During his travels to larger cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., La Carreta Mexican Grill Owner Alfonso Medina noticed bicycle repair stations along trails with tire pumps and various wrenches and Allen wrenches for anyone who needs to make a quick adjustment mid-ride. Naturally, it got him thinking: Why can’t Marshalltown have something similar?

“I’ve had the idea just sitting there in my idea notes for like, five to six years, to be honest, and finally, I was able to execute the idea this year and pull the trigger,” Medina said. “I worked with Geoff (Hubbard) over at the Parks and Recs department, and they said ‘Yeah, we would be super interested in getting a donation like this to the community,’ and they even gave me the freedom to choose where I wanted it to be placed.”

He opted for the parking lot along Campbell Drive and just south of Olive Street, citing its proximity to Grimes Farm.

“It’s very convenient, and I thought it was the coolest thing when I saw it, and I thought, ‘You know what? I want to bring this to Marshalltown,'” Medina said.

Donations like this one, he added, are only possible because of the community’s continuous support for La Carreta, which he runs alongside his wife Vanessa Perez. If visitors from outside of Marshalltown come here to use the trails, Medina hopes it will inspire them to get something similar. Hubbard, for one, was thrilled to receive it.

“This was a great donation that we received that will benefit our trail system. It was so well received that we are looking at getting a few more to put out along the trail,” Hubbard said. “We greatly appreciate the Medina family for their donation.”

So far, trail users have been nothing but appreciative of the station on social media, and with some major trail projects currently percolating locally, Medina hopes residents will continue to ride them — and of course, swing by his restaurant on Iowa Avenue East for tacos and margaritas once they’ve worked up a sweat.

“I like to think of it as an investment into my own customers. If I make sure that there’s things out there that are gonna keep them healthy and keep them going, that means my business is gonna be healthy as well,” he said. “If I keep my customers healthy and active, that means that they’re potentially gonna live longer… It benefits everybody, not just my business.”