It was perfect biking weather during the ribbon cutting ceremony held Thursday to celebrate the newest extension of the Shooting Star Biking Trail.

The ceremony at County Road 52 near Highway 56 marked the official opening of the trail section stretching 3.219 miles from County Road 52 to County Road 58. Construction on the new section started in May.

“Thank you to the county leaders and commissioners for their support on this long ongoing project, and many thanks to the people of Prairie Visions, who came up with the plan for this trail,” said Steve Kime, chairman of the Vision 2020 Biking and Walking Committee.

Kime rode his bike along the new section of the trail prior to the ceremony.

With the completion of the new section, the southern part of the Shooting Star Bike Trail is approximately 27 miles long, stretching from CR 58 to City Park in LeRoy.

Kime said the next phase would be to connect the trail at CR 58 with the 28th Street Bridge in Austin, a distance of 3.4 miles. That phase is in the planning stage.

“It’ll open up the doors to the small towns,” Kime said. “There are a lot of things to see and do along with the scenery, the flowers and all of the things people will get to experience on the trail. It’ll hopefully bring visitors to the area. It’s a great thing for Mower County.”

Kime said that the plan is to have the connection between CR 58 and Austin done next year.

“For all of the folks who have worked on this over the years, to see the end in sight, it is a tribute to those who have been so dedicated to that,” he said. “I’m pleased to have been a small part of that.”