As winter rolls into spring, so do the spokes on bicycle wheels around Iowa City. Cyclists have been out in larger and larger numbers as the weather improves, but with increased numbers of bikes on the road come safety concerns.

Over the past few years, community members have been working with Iowa City government to improve infrastructure for people who ride bikes. Leaders from the University of Iowa, Iowa City City Council, online advocacy organizations, and local bike shops have made leaps in making cycling more accessible.

Although this work is ongoing, the years of incremental changes reflect the slow cycle of bike trends that the city has always been home to.

“Iowa City has always been a very bicycle-friendly community,” Ryan Baker, owner of World of Bikes, said. “But certain trends come and go.”

A large part of the commitment to providing bikes for the city is to stay ahead of buying trends in the market. For instance, Baker explained a recent uptick in electric bikes has brought an influx of customers into the store.

The trend in e-bikes has coincided with the increase in electric scooters and mopeds around Iowa City, too. When Baker was working at the store in the mid-90s, prior to becoming the owner, the beginning of semesters would draw flocks of UI students looking for a bike to supplement their transportation needs.

“Kids would walk in looking for entry-level bikes, so many we couldn’t keep enough in stock. Now, we just don’t see that,” Baker said.

Now, with parking around the campus and broader downtown becoming more and more accessible, students are more likely to travel by car than bike. This doesn’t mean the non-student population isn’t traveling by bike, though.

One of the most popular bikes Baker sees carried out of his store is the cargo bike. These bikes are becoming a stand-in for cars due to their ability to attach baskets and carts and to carry extra passengers or cargo.

“Cargo bikes are like the pickup truck of bikes,” Baker said. “There are so many different configurations of cargo bike, so they’re very purpose-built. I know customers who rely exclusively on cargo bikes for utility and transportation.”

As Baker described the many possible designs in which a cyclist could build their cargo bike, a man rolled up beside the store on an oddly manufactured cargo bike. The frame was extended to allow for bags to be placed behind the rider, a holder for a music speaker was hitched on the side, and a basket fitted firmly in front of the handlebars was large enough for the man’s child to sit inside.

In the brief time it took Baker to explain this ever-changing “evolution of cycling,” as he calls it, at least two dozen cyclists entered and exited the shop, with many people getting on bikes for the first time or just getting a tune-up before hitting the trails.

Just a couple blocks down South Gilbert Street from World of Bikes, the Iowa City Bike Library serves as a community center of cyclists. Operated by Executive Director Audrey Wiedemeier, the Bike Library is at the forefront of cycling service as well as advocacy.

“A majority of our activity is renting bikes, of all price points and utility needs. We offer a lot of community programming, too, through the university, but mainly we do a lot of mentorship,” Wiedemeier said.

What makes the Bike Library stand out among the community, and similar programs around Iowa is its commitment to teaching. Rather than running repairs traditionally, it invites customers to get involved.

The interactive repair bench is a learning opportunity for cyclists, where staff offer guidance and provide people the tools needed to work on their bikes on their own.

“If you have the time, we have the patience,” Wiedemeier said. “Even if you’ve never picked up a wrench in your life, you’ll come away learning something. A lot of people find it empowering.”

Empowerment is a focus for the Bike Library in all facets of their advocacy. Their board, a group of members of the community invested in cycling, works directly with Iowa City City Council committees to advocate for cyclists.

In 2017, the Metro Area Bicycle Master Plan coordinated a previously existing plan between Iowa City and the UI with Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, and University Heights. The document paints a decades-long path for considering cycling infrastructure, policy, and programs.

“One project we’re most excited to start building, but is still a couple years out, is on the Highway 6 bridge between South Gilbert Street and Riverside Drive,” Wiedemeier said. “Anyone who has walked or rode across that bridge, which people do every day out of necessity, know it to be treacherous. So, we advocate for putting in better infrastructure when the bridge gets redone to make it more accessible to pedestrians and riders.”

Anyone familiar with the Gilbert Street bridge construction throughout 2024 knows how long the process can take. So, while the Bicycle Master Plan and its several committees of community leaders plan for the future, the Bike Library continues its programming in the present.

Another central goal of the Bicycle Master Plan, and the Bike Library by extension, is to make people more confident in their cycling. As many board members are associated with bike shops, like Bike Iowa City, or run cycling social media accounts, like Angie Smith’s  Instagram account, @icbikecommuter, programming has been the best way to accomplish this.

“There’s not just a fair-weather community for riding, but people ride in all kinds of weather, even when its negative 10 degrees,” Bike Library Fundraising Coordinator Kate Wiley said. “So, we put out callouts for winter biking gear, ski masks, gloves, etc., and our generous community send stuff in so we can keep people riding safely.”

Wiley works closely with collaborators at the UI to ensure students stay aware of the Bike Library’s services.

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“We have about 20 collegiate Bike Librarians who help us generate a greater community among student riders. There are student riding groups, people from the university who study the health sides of riding and help us with safety programs,” Wiley said.

Safety is top of mind when making cyclists more confident, Wiley and Wiedemeier said. They dedicate many resources to their youth safety program to bring up a generation of people who feel comfortable and safe on bikes, all working toward their goal of seeing more cyclists on the streets.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to get and keep people on bikes. Not everyone is going to bike, but the people who do will reduce congestion for drivers, reduce the need to build multimillion dollar parking lots around the already very congested campus … It’s a healthier option all around,” Wiedemeier said.

Fundraising events, humorously titled “fund-ragers,” invite local and state politicians, leaders in the cycling community, and biking enthusiasts to enjoy good music and updates on the library’s activity. The events are aimed at making the Bike Library a more efficient, well-resourced, carbon-neutral center for all cyclists, and much of their programming is targeted at youth riders. Be it college students or children, all cycling advocates will tell you their love of riding came from childhood.

“I was lucky enough to have parents who would let me go wherever I wanted when I was a kid. Even though I never went far from my house, whenever I got on my bike it felt like an expedition,” Wiedemeier said.

She would play into the adventure of cycling by packing snacks and a change of socks before setting out on her bike. When she was a student at the UI, Wiedemeier used a bike to commute around campus and started using the Bike Library as a resource for repairs, where she still fixes her bike to this day.

“Since Audrey’s [Wiedemeier] been here, she’s really championed women, low-income people, and people of color in the shop. We’re one of the most inclusive bike libraries that I’ve seen in Iowa. Usually, they’re kind of a men’s club, but this is a space that feels really good to be in,” Wiley said.

Even as a veteran cyclist, the joy of riding remains for Ryan Baker who commutes to his store every day on bike. It’s not all for utility, though, as Baker also enjoys mountain biking at Sugar Bottom trails in Solon, Iowa.

“The best part is that you get to see parts of the city you wouldn’t normally in a car. When I’m biking, I’m exploring back roads and going through neighborhoods I never see,” Baker said. “It’s great to be out on a gravel road with a couple of buddies, and it’s just quiet, and you can enjoy the good scenery.”