Pub. 6 2018 Issue 1

26 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org I n 2011, we rolled through the small town of Twin Bridges on our bicycles - tired, hot, and looking to get out of the sun. Laura and I were on a cross country bike ride; and, even before we got to Twin Bridges, we had heard from other cyclists about a magical place called Bike Camp. Bike Camp, by all accounts, is a simple structure. An enclosed gazebo with show- ers and a restroom for cyclists to use. If you drove by or lived in the area, you probably wouldn’t think anything of it - but if you were like us, pedaling across the country, it was an oasis. Flipping through the pages of the well worn guest book inside we saw signatures and notes of gratitude from cyclists from all over the world. During that visit to Twin Bridges, we were fortunate to meet and interview Bill White, the man responsible for raising funds and building Bike Camp. When we asked him why, he told us how he had noticed these fun- ny-looking people on bikes migrate through every year but not stop. Bill wanted to give them a reason to stop. “It was like watching gold flow down the river. All we had to do was pick it up.” That was the first and last time we had the pleasure of talking to Bill. He passed away a few years later, but those words changed us and we never looked at bike travel the same again. Since that fateful meeting with Bill White almost seven years ago, Laura and I have worked together to document bicycle tour- ism across the country, as well help several state destination marketing organizations and local chambers to develop and market bicycling experiences. At its core, bicycle tourism is what Bill White naturally intuited, using cycling as a means of economic development. It takes on many forms: from touring across the country to a long weekend spent mountain biking, from participating in an event to a family ex- ploring a rail trail. While not always obvious, the positive economic impacts of riding a bike can be profound. In 2013, the state of Oregon released what was the first comprehensive study on bicy- cle-related tourism. They found that tourists who rode bikes during their visit to Oregon spent $400 million in travel-related expens- es, including lodging, food, gas, and other trip-related expenditures. In 2016, Colorado published a study looking at the overall statewide health and economic benefits from bicycling. The study attributed $448 million to non-resident tourism spending, and another $74 million to resident tourism spending, with an overall bicycle tourism impact of $522 million. In March of this year, the Walton Family Foundation released the results of a study on the economic and health benefits of bicycling in Northwest Arkansas. In this one portion of the state, bicycling provides $137 million to the regional economy. While the big numbers are impressive, what does it mean on the ground? While it varies greatly, our experience in small towns has shown that it translates into extra traffic to the local businesses. It means a small restaurant can stay open an extra day or hire another employee. Lodging properties start to fill up. New business opportunities present themselves and empty storefronts may finally find a purpose. And, in some instances, the benefits can be profound. Pay Dirt Unpaved road riding on B-roads, farm roads, old logging roads, gravel paths, and forest service roads has exploded in populari- ty. Usually referred to as “gravel grinding,” this form of cycling is bringing more riders out to enjoy cycling in rural areas. Emporia, Kansas is a town of 25,000 peo- ple, located in what many would consider a fly-over state - but it has become a hotbed of bicycle tourism in the last decade because of its dirt roads. The Dirty Kanza, a 200-mile gravel event that began a decade ago as a humble group ride of 34 locals, has become an economic boon to Emporia. In 2017, the 2,200 available rider slots sold out in minutes, MONTANA'S PAY DIRT By Russ Roca, Co-Owner, The Path Less Pedaled Guest Article