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Last Sunday we loaded up the Honda and drove to Council Bluffs to ride the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. The Bellevue Bicycle Club was hosting the Fall Foliage Ride. This would be our third trip solely to ride on this trail. The previous trips have had us start in Shenandoah, the lower mid-section of the Wabash, and head north. Most recently our last visit was on a rainy weekend in 2020 when Ragbrai was supposed to start. That was a muddy affair making me desire proper tires. But this time weather was perfect and the drought left the limestone trail perfectly packed. Mary and I were looking forward to this because we had never started at the northern terminus and headed south. Always in the middle and heading north.
PRELUDE DISASTER
Since the trail has a limestone surface and the last time we rode it we were in want of wider tires we elected to take our touring tandem, Fisher Gemini, with its 26x2.1 wide tires. This bicycle also enabled us to carry panniers. Saturday I pulled it out of the shed and dusted it off. I also fixed a flat due to a tear by the stem. We had not ridden it since last year. That's the thing about tandems, after awhile the novelty wears off and newer singles become the preferred rides. The 2021 shakedown cruise was to Norwalk to have lunch at El Maya Mexican Restaurant.
Smooth ride to Norwalk until we reached El Maya. Despite low torque pedaling the chain busted on the sidepath in front of the restaurant. Looked like a bad shift pulled a link apart. The chain was relatively new I felt so carrying a chain tool did not cross my mind. After all, we only put 310 miles on the bike last year and it probably sat in storage for 2017 and 2018 only to do a few rides in the autumn of 2019. But there we were and two phone calls later Tom Riggs pulled up with chain tool and a quick link. Thank you Tom! The ride home was uneventful and I immediately went to Ichi Bike for a new chain. Also looked up the tandem's entries in my bike log. Chain replaced in 2015 and only 839 miles on it at the moment of the break.
The Ride
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| Disappearing into the trees. Mountain bike/equestrian trail parallels the main trail. |
I was planning to rewrap the bars and put the new chain on but two of our sons came over and whiskey got involved and the Hawkeyes killed the mood. I put the chain and the chain tool in a pannier and called it good. I was ready. Just remove the wheels and turn the tandem upside down and place it in the CR-V. That small SUV is so useful. Tandem fit nicely and all windows and doors could be closed. Bicycles are safest inside vehicles during transport.
We used Google Maps to get to the trailhead since none of us had ever been here before. Despite being told that we rode this section of trail at the beginning of Ragbrai one time and a fragment of a memory of camping at the School For the Deaf we could not recall. And in our haste to flee Des Moines, we arrived an hour before the Fall Foliage Ride was to begin. We left without them.
The trail is beautiful. The canopy wonderful. The sun was out and it was warming up. No wind to hinder our efforts. Lack of rain made the surface damn near perfect. Compared to the Great Western Trail or Neal Smith Trail of the northwestern part of the Raccoon Trail, it was very smooth. But it is a false flat. Looks flat but it is not on the north section from Council Bluffs to Malvern. We were either doing 20 mph or 12 mph. Up or down and elevation changes was almost imperceptible to the eye. 12 mph seemed to show on the Gemini's computer most of the time.
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| Happy Trails Cycles |
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| Art and a home at Happy Trails Cycles |
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| The Slammer in Silver City, Iowa |
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| The Fisher Gemini attempting to Trick or Treat! |
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| Loaded Trek Checkpoint. Nice gear! His riding partner had front panniers. |
Our first stop was in Silver City. Many, many moons ago during Team Mystery Machine's Fall Classic Mary and I got here from Shenandoah. This was as far as we have ever reached until this ride. Happy Trails Cycle was the stop. Snacks and soda and tubes and pumps. Floor pumps available for purchase! The Hood, a bar and grill, was not open on Sunday. The proprietor of Happy Trails Cycles was friendly and we chatted with her both times we rolled through. Also talked to a man who rolled in from Imogene on a loaded Trek Checkpoint. His friend also was on a Checkpoint. They camped Saturday night and said it got really cold about 2 am.
Malvern would be our next and final stop on the southbound excursion. A photo was taken at the tunnel underneath Highway 34. I waited for a semi to cross but no joy as no big trucks rumbled overhead. Once in town we ate at C&M's Café as we had in 2020. Had it been Saturday I would have ordered the $3.99 cheeseburger and fries special. Checkpoint Dude said it was big and a very good deal. Instead I had the Texas melt on Texas Toast for $9.95. Mary had a chicken sandwich.
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| Highway 34 above the tunnel |
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| That, dear reader, is a special for meat eaters! |
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| Our lunch. Big Tex and chicken sammie. |
We got there just as a family, grandparents and all, arrived on Rad Power fat eBikes. One was pulling a Burley. Two of them had pulled their batteries off and were frantically looking for a place to plug them in. I asked one man how it rides without the electric assist and he said very slow because the bicycle weighs like 70 lbs. Mary commented how this was like Ragbrai circa 2006 when every time our group stopped at least 3 people had to plug their phones in. Speaking of phones, we had no service here. Airplane mode.
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| What a wonderful oasis! recycling bin and trash dumpster, too! |
Appetites sated we headed back. Restroom break in Silver City. The the long climb to Margaritaville. Said destination is 5 miles from the trailhead in Council Bluffs. It consists of a large open shelter with benches and sombreros, bike racks and many benches on both sides of the trail and even a grill. For those of you familiar with The Lean To or Chuck Stop on the Great Western Trail, Margaritaville is the NYC of Lean To's. We each drank a beer before the 5 mile downhill to the end of the trail.
46 miles for the day. The chain held! I cannot emphasize what a wonderful trail this is, when the surface is dry. We could have ridden road bikes on it. It is a bit dusty, however. I would really like to rally Team Mystery Machine to join us for another Fall Classic or Spring Ride. Do yourself a favor and ride this trail from the north end!! And of course, Shenandoah to the southern terminus, and cross into Missouri.
