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Live Action Iowa

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Riding in Iowa

Here’s what you are doing when you ride a bike:

1.  Getting exercise
2.  Commuting – Yeah you actually get somewhere as opposed to that stationary bike sitting in your basement covered in dust.
3.  Spending quality time with your family
4.  Using renewable energy
5.  Finding parking spots really easily
6.  Maneuvering easily
7.  Looking totally rad in your biking shorts
8.  Styling like no other in the helmet with the little round rear view mirror

Here’s what you’re NOT doing when you ride a bike:

1.  Creating noise pollution
2.  Creating air pollution
3.  Expending non-renewable energy
4.  Killing people in an accident
5.  Contributing to traffic congestion
6.  Being restricted by road travel
7.  Spending too much money on something that is going to depreciate the second you remove it from  the showroom.
8.  Looking like a chump 

Group biking:  Have you ever seen a mess of bikers riding down the road together?  They aren’t just BFFs, they are actually that close to reduce wind resistance and use less energy.  It’s all about aerodynamics, kids, so mind your studies if you want to understand it.  Aside from giving each other pep talks, sharing a supply of Cliff bars, and helping with a broken bikes, they also on occasion take advantage of each other’s slipstream.  That’s right, slipstream.  Say it again because it’s the coolest word you’ll say all day.  Slipstream.  Wanna see team effort in action in Iowa?  Check out the RAGBRAI link below. 

Street riding:  Just your run of the mill bike ride?  Riding with your family?  Just getting some exercise in the fresh air?  Oh yeah, Iowa has trails for you.  Some cities in Iowa aren’t the most bike friendly.  We don’t have a lot of places that can boast bike lanes on the city streets.  Lucikly Iowa does have bike trails littered all over the state to entice you onto your bike and out for a ride, so check out the links below to find a trail to fit your needs!

Mountain biking:  It’s the dirty and exciting brother of riding a road bike.  There are multiple categories of mountain biking which include cross country, downhill, freeride, and trials/street riding.  Add map navigation and you’ve got yourself mountain bike orienteering.  Because mountain biking often takes one far from home, self-reliance is a big YEAH BABY.  Need-to-knows include how to fix broken bikes and flat tires, or run the risk of being in the middle of nowhere and, well, screwed, dude.  Iowa has plenty of sweet mountain biking trails so check out the links below and find the trail of your dreams!

BMX:  A whole seperate monster.  Kids in California emulating motocross races starting racing their dirt bikes in the 1970s and BMX was birthed.  BMX Freestyle shows off the style of riding.  Everywhere you go in Iowa you can spot BMX riders perfecting their tricks in city skateparks and racing on organized dirt tracks.  There are a lot of Iowans out there pushing our local governments for more skateparks and they could use your support.  BMX shouldn’t be ignored. 

Live Action Sports fully suggests utilizing the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Department of Transportation to find biking trails.  Another killer resource is Trails Media’s book, Biking Iowa, written by Bob Morgan.  The book tells you everything about 50 different bike rides for all skill levels in Iowa.  As for skateparks, most towns in Iowa that have a skatepark will have it listed on the city’s own website.  None of these resources will advise you on how to avoid zombies while on a trail or at a race, but give us a shout here at Live Action Sports and we’ll share some anti-zombie tips with you, as well as will help any other biking-related questions we can.