According to the League of American Bicyclists, Minnesota ranks as the fifth most bike friendly state in the country, and much of that is due to the individuals who work to make their communities safer and more convenient for cyclists.

One such community is Walker, which has just received a silver Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists.

“The amount of bikes that visit the city in the summer, it’s more and more and we have to make sure there are places for them to park their bike safely and lock them up, and that the trails are in good repair,” explained Bike Friendly Walker member Simon Whitehead,  “So that’s one of the things we’re working on all the time is the quality of the bike trails.”

In the past few years alone, the bike trails located around Walker have become a staple of the community and have created a large draw for tourists.

“For Walker, it’s really meant a lot as far as a tourism. I mean, we have people coming from Winnipeg,” said Bike Friendly Walker member Steve Bilben.

“I don’t know the daily count, but I would think in the summer it’s going to be hundreds [of bicyclists] per day, if not thousands,” said Whitehead.

Previously, the city of Walker had received the bronze Bike Friendly Community award, but after years of hard work and dedication, the city has now moved on to earn the silver award.

“It was quite a long application process, but we kind of got through it and we’re very excited that we are now, what is probably, one of the smallest cities in America to receive the silver designation,” said Whitehead.

Of course, now that Walker has achieved the silver award, one question remains: Will they go for gold?

“That’s harder to get, but it’s certainly possible,” joked Bilben.

Bike Friendly Walker is also hoping to create a new underpass for cyclists to use to to avoid traffic along Highway 371.

By — Justin Othoudt