Contractor says bike trail project good for Mason City’s future

MASON CITY — One of the people constructing the Prairie Rock Trails Destination Iowa project in Mason City says the project is great for the biking community.

Ryan Clemishyre of Rock Solid Trail Contracting based in Bentonville Arkansas and Copper Harbor Michigan says Mason City may not be the first place people would think of as being a mountain biking destination, but the city is doing positive things with transforming under-utilized land into destinations for bikers.  “There’s a tremendous amount of return on investment financially for the community, but also the return on investment for just the positive impact for the kids, for the community, for health and wellness, it’s a tremendous impact. We’ve seen that in Bentonville and around other communities, but you’ll see it over the next few years of how it will impact the community of Mason City. It’s really fun to watch this progress.”

Clemishyre says the grassroots efforts by local mountain bikers wanting a facility is paying off.  “There was a few people that were involved in the very beginning of having this goal, and they went out and they got the money, the grant money, I think it was a $4.5 million grant, and they’ve used that wisely, and it’s will change the city of Mason City to become a biking community.”

The city had the grand opening last month of the singletrack trail at Evans Preserve. Mason City’s project when completed will link more than 20 miles of trails and 600 acres of parks, including the bike park being constructed on the city’s north side and the Riverwalk project downtown.