Knoxville officials are hoping to bring the city’s 41-plus miles of greenways within reach of a wider audience by way of affordable bicycle rentals at Volunteer Landing.

The city has granted a contract to River Sports Outfitters to operate the program, which will offer two-hour rentals for $10 per person, or $30 to ride for an entire day.

The idea was born from several requests made to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department during the Healthy Living Expo earlier this year.  Ed Macalister, who opened River Sports on Sutherland Avenue some 26 years ago with the mission of getting people outdoors, cited rising obesity rates across the state, said he shares the mayor’s goal of making Knoxville a much more active city.

“It was really the public’s idea,” said Kathleen Gibi, Parks and Rec spokeswoman. “The more we thought about it … we really couldn’t think of any cons. Hopefully, this will take off.”

The River Sports rentals will be housed in the rarely-used concession stands already in place at Volunteer Landing.  In addition to the wheels, they’ll throw in “adventure maps” for free, highlighting a host of local landmarks and amenities within reach of the paved trails, including the Alex Haley statue in Morningside Park, the Sunsphere, and the Indian burial mound in Sequoyah Hills, as well as sites a little further off the path such as Meade’s Quarry and Ijams Nature Center in South Knoxville.

For the full article go to KnoxNews.com