June 10, 2018
Day 25 Perry, IA
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We woke up today to rain and decided to wait at the hotel until the weather cleared. The rain lasted all morning, but by 1PM, it seemed to be clearing to the north along our route.
We left the hotel about 1:15 in light rain. The rain stopped after the first few miles and we had a good ride through the northern suburbs of Des Moines to the High Trestle Trail. Des Moines has an outstanding and extensive network of bike trails. All the drivers we encountered on the local roads continued to be very patient and courteous.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
The High Trestle Trail is a rail trail that has a smooth paved surface, lots of shade and runs through a quiet rural area.
The first part of the trail had lots of new subdivisions going up, but then the area became agricultural.
Some views along the trail
We had another detour today, but this one was great - a few hundred feet of older paved trail right next to the route. That's the kind of detour we like!
The highlight of the trail is the High Trestle Bridge over the Des Moines River. The restored railroad trestle is 130 feet above the river. It is an amazing ride across the bridge.
After the bridge, it was only twelve miles into Perry. They were not the best twelve miles of the day. The first nine were fine, actually, then there were two miles of wet, muddy unpaved road. I hate riding on unpaved roads. Team A made the decision to take the highway, but Kerry was determined to stay on the gravel. We made it fine, but it was a total white knuckle experience for me. To add the fun, it started to rain about the time we started on the gravel. We arrived at the beautiful Hotel Pattee wet and muddy. The clerk was very nice and assured us that our wet and dirty selves and our wet and dirty bikes were completely welcome in the hotel. We parked the bikes in a storage area and carried our gear upstairs. After a good family feast at the Asian restaurant next door, we all felt much better. It helped to find freshly baked chocolate chip cookies waiting in the hall outside our rooms!
Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 1,145 miles (1,843 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |