041: Day 52 May 30: Reinbeck to Marshalltown IA: 36 miles and 1651.5 in total (m760.9)

Before we talk about today's ride, I wish to mention two events of yesterday. 

The sunset was beautiful and

a visit to the Hansen Farm south of Hudson is well worth it. 

The Pioneer Trail is also a "developing" trail that is, it is not complete yet with several gaps. We started off from our camp site having missed a short section in the Town of Reinbeck.  

The crushed limestone surface was good, but still soft in places after all the rain. Christine stayed in front and I could barely keep up. 

This is also an old abandoned rail line. You can see that the surrounding land is quite flat, as the rail line ran straight for quite a while. 

Nevertheless, it is well worth it to take the time to also cycle along this trail. It sure beats the road just next to it, especially for peace of mind and being able to stop where you want. 

We came to this curve and we were surprised that the trail is defined, but not used. The actual trail took us back to the road and we cycled to the next town, Grundy Center.

We decided to cycle down the main road rather than take the short trail section where the station used to be. The facades are reminiscent of many of the small towns in the USA. But there are continuing changes.

Christine and I stopped at the Chinese Restaurant, but then smiled and moved on. We still had about 28 miles to Marshalltown and we did not know the quality of the road shoulders.

The first section had a very good shoulder and we made good time. Scott, this photo is for you. The fabulous shoulders ARE out there somewhere. It's like finding proof of unicorns, or Saskwatch.

And the next section was beautiful as well and we could cycle along without wondering about vehicle slowdowns behind us.

We saw a couple of barns as well.

The colors above and around this one were excellent and Jim, this one is yours. 

We saw this closed restaurant and were immediately wondering why the Aussies cannot compete in the world of Angus.  😄😄😄

There are quite a number of wind turbines in this part of Iowa. 

The last 9 miles the road shoulder shrivelled to the width of the painted line and it made for harrowing riding.

We were both happy to see the bridge over the Iowa River. We set up our camp just across the bridge at the Riverview Park campground. 

We shall go looking for food shortly and tomorrow we hope the bike shop will open early so that my front gear shift can be repaired/replaced. With Jeff's help yesterday it is now permanently in the middle gear. If we cannot arrange a repair tomorrow, we shall probably push on.  

We have done well today - 36 miles and our tent was up at 04:00 pm. We are also in good shape. I do not have any side effects of my fall and Christine pushed our speed up to 18 miles per hour at certain stages today.  

040: Evansdale to Reinbeck Iowa: 40 miles today and 1621 in total. (m724.6)

It took us two miles of neighborhood roads to take us back to the Cedar Valley Trail System. It was a warmish, but sunny day and Christine decided to look like a mulberry today - at least until it got warm enough to take off the windbreaker. I must say, she had to cycle fast, as I love mulberries. 😂😂

This is part of the Evansdale Bike Trail.

The rail trail section ended too soon, but after about one mile of urban roads the trail continued as the Cedar Valley Lakes Trail on the flood protection barriers built along the Cedar River. Here we are on top of the earth barrier.

Closer to Waterloo the barrier became part earth- part concrete wall. Here we are on the river-side of the wall. 

There was an old car rally (Memorial Day weekend) in Waterloo. I saw this couple at their hotrod and 

added this photo as well. We wanted to cycle on and did not wait for the main rally.

We went past these man-made falls in Waterloo. 

Upstream of Waterloo we were behind the concrete barrier for a while.

We cycled through a huge sports/picnic and recreation park where 

we also found an elephant. Christine had to take off her windbreaker, as elephants love mulberries even more.

The Trail took us past Brinker Lake, a popular fishing spot, 

and into the George Wyth State Park. This was a beautiful ride.

We stopped at this pond just to enjoy.

This was also the northenmost point of our ride through Iowa. From here we aim west-southwest to Lincoln, Nebraska, still some time away.

We took our parting shots of the Cedar River, also of this pedestrian bridge forming part of the trail.

We cycled under and over this bridge as we went south through Cedar Falls.

We joined the Cedar Prairie Trail and 

and Christine waved at me from this pedestrian bridge. 

South of Cedar Falls we passed a large strip mall with many department stores. I liked the way the developers took the Cedar Prairie Trail around the development.

The trail continued along a major highway,

crossed it under this bridge

and went back into the woods.

We had a lovely ride over bridges and past water views.

Soon we joined another Trail and cycled to the next Town, Hudson.

About two miles out we passed the first Welcome-sign.

When we reached the outskirts we saw the next welcome sign and, finally,

we saw this sign.

From Hudson we had some road cycling to do. Along the way we stopped at the Hansen Dairy Farm for the necessary icecream. Here we met Jean Hansen and she told us all about the farm and how this developed since the seventies.

We thoroughly enjoyed the break and are privileged to have shared quality time at the farm.

We took off down a gravel road and we were very happy that we had a much easier ride than a couple of days ago. 

The paved road to Reinbeck went past quickly. On the way I noted that I only had the high gear up front and we stopped at the pub in Reinbeck to ask for directions to a bike shop, if any. A very friendly farmer, Jeff, helped us out with running repairs and we left Reinbeck in search of the Pioneer Trail.

Having found the Trail, we decided to camp at the Trailhead, called the Gudknecht Roadside Park. 

We had another lovely day and met some very good people along the way. Our sunset was as beautiful.