A New Trail

A rider on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. 6/24/23

 We spent the weekend in Iowa for my wife's 40th high school reunion.  Since it wasn't my reunion, I took along my bike and made my first ride on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.

 It was built on an abandoned rail line in the early 1980s using crushed limestone but thanks to efforts over the past few years most of it is now paved.

 The 52-mile trail runs from the town of Hiawatha in Cedar Rapids to Evansdale southeast of Waterloo.  Our hotel was in Urbana, 20 miles north of Cedar Rapids.

The forecast predicted thunderstorms and a high of 90. My riding so far hasn't included enough miles for a full round trip so I rode away from the hotel at 7 am set to ride to Cedar Rapids and back. 

Historic Center Point depot.

The trail is in excellent condition from Cedar Rapids to Urbana.  It's paved the entire distance, with cement covering 6-miles of the former railroad to Center Point.  

In my experience, a paved path adds speed, a good 1 to 2 miles per hour better.  Throw in a a slight decline on the return trip and a light tailwind and it added up to my fastest average of the year, 16.3 mph over 54 miles.

It felt awesome.  On the trip back I was cruising most of the way other than slowing down for the occasional intersection with country roads with the bike computer showing speeds of 18 to 22 mph.  

At Center Point the community's old depot offers modern bathrooms and drinking water.  The depot's community museum is open Sunday afternoons during the summer.

The railroad bed was frequently lined with trees which provided welcome shade and cut the wind for riders.  The rural communities have become home to people looking to commute to either Waterloo or Cedar Rapids for work and that's created demand for the trail.

Ag country surrounds most of the ride. 6/24/23.

 It was busy, I saw at least 200 riders on the trail during my ride.  A few dozen of them, I noticed later, rode from Cedar Rapids to Jams Coffee Shop in Urbana then rode home.

 The trailhead on Boyson Road in Cedar Rapids isn't the end, it can be followed all the way to the Johnson County line, adding another 16 miles to the trip.

 I didn't go that far.  My goal was to get downtown.  From Boyson Road the trail transitioned to an extra-wide sidewalk until it suddenly became a normal walk.

  I noticed a wider walk across the street, made my way to that, then followed a series of turns and curves until I reached the 4th Street entrance to the trail which was behind the Quaker Oats facility.  

The sign high above downtown.

That was where I turned around, 27 miles into the trip.  I quickly got back to the trailhead parking lot.  Thanks to another rider, I learned a Casey's convenience store was a short distance west so I headed there to secure one more bottle of water for the ride back.

By then it was 9:30 and 87 degrees; I drank fluids throughout the ride, finishing two 20-ounce bottles filled with orange Gatorade.  I started with a good breakfast before the ride and chowed down 3 mini-donuts after heading north.

I was on the bike 3 hours, 10 minutes with 20 minutes off the bike to take pictures or a bathroom break.

For an unusually hot day in June, it was a perfect day to ride.  The extra traffic on the trail made it feel like the place to be.

We don't get this way often but if it can be worked out, I'd love to finish the 32-miles from Urbana to Waterloo.

Where I joined the trail on the north side of Urbana, Iowa.

The trail goes under Interstate 380 which connect Waterloo to I-80 at Iowa City.

A trail-side flower.

Looking toward downtown Cedar Rapids from behind Quaker Oats.

                                          All photos by David Mossner 6/24/2023