lee Park, and there will be a brief stop at the new pickleball courts. The bicyclists will follow the park access path to Oakland Street and east toward Iowa State University (ISU) campus.

The route winds through ISU campus, heading east until connecting with Sixth Street. Bicyclists will enter Brookside Park for another brief stop to highlight a recent wood carving. Bicyclists will exit Brookside Park and head south across the railroad tracks to North Hazel Avenue for a final stop at the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center. From there, the route will return to City Hall.

Also, in celebration of National Bike Month, Mayor Haila and City Council members will kick off Bike to Work Week by hosting a free Bike Commuter Continental Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. on Monday, May 13, in front of City Hall. Bicyclists are invited to stop by for a snack and beverage on their way to work or school.

For more information on the Mayor and City Council's Bike Ride, contact Susan Gwiasda, Public Relation Officer, at [email protected] or 515.239.5204.