Almost 200 bicyclists hit the streets of Shawano and surrounding communities Saturday for the second annual Bike the Barn Quilts event.
Started by Shawano Pathways, the event promotes healthy outdoor activity while showcasing Shawano County’s barn quilts. Five rides of varying lengths raised money for Pathway’s efforts to improve miles of trails within the county and to help create other trails connecting communities.
“I don’t know who was in charge of the weather, but it’s perfect,” said Matty Mathison, one of the Bike the Barn Quilts coordinators.
Dozens of doves were released during an opening ceremony at Memorial Park, where all of the routes started and ended.
Although most of the riders were clad in helmets and bright yellow shirts, one visitor wore a purple Viking helmet with blond braids. Mathison joked that volunteers should give the rider “special directions.”
The rules of the road were strongly encouraged, especially traveling through downtown Shawano on one of the routes going to Gresham.
“Think about safety. There are a lot of people out on the roads today,” Mathison said.
A new 70-mile route, featuring more than 30 barn quilts, was established this year. Kyle Betzner, of Shawano, was eager to travel around half the county in his first year as a Bike the Barn Quilts participant.
“I got into biking a couple of years ago. I’ve been doing a lot of longer distance rides. I just did a ride in Door County that was 100 miles,” Betzner said. “I’m still young, so I still have the power and motivation to go on some of these rides.”
For some riders, the ride meant spreading goodwill through other means. Renee Curran, visiting from Appleton, will be able to use her ride participation as a way to gain vitality points through Humana, he employer.
“If you do more mileage, you get more points to your healthy lifestyle, and these points turn into whatever you want to donate to other charities or you name it,” Curran said, noting that she was riding the 35-mile ride to Gresham. “This is just a matter of keeping myself healthy and, at the same time, earning things to help my company.”
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