By Kathleen Meyer, Chair, Stevensville Bicycle Camp Committee
With a petition against such an idea circulating in town, the Stevensville Bicycle Camp Committee will present their well-honed plan and ask for the approval of the Town Council at their Thursday, June 25th meeting at 7 p.m. Committee members, I among them, share the vision of Stevensville’s becoming a legendary destination for state, national, and international bicycle touring. In recent years, growing research published—even in the Montana Business Quarterly—shows that touring bicyclists spend more money and stay longer than other tourists visiting Montana.
Two established national bicycle routes—the Lewis & Clark Trail and the coast-to-coast TransAmerica Trail—run through the Bitterroot Valley, on or along Highway 93. Now a third route is getting attention at both state and local levels. It will be called the Yellowstone to Glacier Trail. A Hamilton group has begun work on funding for the Hamilton-to-Darby path, and a more northern group is tackling the Missoula-to-Arlee section.
Stevensville’s proposed facility is modeled on the now world-famous Twin Bridges Camp that popped up six years ago. The favorite words of its builder, the late Bill White, ran to economics. “It’s senseless,” he was fond of singing, “to watch gold nuggets float down the river, when all we have to do is pick them up.” As the camp became wildly successful (solely by internet word of mouth), Bill’s tune added a new verse. “The cyclists love the people, the people love the cyclists. Win-win!” These days, long-distance pedalers plan their itineraries around a stopover in Twin Bridges, just to experience what other cyclists are raving about. Carefully thought-out differences in the Stevensville design will be a few extra feet of space, a covered picnic area, and 20 bicycle lockers. The hurdles for accommodating an influx of bicyclists are low on infrastructure, requiring nothing in new roads or parking lots.
As with many things in life, “timing” is everything. And this is true of SBCC’s endeavor. The spring and summer of 2016 promise bicycle hoopla and celebrations galore. There’s the completion of the Lolo 2 Missoula Trail; see it being built on your next trip to Missoula. There’s the 40th Celebration of Adventure Cycling of Missoula, with a string of festive bicycling events. Closer to home, there’s the 175th Anniversary of St. Mary’s Mission. If the Stevensville Bicycle Camp is up and running, it will become part of the fanfare, part of all the press coverage . . . “And don’t miss the great new bicycle camp in Stevensville.”
Meanwhile, as soon as on July 1st, applications will come online for the Montana Department of Tourism’s “brick & mortar” grant that SBCC seeks. Interested towns and organizations can submit projects until the same time next year, with one caveat: first-come/first-served, and the overall amount available is $1 million. The good news for us is that Grant Manager Carol Crockett knows all about Twin Bridges, knows exactly the project SBCC is working on, and says “brick & mortar” grants for bicycle tourism are at the tip-top of her LIKE list. SBCC hopes to be up all night on July 1st, putting the finishing touches on a grant application.
Stevensville is the ideal stopover for cyclists touring the Bitterroot. And, with completion of the L2M Trail, Stevensville will become a choice weekend getaway for Missoula families on bicycles. Yet the answer to ‘Why Stevensville?’ is more than “location, location.” The draw is the quiet ambience of an intact, small, western town with a beautiful setting (no fast-food strip), a variety of good restaurants, and great nearby attractions for layover days. (The money in tourism is made on stays of two nights and longer.) Plus, our paved River Trail delivers cyclists right to the north end of town, without road traffic hassles.
Next question, Why Lewis & Clark Park? Bicyclists may have pedaled 40–100 miles to get here. Tired, hungry, and more than ready for friendly faces, a hot shower, tasty meal, cold brew, and a heap of ice cream, they are highly appreciative of a secure place to park pricey bicycles and belongings within a short stroll of town. With good signage, we can direct incoming cyclists from the end of the River Trail immediately west to Lewis & Clark Park and a facility equipped with lockers large enough to hold bicycles with loaded panniers, and in so doing, avoid bicycle congestion downtown.
Yes, we could put a bicycle camp in a spot farther out—other possibilities have come to our attention, one a full mile south of Valley Drug. Yet these locations will not bring Stevensville the notice and renown, and thus, the following, the visitation, and the infusion of tourist money that would come from the utter convenience of the two-block walk from beautiful L&C Park to Main Street with all its amenities. (Unless, by some miracle, a local knight steps forward, wielding a Tinker Bell wand, and offers an equally wonderful north-end-of-town acreage.)
The rise in bicycle tourism in the U.S., particularly in the West, is being called “unprecedented.” The pedalers are coming! And because of SBCC’s year-long volunteer efforts, Stevensville is perfectly poised to catch the front of the wave. The big question, the deciding one, is, will townsfolk, on Thursday evening, see this as an opportunity not to be missed?