Bike riding enthusiasts will be hitting the Shooting Star Trail on Saturday, June 23, to participate in the Prairie Vision’s 20th annual Shooting Star Trail Bike Ride.

This year marks the first time the annual bike ride will begin and end in Austin, with riders meeting at Todd Park.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction in terms of welcoming bicyclists to Austin,” said Steve Kime, chair of the Vision 2020 Biking and Walking Committee.

This year’s bike ride offers five different routes for riders to choose.

“We had to do all new routes,” Kime said. “Past years have started in Adams or LeRoy, so this year is a first.”

The available routes are:

• 20 Mile Ride – riders will ride long the trail to a rest stop just past Rose Creek before heading back to Austin;

• 40 Mile Ride – riders will take the trail through Rose Creek and Adams before turning around at Taopi to head back to Austin. Rest stops are located southeast of Rose Creek and in Taopi;

• 50 Mile Ride – similar to the 40 Mile Ride; however, riders will incorporate parts of County Roads 18, 6, 7, and 5 on the way back to Austin;

• 62 Mile Ride – riders will head north from Austin toward County Road 2, ride through Brownsdale, then south on County Road 7 through Dexter and Elkton before going on County Roads 3, 8, and 11 and getting on the Shooting Star Trail at Taopi on the way back to Austin. There will be rest stops at Dexter, County Roads 3 and 8, Taopi and Rose Creek; and

• 100 Mile Ride – riders will follow a route that incorporates Brownsdale, Sargeant, Dexter, Elkton, LeRoy, Adams and Rose Creek. Rest stops will be available at Dexter, County Roads 3 and 8, LeRoy and Rose Creek.

The 20 to 40 Mile Rides are strictly on the Shooting Star Trail; the other routes also include rural blacktop roads. Kime said that riders will be provided with maps and the routes will have physical markers so riders know where to go and turn.

Food and water will be provided at the rest stops.

For the first time, the annual ride will include a new section of the trail opened in September. The new section stretches 3.219 miles from County Road 52 to County Road 58.

In March, the Austin City Council approved Federal Recreational and Local Trail Connection Project grant applications to help fund a proposed biking and pedestrian trail that would run along the north side of Turtle Creek from the intersection of Fourth Street and 16th Avenue Southwest to Bustad Park.

The trail’s development is part of an overall goal to connect the Shooting Star Trail and Austin’s mountain biking trails.  The Federal Recreational Trail Grant award will be announced this month while the Local Trail Connection Project Grant award will be announced in July.

The state legislature passed a bonding bill this past session that included $250,000 to connect Austin to the Shooting Star Trail. The next phase of construction will be to connect the trail at Country Road 58 with the 28th Street Bridge in Austin.

“With the great bike trails we have around town, to have that connection opens up a lot of opportunities,” Kime said. “I think it’s what we’ve been waiting for and it’s a huge step in that vision of making Austin a destination for bicyclists. That is a goal for Vision 2020 and it’s a step in the right direction.”

Check-in/registration for the annual Shooting Star Trail Bike Ride will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 23, at the Izaak Walton Cabin at Todd Park with rides beginning at 7 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Registration is $15 just to ride and $25 to ride and receive a t-shirt. Family and group discount rates are available for groups of four or more.

To register, visit www.shootingstartrail.org. For more information, call 507-433-7571.