Both Christine and I were wanting to go this morning. However, I delayed the proceedings to make a wire and plastic flap for my mobile phone. These last few days it stopped working because it became too hot in the waterproof pouch. 
We took off and cycled past the Skybridge,
the Carousel, ferris wheel and band stand,
and the Ball Park for the local First division Baseball Team. Dr A of the Concussion Clinic is their Team Doctor, so, my guess is, the players are in pretty good hands.
We also passed another rail bridge. Interesting this bridge has two spans that swing through 90 Degrees to allow river boats through.
The trail took us to Credit Island, a great, slow ride along the river bank.
We crossed back to the mainland via this new pedestrian bridge. We now had about 20 miles of road cycling to Muscatine.
This is a special crossing.
The houses on the river show the need for flood protection.
We passed a cement factory with its extensive borrowpit on the opposite side of the road.
We passed some glittering wildlife as well.
About two miles before Muscatine we joined the Muscatine River Trail.
This is a great trail, well removed from vehicular traffic.
At one point the Trail condition is better than the parallel road.
We had to stop at this spectacular viewpoint. If it were for sale, I would place an offer.
In the direction of Muscatine, we saw this Canadian Pacific train coming past.
Behind us the private homes had even better views, complete with fixed and swinging benches.
You can also see the Muscatine Locks in the distance.
Some murals in Muscatine. The designer is still at work on the right hand one.
A typical street view. There is a lot of road construction in this area.
We stopped at the Pearl City Popcorn store for calcium. I wanted to buy the 6.5 gallon popcorn tin, but we do not have space for it now.
We had to smile when we saw this. Next to the Sino-American Friendship Center is a small shop with a sign referring to "the China-virus." If we had the time, I would have popped into both to understand the synergy better.
Who is joining us? There are bicycles in Muscatine.
A beautiful Methodist Church downtown and
a church and cemetery entrance built in 1900 in memory of a local wife.
We stopped at the bottom of this downhill - with the Cedar River in the background-
for a good lunch. We also tried out our new mattresses as seats.
The Cedar River surprised us for width and development on the Banks.
The wind picked up strongly and we stopped at this church for a rest.
Christine took this photo to prove the wind strength and also used a simple "f...." when the wind blew over her bicycle. I kept quiet and assisted with the pick-up.
We arrived in West Liberty soon after and stopped at the local store for a Coke and some chips. We sat and watched this part of the Farmer's Market.
We cycled down to the old Railway Station and joined a short part of the Hoover Trail. This is a developing rail trail with more gaps than trail sections. However, we enjoyed the short section here in West Liberty.
A replica quilt barn at the station.
We thought this quote from Lao Tzu is quite appropriate and applicable to our tour.
We soon came to end of this part of the Trail and saw where the trail would be extended in future. We trust this would happen sooner rather than later.
From West Liberty we cycled another about 10 miles to West Branch. Both of us felt good and booked a hotel there. We had to smile as well. While we sat at the store a guy walked past and we started chatting. He was amazed at what we are doing and offered us an apartment at his home if we wanted to stop and have a shower. Unfortunately we had to decline, as we wanted to get to West Branch - there is rain coming and Lizl sent the second care package to the Post Office in West Branch.
These are scenes along the way, a well-kept cemetery miles from anywhere, good erosion protection in some of the corn fields. By the way, we now see young corn plants all over. It is amazing how quickly they grow. A couple of weeks ago we cycled past field that were still fallow.
Since we did very well today and since both of us felt good, we shared a good mango-avo salad and had some beer as well. I was too greedy and could not finish my beer. 😄😄
We also noted a change in habits. Up to now we were commenting on the shower's heat. Tonight both of us turned up the cold water to cool off. The season is changing out there.
Glad about your health and good progress. Can you post less photos so that my level of jealousy can be reduced please!!!!
ReplyDeleteLiefde, Marius