CEDAR FALLS - This year's CARAT ride was all about teamwork.

Many cyclists rode two-by-two and Cedar Falls police worked with bikers to ensure their safety on the Courier's Annual Ride Around Town, part of the annual Cedar Trails Festival.

Tandem bicycles were almost as common as their one-seated counterparts on this year's ride, giving CARAT a family feel.

Tom Klenske, of Cedar Falls, and his son Tad, 11, have ridden CARAT every year. With a tandem bicycle, Tom said Tad didn't have a choice - he had to keep up.

"We've been doing this since the start. I think he was in a trailer to begin with," said Tom of Tad's early CARAT experience. The father and son team - clad in matching, brightly colored biking gear - hoped to finish the 25-mile ride in about two hours.

Though avid bikers, Randy and Julie Brunscheon, of Cedar Falls, took part in their first CARAT experience on Saturday. Traditionally on vacation during the Cedar Trails Festival, the Brunscheons pushed this year's trip off two weeks. They were hoping to get all they could out of the festival, with plans to attend the Night Ride Saturday evening.

"Riding one of these takes a lot of communication," said Randy of the tandem cycle, which the couple tries to ride daily.

The pair voiced appreciation for the area's vast trail system.

"We probably have some of the best (trails) in the nation," said Julie.

Riders were strongly encouraged to wear helmets on this year's ride, and were required to sign a waiver of liability before mounting their bikes. For the first time, Cedar Falls police officers stood at the corner of Highway 58 and Greenhill Road, near the beginning of the ride, and offered help to bikers when crossing the dangerous intersection, the site of multiple fatal accidents, including a jogger killed there July 23.

"Highway 58 has been a critical area for the city in the last few years," said Larry Buchholz, Cedar Falls city engineer and president of the Cedar Trails Partnership. "The police are there to help us start off. We don't want any accidents."

In its ninth year, Buchholz said the festival exists to "promote the trail system, its expansion and its safe use in the metro area."

This year's route stayed the same as the last few years, starting and finishing at Prairie Lakes Park in Cedar Falls, across from Industrial Park.

Scott and Peggy Frost, of Gilbertville, and their son, Zachary, 12, spent the time before the ride enjoying the day's perfect weather and getting a boost of energy from bananas provided at the park.

With Zachary the youngest of four children, the Frosts are hoping to get into biking again, and attended CARAT to rediscover the Cedar Valley trail system.

"The trail system is great. That's why we came out - to see where it goes," said Peggy, who joked about the length of the ride.

"If it's flat terrain I'll be okay," she said. "I might still be out here at 10 o'clock tonight."

The last event of this year's Cedar Trails Festival, the Poker Ride, will start at noon today at Mulligan's Brick Oven Grill, located at 205 East 18th St. Riders will venture out along a designated route, collecting clues to each stop as well as the chance to win prizes at the end of the ride.