Two-Wheeled Pleasures

At least one of the big plusses of moving to my small town (Center Point, Iowa) was the fact that the town is bisected by the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.  In my growing-up years, I had known this 52-mile-by-50-foot nature park by another name–the Waterloo Railroad.  Prior to that, long before I was born, the route hosted an electric interurban railroad; the Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Northern.  But while I enjoy the “railroad history” aspect of riding the trail, there are other alluring pleasures that bring me back to the trail time after time.

I love God’s creation and there is nothing quite like riding silently along the crushed gravel, (or asphalt in some cases), and seeing, smelling, and hearing all that the trail has to offer.  This is the way to see the countryside–rolling hills carpeted with rows of corn or beans, a canopy of trees providing a virtual tunnel of green, the rivers, ponds, and streams that dot the way.

Now, I know I’m beginning to sound like the narrative for a County Parks Commission brochure, but if you have spent any time walking or riding the trail on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the spring, or a cool, damp summer morning, then you know what I mean.  No two trips are ever the same, and you never know what interesting critters you might encounter (like the time that big 10-point buck jumped directly in front of me as I was cruising down the trail at about 20 MPH.)

I start riding the trail as soon as the frost is out of the ground in the spring and continue to ride throughout the summer and fall–to the tune of about 700 miles a season.  As the season progresses, it is fascinating to see the different types of wildflowers that come, each in their turn, and then relinquish the stage to the next act.  The wonderful fragrance that each batch of flowers brings is priceless.  (Not as priceless is the fragrance that skunks and stagnant backwaters bring along the trail.)

You’re an animal lover, you say?  At various times on the trail, I’ve seen chipmunks, gophers, rabbits, ground hogs, deer, coyotes, geese, ducks, squirrels, snakes, lizards, a couple dozen types of birds, and have been chased by a 100-pound German Shepherd.

One odd thing I have noticed about the trail is how underutilized it is.  While there are people a-plenty out riding or walking on nice weekend afternoons, I might not see one other soul on an entire 15-mile weeknight ride to the next town and back.  I don’t think that most people in our area realize what an asset the trail is.  At one time (and it may still be true) the Cedar Valley Nature Trail was the longest continuous bike trail between two metropolitan areas in the country.  Trail riders from all over know about this trail and many come here to ride it.  And just think, you can enjoy it for free any time you like!  Great entertainment and relaxation doesn’t come any cheaper.

Two-wheeled pleasures, indeed.

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