I biked a decent amount in West Des Moines. It's pretty amazing around there because almost anywhere you want to go can be got to one a bike path at least part of the way. Some of the paths were really pretty.
Ames is not quite as bike friendly. There are only a few paths through the middle that aren't like glorified sidewalks or along the side of a road. But you can still get around, maybe on some sidewalks and some roads.
So, recently I have had zero motivation to work out. But biking isn't really like working out for me, and plus, it's outside. Any temperature over 45 is doable at this point, I am so sick of being inside. I looked up the Google Maps version of the bike paths in Ames and notices there were paths around the lake/pond thing that is in Ada Hayden and it didn't look too far away, so I decided to go. But there was no good straight route, so I started planning a rather convoluted one. I saw a little park with a bike path off to the east of Duff. The green line of the path didn't go all the way through, but I've seen that before and as often as not it becomes something that isn't officially a bike path, like a sidewalk, and is still traverse-able. I can see the white line leading on from it. I honestly didn't think too much about it. So I started off to Carr Park.
All goes as planned and I am soon biking on a path surrounded by trees, still sadly leafless, next to a little stream and enjoying myself. I ring my bell to alert two elderly gentlemen that I am passing and when they let me through, I kind of get the vibe they are surprised to see me. Maybe this path isn't often frequented? It's hard to believe there wouldn't be bikers, as it is a nice path.
Until I get to the end. And then I see why the bike path didn't go all the way through. The paved portion leads straight to a long, winding, board-shoved-in-the-dirt stairway. It doesn't look very bike friendly. Continuing from the path is an unpaved, rutted flattened thing that could be called a path if it wasn't being compared to the paved one on which I had been travelling. Well, maybe that will come out somewhere. With hope, I start biking on the unpaved... trail. My bike is a hybrid, not a mountain bike, but I get along. I see other ruts that look like bike tracks. Maybe there was more than one that came this way. Maybe one came, gave up, and turned around and went back. I try not to think about that.
Somewhere along the way, I see people up along the edges of the tall hill dirt thing that has been on my left this whole time. The thing they built the stairs into. I can't tell what the people are doing as the sun is shining down over the top of the hill, so I keep biking on. Maybe they were outlaws and I was going to be kidnapped or shot for discovering their gold hiding place. Maybe I was channeling Tom Sawyer. Or was it Huck Finn?
And then I come to a crossroads. Or cross trails. One goes along the left side of the brook, one crosses over a pipe thing and goes along the right side of the brook, and one continues from the crossing to continue back along the brook on the other side. Eventually, I want to end up coming out of this ravine, preferably on the west side of this stream, so I take the left path. I actually have to get off my bike because it is so narrow. The path leads me to some stairs. By now, I've had enough of being in a ravine, so I carry my bike up the stairs, being thankful it isn't something heavier, although I can't think of what. What else would I have on a path? A skateboard? Lighter. Roller blades? Removable and lighter. Oh well, at least I can lift the bike!
At the top, I can see a way out, back toward the way I came. There is also a group of people sitting together. They yell something along the lines of "you go!" at me. In the friendly, "you go, girl!" not the English-challenged "you go now!" sort of way.
And soon I'm biking along a golf course and wondering where I am going.
But apparently, this is a long story, so I'll space it a bit.
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