Summerset Trail

So sorry it's been a while since we have made an entry. We have been focusing on trailing for the Des Moines half marathon in October. We are super excited to do that together. We will be running it with our friends Andrew and Danielle as well! YAY for exercise! It also is Kathryn and my first half marathon so that's exciting!

The other day we did take a break from the running and went on a bike ride on a beautiful and rural trail that begins near the Casey's Gas station off of the main road in Carisle.  This trail is very flat but it flirts between open farmland and woods as you travel South towards Indianola where the trail ends.  One way the trail is 11 miles.  The best part about this trail is that the miles and half miles are clearly marked throughout the entire trail.  The parking was also easy to find and there were plenty of spaces.  This also was the easiest trail head to find.

On the evening that we took this ride it was a cool 68 degrees and windy so a light jacket was almost needed. Our way out was warmer and more eventful than the way back.  In the middle of the trail, a few miles in, a giant prairie snake was in the middle of the path. It was literally jumping to get out of the way fast enough. At first I thought it was rope but as we got close it frantically hopped and slithered and hissed away from us. I was so shocked that I could just barely stop in time. As soon as I stopped it took a suicidal leap through the fence just next to the trail and into the tall grasses below. We seriously thought it was going to stop and snap up at us. FREAKY! But we kept going.  We passed a DNR nature reserve and what we thought was a small shooting range, houses, farms, sketchy "chainsaw massacre-type" house/farm that we quickly pedaled through and turned around once we hit 7 miles.  On the way back there weren't any snakes or odd encounters and we were chasing the setting sun as the wind bit our ears. Luckily we turned around in time before the sun set too low.  At this point we were super hungry and tired.  We both felt out of biking shape after such a long pause but at the same time the ride felt good.

Iowa City Metro Trails

Well I'm a little confused as to which trail this actually was.  I think we did part of the Auburn Hills trail.  I (Kathryn) did one part of this the other night with Katie and then the other direction tonight with Austin.  The part with Katie was nice and took us into North Liberty.  We connected to the trail just from the house which was kind of scary because we were on some busy streets.  The trail itself was nice.  It was a little too open for me but it was fairly flat with some small hills.  The portion I did with Austin had a lot of hills, maybe they just seemed worse after doing those crazy ones yesterday, my legs need a break.  We ran into a lot of bugs so that was annoying but other than that I really liked it.  We took it from the house down towards IC and ended at the water treatment plant.

With Austin on the Iowa River

As far as I can tell from the trail we took we could have connected onto a lot of different trails in the area.  We rode right by the Coralville Damn and over a bridge on the Iowa River.  The trail was mostly just a wide sidewalk but it was big enough to ride two across and enjoy it.  Overall it was a nice trail to take on an easy ride and just hang out.

Duck Creek Parkway and Riverfront Trail

Trail Map

Today I (Kathryn) had 2 guest riders, Danielle and Katie.  We biked on a small portion of the Duck Creek Parkway and then the Riverfront Trail in Bettendorf.  The route to get to the trails killed me.  We decided to make it an out and back ride and the out portion was mostly downhill.  Riding back had some good hills but the bitches came at the end.  Talk about killers.  The trail for the most part was really nice though.  It was wide enough to share with other riders and runners.  The majority of that part was on right along the main roads.  About 5 miles out we hooked up with the Duck Creek trail which ran right next to the water.  It was beautiful.  Then we took a portion to the Riverfront which had an amazing view of the Mississippi river.  I really enjoyed this trail when my legs weren't dying from pedaling.  I would love to go out more on the Mississippi to see where that trail would take us.  Maybe next time. 

Danielle and Katie share their thoughts:

While on this trail, I had an out of body experience in which I flew to the moon and watched the three of us bike from the most beautiful vantage point that I could ever imagine.  I felt so close to the stars that I could have reached out and touched them but I didn't because they are made of plasma and did not want to incinerate my hand.  Anyways, as I sat watching us traverse the rolling hills, I discovered who I am.  Just a small insignificant part of  a large complicated world.  Nothing that I do will change anything about the world but it is still important that I do it for reasons I cannot comprehend.  Once I came down from the shrooms, we were almost home.  Great ride.

Danielle and Katie by the Mississippi

I very much stayed inside my body while on this trail, using my feet to pedal, my mouth to talk to Danielle and Kathryn, and my head think about ice cream. As my skin soaked in the cool breeze and my eyes the refreshing scenery, I wished I could stay in that state of being forever...but maybe one day eat some ice cream. 

East River Trail

I couldn't find a trail map so this is at least where we started

Old picture with my dad for Father's Day

So I'm (Kathryn) going to take a stab at writing one of these guys.  For Fathers Day I went with my dad on the East River Trail.  We started at the Birdland Marina near the north trailhead at McHenry Park.  From there we took it north towards the Neal Smith Trail.  I really enjoyed riding this one.  The beginning takes you right along the river and back behind the North football stadium.  You continue that direction and head past the old Riverview amusement park.  As soon as you get by that you're in some really nice wooded areas.  The trail wasn't busy at all which made it nice for easy riding and just enjoying being outside.  Throughout the ride we would break out of the woods and have a nice view of the river.  We took it about 6 miles out towards Merle Hay and decided to turn around.  As of now this was probably my favorite trail.  The scenery was perfect and being in the woods kept us shaded enough that we didn't get overheated which was nice because it was a scorcher.  As far as I could tell there were hardly and bugs but I'm sure if Hil was out there she would have swallowed a few.


This trail is in our book but it's some what outdated so the portion that we were on was only marked as a future development in it.  We could have started going south and that would have taken us to University and towards the Botanical Center.  Once past that it would continue through town and ended at Hawthorn Park.

Jordan Creek Trail

 The trail is in West Des Moines and is 15.5 miles long.  The Jordan Creek Trail is located in West Des Moines and is named for the creek that runs along large sections of it.  The trail traverses wooded and open ares that are home to a variety of plant and animal species.  A new trail extension circles the 230-acre lake in Raccoon River Park.  The 632-acre park also boasts a nature lodge, softball complex, beach and picnic area.  Future plans involve connecting the Jordan Creek Trail to the Clive, Windsor Heights and Des Moines trail system.

Well lets just say that it wasn't what we expected or anticipated. We started at a trail head, according to our book, at a park off of Vista Drive near the intersection of 60th and Ashworth.  We parked and then found no sign of a trail so we headed south on the sidewalks.  Eventually the sidewalk became wider as if it was an actual bike path.  Little did we know at this point we were on a short trail call the Ashworth Trail that would eventually connect us to the Jordan Creek Trail.  When we found ourselves at the Jordan Creek Park there were a few different directions we could go in.  So we chose our first route to go over I-35 but we were abruptly stopped due to the Interstate's current construction.  So we turned around, snapped a quick photo of Lynnea on one of the few trail signs and went back to our crossroad.

This time we headed East.  We figured this would lead us to another part of the Jordan Creek Trail.  After a short while it actually did connect us to it but, of course, we headed in (we're guessing) the wrong direction.  After a while of biking we found ourselves near the Super Target just off of I-35 and Mills Civic Parkway.  We were not lost because we knew where we were but we were lost trail-wise.  There were no signs, no trail mileage posts, nothing. So we biked back along Prairie View Drive to connect to our crossroad again at E.P True Parkway/Jordan Creek Park.  At this point we had decided to just go back where we came from as we were feeling slightly defeated and frustrated by not being able to find and stay on the trail.  On our way back our path near the road had a split and instead of heading North on 60th we stayed on the path, which ended up being a part of the Jordan Creek Trail.  So we took this out to the Jordan Creek Mall and turned North on Jordan Creek Parkway.  At this point this road was an uphill the entire time.  We turned East on Ashworth for some flat rest, but only for a while.  There was another large hill and we were almost there! We had to stop at QT to fill my back tire, which was flat the entire ride and getting worse. Once we did that we went North on 60th, turned East on Vista Drive and we were done.

We only biked 9.28 miles, but at least there were some good hills to give us a workout.  So as you can see from our journey and when you compare our route to the trail map, we were hardly ever on in.  We were only on the Jordan Creek Trail for about a total of 3.5 miles or a little more.  It was frustrating because the trail was only marked every once in a while and because of the construction on I-35 we could not connect with the other half of the trail.  It was very disappointing.  So if anyone reading this wants to do this trail you should park at the Raccoon River Park and do that portion of the trail down there.

Trail map: http://www.wdm-ia.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=297

Clive Greenbelt Trail

Lynnea walking on the "trail"

To start off this blog we must say that we rode on this trail on the most perfect day! Sunny, low 70's, and our spirits were high.  We just randomly found this one in our book that we bought.  It is mostly shaded, cooler, travels alongside of Walnut Creek, buggy, forested, high traffic of people; bikers especially, and filled with nature.  In total we saw 3 does and 2 stags, and a beaver! The trail is very scenic and for most of it you forget that you are riding in an urban area.  It is composed of multiple bridges that connect to various neighborhoods, bends, natural and preserved prairie (cool), a few playgrounds along the path, patches or urban areas and it links up with Campbell Recreation Area which has a shelter, picnic areas, restrooms, parking and concessions.  Overall this trail is scenic, paved, good length for an out-and-back ride, and provides recreation of all kinds for everyone.  The really are only 2 negatives about it: high traffic of people and the trail heads are somewhat hidden from the main streets so they can be difficult to find.
There are a few different "trail heads" to choose from so we just chose the one closest to our apartment.  We started our journey at the West Trail Head.  And of course, because it is us, we started going in the direction where the trail ended about a mile down.  The tricky part about all of this is after our trail "stopped" the path kept going but there wasn't a sign or anything to tell us what trail we were currently on.  So we kept going and going through Clive, then through Windsor Heights, then Des Moines and finally we were in West Des Moines at the start of the Raccoon River Trail.  The trail to get to this point contained a detour route because of the construction on Grand Ave bridge.  Due to this there were a few rather steep hills added to our path that made things very challenging.  In the end though they were fun and worth it.  When we stopped in WDSM to find our barrings we ran into the QT nearby for some Gatorade and then headed back on the same path that lead us there.
Eventually we snaked our way back onto the Clive Greenbelt Trail and to our trail head.  We were feeling good still after riding nearly 11 miles so we kept going (left from the trail head instead of right this time).  This portion of the trail was very curvy  and the path had narrowed some making it difficult to go fast due to the large number of bikers and joggers that were also on the trail. We went a few miles down the path and then turned around.  At this point we ran into a large group of people that we named as the "biggest loser wannabes" because they all had matching shirts, they were all overweight and their shirt said "the gear challenge" or something like that.  They were super annoying only because there were about 12 of them in a somewhat spread out line.  Once we passed all of them we were almost back and we'd be safe and sound. THEN A DEER POKED OUT OF THE WOODS AND NEARLY KILLED US!!!! But for real it almost made me crash into Kathryn's bike and at the same time a small family was right behind me and almost crashed into me! It happened so fast that there really wasn't a chance for anyone to give the others any warning of stopping so abruptly.  Everyone was fine though so we continued and shortly after finished our ride.  In total we biked for 13.78 miles.  It wasn't super long but so far it our longest!  It takes time to get in biking shape but we'll work our way up to the big boys!

Trail Link: http://www.bandhtrails.com/dsm/trails/clivegreenbelt/

The Great Western Trail

Kathryn Holding Lynnea on  the bike

So we probably shouldn't even count this as biking the trail because we only biked 4 miles out and back of the 16.5 miles of the trail but we'll post about it for now.  I'm sure we will do the entire trail another time. To be honest we also really wanted to record another trail/entry, so here it is!

The Great Western Trail is a portion of what once was an old railroad built in 1899 that connected Kansas City, Chicago and St. Paul.  The portion of the trail that we went on was still within the Des Moines perimeter but we shortly left that and found ourselves in farm country, then a golf course and then back into the farmland/ prairie.  If we had gone further then we would have found ourselves in the wooded valley of North River.  From this trail you can also hook up onto the Lake Maffit Picnic Loop which is roughly 22 miles.  We hope to do that one soon.

The portion that we went on was very flat yet had a slight upgrade the entire way out making it necessary to pedal the entire time without coasting (that was tiring!).  The views were pleasant though with the forested portions next to the trail and the farmland and prairie just past that.  After we snapped a pic of our friend Lynnea (in gazelle form) we turned around and headed back to our Jeep.  The way back went faster because of the slight downgrade in elevation.  Sadly because we were going to fast I was unable to stop in time before a little squinny ran into my front tire, flipped, rolled and then ran away.  It was terrifying!  I'm not sure what became of that poor little chipmunk, but we both hope its ok.  Kathryn thinks that he ended up not getting hurt but of course I think that I killed him. RIP baby squinny :(  On a happier note though we saw a distant cousin of Lynnea's out on the trail; a cute doe.  She totally was unafraid of us while she stood there grazing.  Super cute! Then after she ran away we finished our short journey, went home and died because the sun was beating down on us the entire time.

Lynnea's distant cousin

Sorry you may have to download it to see it better

Neal Smith Trail

So we actually did this ride on Tuesday June 18th but we just started this blog and that wasn't too long ago so we will add it as our first post.  The Neal Smith trail actually starts as the John Pat Dorrian trail in Des Moines then runs north to connect to the Neal Smith.  As you bike along the path next to you is the Des Moines river for most of the route until the trail curves and you bike along the east side of Saylorville Lake. Eventually the trail ends at the Big Creek beach and marina in Big Creek State Park.  The length of the Neal Smith trail is 26 miles and the John Pat Dorrian trail is 2.2 miles.  You can also reach the Trestle to Trestle trail off the the Neal Smith which is 3.8 miles.

On one of the bridges in the more forested part of the trail.

Kathryn and I did not do the entire route.  We started from Cherry Glen Campground on the east side of Saylorville Lake and took the trail to the end (Big Creek beach and marina).  This portion of the trail had both open prairie and forested portions which contained winding turns, small hills, large drops, bridges and connections to many other campgrounds, boat docks and roads.  We both really enjoyed this trail. The forested portions were slightly shaded which was nice because it was close to 95 degrees Fahrenheit and not a cloud in the sky.  The open parts were really hot. The last few miles of the ride was mainly downhill and across a few bridges.  It was forested and high above the river.  Going over the bridges and being that exposed was kind-of scary but we quickly crossed it before we over-thought the situation.  The forest quickly turned into the open prairie again and we knew we were close to the end of the trail. Once we arrived to the beach and marina we stopped to take a break.  At that point we had biked 12 miles.  This also was our first bike ride so at this point we were really tired.  We then made hot dogs on a grill nearby and went kayaking on the lake.  After all of this excitement we caught a ride from a friend back to our campsite because we were too tired from the activities and drained from the sun.  Overall it was a great trail!

Here is the link to the trail: http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/Recreation/ODS/Maps/Saylorville%20Map.pdf