At Wal-Mart in Le Mars, demand has increased for bicycles lately, according to Don Terry, toy department manager.

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"More people are wanting to get a bike to bike to work and do in-town riding," he said.

Bike accessories like helmets and lights are selling faster, too.

But how ready is Le Mars for more people hopping on their 10-speed or banana seat?

Wayne Marty, an avid bicyclists and member of the Plymouth County Cyclist club thinks Le Mars has good potential.

"I dream of all of us using bicycles more and automobiles less for 1-mile trips. There's no place in Le Mars that's more than a mile and a half from downtown," he said. "Chicago is aiming to become a biker friendly city. If Chicago can do it, we can do it."

Marty has been pushing for a more bikeable Le Mars since 1990, when he wrote a letter to the city manager asking for a focus on making streets bike-safe.

Marty argues that many people don't bike to work in Le Mars now because there are no bike safety lanes or signs to alert drivers of bicyclists on roads.

Le Mars Police Chief Stu Dekkenga said that right now some of the city's streets are just better for bikers to avoid.

"It's nice to see bicyclists staying away from the busier roads like Business Highway 75 and Plymouth Street," Dekkenga said. "Those roads are not made for bicycles, even though bicyclists have a right to be there. Just with the sheer volume of traffic, bicycles are hard to see."

Clayton Hodgson, a cyclist club member, recommended some changes to make the town more friendly to bicyclists.

"The bike trail is wonderful," Hodgson said. "I love Le Mars, I think it's a wonderful community, but it has a long way to go."

Le Mars could offer more biking opportunities in the downtown area, he suggested.

"More people shopping are biking rather than driving their cars," Hodgson said. "I can only assume that will increase as the price of gas rises."

Other than the library, Hodgson said, there are no bike racks downtown.

He also said 12th Street Southwest, which runs from Le Mars Community High School to Hy-Vee, could be more bike-friendly.

"There's no sidewalk at all," he said, noting the heavy traffic on 12th Street. "We need to have a sidewalk, and one wide enough to serve as a bike path."

And while storm sewer grates may seem like a minor detail, Hodgson said to a bicyclist, the type of grate could mean the difference between a safe ride and an injury.

"A lot of the grates on top were built when all the bike tires were wider. Now we have road bikes with narrower tires," he said. "A biker could fall in and have a serious accident."

The Plymouth County Cyclists Club might try to identify all of the problem grates in town for city officials to consider upgrading, he said.

Looking into making Le Mars safer for bicyclists and other pedestrians, Marty and Hodgson are part of a local task force looking into a program called Safe Routes to School.

The Safe Routes program works to make sure people living in town within a 2-mile radius of a kindergarten through eighth grade school have a safe option for biking or walking to school.

"We always thought we were doing our kids a favor by giving them a ride to school," Hodgson pointed out. "But they ought to be able to get there safely and also get exercise."

Earlier Marty said that while the program sounds like it's just for kids, it could benefit everyone.

"If we make safe routes for students, that will also expand opportunities for adults at the same time," he said.

But plenty of students would benefit, at least based on numbers from Daryl Hargens, middle school custodian at Le Mars Community Schools.

Hargens estimated around 100-150 students bike to school on a nice day.

"Even some in the snow," he laughed.

The number of bikers has been pretty steady throughout the years, he said.

At LCS high school, Scott Eilts on the custodial staff thought that only about 10 high schoolers rode bikes to school on average.

And at Gehlen Catholic School, Lori Nussbaum, elementary principal, estimated that about 15 students bike to school on average. They have a rule that students can only bike to school if they are third grade or older for safety.

"I think we're going to see more of it (biking) even among adults," Nussbaum said. "All summer I've been saying I've got to buy a new bike so I can bike to school, save money on gas."