TOWER- Thirty years ago, Tower and Soudan were connected by one of the first segments of the planned 160-mile paved bike route, dubbed the Mesabi Trail.
This week, the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority, the entity behind the trail, celebrated the paving of the last two-mile segment between Tower and Kugler Township, all but completing the trail. A short section along Hwy. 135 remains to be paved next summer, but trail officials weren’t going to let that hinder their celebration of a remarkable achievement— the creation of what may well be the longest paved bike trail in the country. And what better way to celebrate than a bike ride on the newest sections of trail, between Tower and Embarrass.
The 30-mile ride this past Saturday, based at the Tower Depot, attracted over 100 riders and featured live music, a taco truck, children’s activities, Mesabi Trail info and merchandise for sale, along with a bike repair station and e-bike rides from Mesabi Recreation.
Riders from across the state participated in the ride. And it wasn’t just traditional bikes, there were e-bikes, tandems, a bike with a trailer hauling two large poodles, a recumbent bike, and a hand-crank bike driven by Dan Zorman who came all the way from Blackduck for the event.
Zorman, who has been a paraplegic for 13 years, was putting the traditional riders to shame. After a brief rest at the civic center after his 30-mile ride, he headed out again, taking the trail to Ely to meet his wife and in-laws.
“It’s one of the few times I forget I’m paralyzed,” he said. Zorman works as a Postmaster in Hines, outside of Blackduck. He does a lot of riding in the Bemidji area and has completed several week-long rides. This year he completed the week-long Ragbrai, the 391-mile Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
Many others on the trail Saturday were also avid riders. Brenda and Jeff Melicher, of Eveleth, have logged almost 1,300 miles on their road bikes so far this year, which doesn’t include miles they’ve ridden on their other bikes. The couple recently did a trip from Ely to Eveleth, driving two cars up to Ely. They had breakfast at Brittons, left one car in Ely, and drove back home. From home, they then rode the Mesabi Trail from Eveleth up to Ely.
Fall has become a prime bike-riding season, said Scott Dahlquist, from Mesabi Recreation. He attributed this change to e-bikes, which have become quite popular with the 50-plus age group, many of whom are now retired, and have plenty of free time to ride.
He estimated that at least half the riders on Saturday were using e-bikes.
“E-bikes have brought in a whole new category of riders,” Dahlquist said. He said they allow older riders, many with health conditions or knee-replacements, to get back outdoors.
“Many of the people buying e-bikes from us haven’t been on a bike in years,” he said. The store still sells a lot more traditional bikes, but they are seeing sales of e-bikes doubling from last year.
Dahlquist said the shop was a bit slow to start selling e-bikes, but now they have become an important part of the business. They also are more popular with couples.
“People are often buying two at a time.” The store also rents out e-bikes, and he said all their rentals are spoken for next week.