By Jared Curtis

Riders will start and end their ride at Cory’s Irish Pub. The 2012 Biking Bondu bicycle ride will take place on Saturday, June 23 at 10 a.m. The new 5K Run/Walk starts at 8:30 a.m. For more information, click here or preregister here.

Annual bike ride adds a new event

As the progression continues, Des Moines is turning into an ideal city for bicycle riding enthusiasts. With its miles of trails, riders can venture throughout the metro in any direction. And although the current trails are great, more could be done. Organizers of the annual Biking Bondu event want to help that cause, which is why they’re donating the proceeds to their local trailhead to help connect the small town to the rest of the trails.

“All of the proceeds will go to the Bondurant Regional Trailhead,” said Jeff Cook, event coordinator. “It will eventually connect us to the Chichaqua Valley Trail, The Gay Lea Wilson Trail and the High Trestle Trail, creating a tremendous riding experience.”

This is the fifth annual event, and Cook has seen the event continue to grow.

In 2007, Randy Pruismann, Steve Hall and myself came up with the idea for a bike ride. We had rode RAGBRAI and other local events, and we wanted to start our own to benefit the city of Bondurant,” Cook said. “Our first event in 2008 had 29 riders and last year we had 127, so the number of participants have grown every year. In the past we’ve found a member of the community to help benefit with the proceeds, but we thought we would try something different this year and focus on helping the trailhead.”

The ride will feature a 50-mile roundtrip bike ride from Bondurant to Baxter and back, with numerous stops along the way including Valeria (water stop), Mingo (Ozzy’s), Ira (pie and ice cream) and Baxter (Cadillac Jack’s). At 4 p.m., Cory’s Irish Pub in Bondurant will fire up the grill and offer live music through the evening.

“Last year was the first time we did a pie and ice cream stop and it was a huge hit, so we had to bring it back,” Cook said. “We wanted to make a day long event people could enjoy, so after the ride is over we encourage everyone to hang out at Cory’s and grab some food and enjoy the music.

Along with the bike ride, a new 5K Run/Walk was added to the festivities.

“We wanted to add something for the non-riders and thought the run/walk would be a great addition,” Cook said. “It starts at the firs station and goes around Lake Petocka and back. It’s a beautiful trail for the running/walking community.”

The event takes place on Saturday, June 23 and kicks off at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Lions Club at the Bondurant fire station. Also at 8 a.m., participants can register ($20) for the event. At 8:30 a.m., the 5K run/walk starts from the fire station, and at 10 a.m., the bike ride starts at Cory’s Irish Pub.

“Although we’ve had the pancake breakfast in the past, a lot of times on RAGBRAI the local fire station will be offering breakfast or lunch, so we wanted to add that element to the event,” Cook said.

Cook encourages all riders, regardless of skill level, to join the ride and help benefit the local trail systems.

“The ride is at your own pace, so you can stop as many times as you like. It’s also a great way to train for upcoming riding events,” Cook said. “Not only will you be supporting the community of Bondurant and the other communities along the trail, you’ll be supporting the trail systems. As the trail system continues to develop, it’s important to get them linked together so everyone can benefit from them and enjoy the ride.” CV