7/29-An A-Maize-ing Day on Bike Paths

Parting shot from Perry

I’m now on Segment 5, “Maize”. This segment is 791 miles. Today was all about the a-maize-ing bike paths. Practically out the door I was on the connector to the High Trestle Trail. 

Very well signed

Through a park

It was another smooth flat trail, like the Raccoon River Valley Trail. 

I saw one fawn leap across the trail, and about 27 bazillion bunnies. 

Just one of so many

Morning in Iowa!

I went through a few towns before getting to the infamous High Trestle Bridge after Madrid. 

Getting close!

The bridge came into view. Just as I took this photo…

One of the 27 bazillion bunnies photo bombed!

There was a lookout where you could get a good view of the bridge. 

The river

High Trestle Bridge…check! Movin’ on. At the next town, I departed from the High Trestle Trail, and joined the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail. 

It also connects several communities. 

This trail wasn’t quite as straightforward as the High Trestle. There were places where there was a bit of a break. One spot you had to go out to the highway for a couple of miles, but there was a bike lane. It brought me into the town of Huxley. That was at mile 29, and my last refueling opportunity until coming into Marshalltown (mile 70).

At Collins I had to go out to the road again. This time there wasn’t a bike lane. It wasn’t for long. This lead to the most interesting part of the day. It was about a mile or so of gravel, then I turned onto this…

You can see by the sign, it is the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail

A bit more nature than previous parts

Who even knows this exists?

Then there was this bridge in the middle of  nowhere. 

Grassy double track on both ends

Sketchy stairs to the observation deck 

Slowly being overgrown

I thought this was funny. There is no hard surface. 

This part was about 4 miles long. A wee bit swampy in a few places, but otherwise a nice distraction. 

Of course, no day is complete in Iowa without a few miles of gravel roads and rolling hills. 

Again, it was just a means of connecting to another trail. 

This little “alley” came to a tunnel under Hwy 330. 

On the other side of the tunnel it was the paved Hwy 330 Trail. 

As you might expect, this trail ran parallel to the Hwy. I could see the exit signs for Marshalltown, but wait, we had one more trail to do. The Linn Creek Recreational Trail.

While on this trail, I thought, I think I’ll just stay in a hotel in Marshalltown instead of camping at the Riverside Campground like I planned. I even looked up a cheap motel, and routed myself there. But, as I was riding, I told myself, suck it up buttercup. You are getting too soft! I stopped the routing, and continued to the campground. 

It’s nothing special, but has the necessary amenities. Besides, tomorrow I will go to Cedar Falls. Overnight, and all day Friday is forecasted to be thunderstorms. I’ll probably stay two nights in Cedar Falls, and not ride during the thunderstorms. Probably a good idea. As of today, I’m averaging 49.3 miles per day. I can afford an extra day.