Jim Kodet is a man of peace and a man of many bike rides. This year alone, he has gone on 127 rides, and counting. In total, he has biked over 2,729 miles, frequenting the paths of the Richard Martin Rails to Trail, Joe Wheeler State Park and Swan Creek.

Kodet is not one to take smaller, one-mile rides either. One day, he biked 34 miles in one trip at Joe Wheeler.

North Alabama’s largest biking enthusiast is a man enjoying retirement by getting out on the local bike trails every day weather permits. Recently, he biked 13 days in a row with no interruption due to weather. This, among many other reasons, is why Kodet came to Alabama in the first place.

“It is so nice to be able to go outside 12 months a year. I am pretty sure I biked on Christmas last year,” Kodet said. “I also came here for the property taxes and population growth.”

Kodet is originally from Minnesota, where he spent 32 years and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1983. Following his time in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, he spent 26 years in Chicago and eventually ended up in the Milwaukee-Racine area. He also graduated from DePaul University with a computer science degree.

This was all before he decided to move down to Northern Alabama and spend his retirement. However, his passions in the Midwest mirror his passions in Alabama. He biked often on the paths near the countless lakes of Minnesota. In Alabama, he enjoys spending his mornings painting. At the University of Minnesota, he majored in studio arts and architecture. Additionally, he went straight from high school to a prestigious art school in Minneapolis. 

He also has an interest in football, as he has lived through numerous heartbreaks of Super Bowl losses to the dismay of the Minnesota Vikings. This interest in football fits right in with the South, where love of football is in people’s blood. The only real difference in interests from the two regions is Kodet played much more hockey in the Midwest compared to the South.

Though Kodet is known for biking the trails as often as possible for multiple miles at a time, what also keeps his going is bike maintenance as well as the painting. All of these activities, Kodet says, gives him peace, especially the Richard Martin Trail.

“His trail, for me, it gives me a sense of peace,” Kodet said. “I have always been into cardio and love walks, but to really wind down and maintain good mental health, I need something more intense (like biking).”

However, his love for fixing bikes has increased as well. He even keeps a log that keeps up with his mileage and maintenance history.

“I have to have something to do in retirement,” Kodet said. “It has definitely become an obsession.”

Speaking of things to do in retirement, Kodet feels free to practice his love of painting once again. He often spends his mornings painting and afternoons riding. The passion for art is something he has held dear for most of his life and is pleased to have the time to pursue it again.

“The nice thing about art is it is a nice compliment to the biking,” Kodet said. “I have the freedom to explore it again.”

Kodet has also been the recipient of southern hospitality, which he says he enjoys. He has met people out on the trail, he has met people on horses near the trail and he has even met Richard Martin himself, of the Richard Martin Trail.

This trail, which is Kodet’s favorite, stretches all the way to near the Tennessee border. It includes multiple scenic spots along the bike trail, including in Downtown Elkmont, Alabama, where a red caboose brightens up the scenery.

Kodet has great appreciation for Martin and enjoyed his time speaking to him. Martin is a longtime figure in the Athens and Northern Alabama community. 

“We all have thanks for everything he has done. I love his trail,” Kodet said. “A big shoutout to him and the people who maintain the trail.”

While Kodet says he rides by himself most of the time, the people he meets along the trail make his trips more enjoyable. One reason he prefers the one-man bike ride is because of the speed he likes to go.

“I am just a solo rider. I like to bike really fast on the trails,” Kodet said. 

At 63 years old, Kodet says he wants to have fifteen more years of good biking. With the amount of exercise he gets every day, along with the peace of mind he finds in other hobbies, he might be well on his way.