BikeLife: Rural America (Believe it or not.)

Can cycling save rural America, and does rural America need to be saved? Good questions, and thank you to a reader for mentioning rural America and the fact that cycling is “totally impractical,” in these spacious places. Here’s the thing friend, yes and no, yes and no. If we think rural America is going to be taken over by bike commuters anytime soon we would need to first check ourselves into the closest psych ward. After a nice, long stay combined with potent therapy we might come close to understanding how unlikely this scenario is. However, bikes “saving” rural America can come in several different shapes and sizes, but first let’s talk rural America.

I grew up there. Indiana, Wyoming mostly. I love rural America. Much more than urban America. And, for you coastal snobs, the “average American,” is a MIDDLE American, many of whom live in rural environments and believe you are crazy for living where you do. Yes, you have $27 avocado toast but you are not the best representation of the country. Sorry. For those of you who don’t dwell in these places, or worse yet, condescendingly call them “fly over states,” just know that rural America is hurting.

Between 2010 and 2020 population loss was widespread across rural America, with more than two-thirds of all nonmetropolitan counties losing population.

What comes along with population decline? Well, a bevy of things like failure to maintain critical infrastructure, failure to maintain healthcare, and failure to maintain education. Ya, it’s not good. Oh, and one more thing. COVID made it worse, a lot worse. Toss in continued economic instability and corruption at the highest levels of the financial world and a superstorm builds on that beautiful horizon line of rural America. But wait, something peculiar this way comes.

Cycling. Okay, go ahead. Get it out of your system. “Milnor, what are you TALKING about?” There is NO WAY cycling will have any impact on rural America. No way, no how.” Oh, my friends, here is the punchline. It’s already happening. Fifteen years ago, in the dusty, lovely, warm backwater(meant in the most wonderful way) that is Emporia Kansas, thirty-four riders lined up for the running of “Dirty Kanza,” a one-day, two hundred mile gravel race through the Flint Hills of RURAL Kansas. Fast forward to this year’s race, now known as Unbound Gravel, when 4,000 riders did battle. Financial take from the weekend from the riders alone? $5.5 million. Yes, you read that correctly, five and a half million dollars into the local, rural economy. (Over 7,000 people hit the “buy” button over a two-minute period trying to secure tickets.)

Rural America has all the best roads. Rural America hold the keys to the best cycling in America. Emporia is no longer alone on the gravel cycling radar. Riders fearful of road cycling are switching to gravel in a major way. Here in America, gravel bikes are selling at a 9:1 ratio over road bikes. The tide has turned and we are still at the beginning the wave. Leadville, Colorado. Beaver, Utah. Bentonville, Arkansas. Trinidad, Colorado. Patagonia, Arizona. Rural and semi-rural towns realizing that bicycles are a key component to their survival. (I am currently planning a trip to Trinidad to ride a few of their epic roads where I will contribute to their local economy.)

But this cycling street is a two-way, for sure. Pulling off events like this isn’t easy and it isn’t cheap. (Permits are expensive and often transportation authorities are difficult to work with.)The local population MUST buy in. Thankfully, in places like Emporia, they have. So have those along the rural parts of the race, which in the case of Unbound is most of the race. Not everywhere will buy in. But once the economic benefit becomes clear it will more and more difficult for struggling towns to turn away.

But there is another important factor that often gets completely overlooked in the coverage of events like Unbound. City people come to the country. Like two alien species lining up to spend a bit of time together. Think spandex and Copenhagen, long cut of course. Less than 2% of Americans are involved in farming and ranching. Having grown up a part-time ranch kid, the misunderstanding of rural life, agriculture life, is profound and holding the country back in many ways. Ignorance and arrogance. But what’s interesting is during events like this the guards are down and the curiosity is up. You look weird, what are you doing here? Need some water? It’s THAT simple. So, classic cycling infrastructure and acceptance may not become the norm in rural America, at least in my lifetime, but the bike in rural America comes in many forms. It’s up to us to educate, experiment, and lead by example.