Country Views: When It All Comes Together

Escape Route: Moline Road

As I drove my son to college classes on Tuesday I realized that it was a really great morning. The sky was blue, the Sun wasn't burning us up, and the winds were very light. Hmm..... This sets off my "Bike Ride Alert" senses! 

So, I promised myself I wouldn't squander away the morning and that I'd get out and get a ride in. So, I had a nice cup of coffee, took care of a few pressing needs, and headed out. I figured that I'd be on the road by 9:30am.  

I decided to embark from the Gates Park area, and I drove out to the parking area there to get kitted up. As I turned the truck off I realized I had forgotten my cycling shoes. The shoes I had on were some old, beat up slip-on Vans I wore to drive with. Nothing at all suitable for this task at hand.

I could have done a few things, like threw a fit, gotten all bent out of shape, and gone home feeling victimized by my own failure. But I didn't do that. I actually did cuss once, but I shrugged my shoulders and thought, "You know what? I can be back here in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes and have my shoes and be off riding." That sounded better than wallowing in my anger and futility.

You might think this is a boring area, or 'fly-over country'. I think it is beautiful.

The road conditions cannot get much better than this.

I returned with my shoes and was riding by 10:00am. Not bad, not bad at all! And once I cleared all the hustle and bustle going on in Waterloo, I found a very quiet, peaceful countryside brimming with Life and color. The birds were singing and you could hear things miles away since it was so still when I started. The coo of a mourning dove came down over the fields and I knew that this was going to be a special ride.

We lost another old barn in the derrecho we had about a week or so ago.

Not long ago we had a big windstorm, a "derrecho" as they call them now. We used to just call them wind storms back in the day.......whatever. At any rate, I always cringe a little every time I ride in the country after such events as I know that many structures which have been abandoned in terms of usage or ownership- or both- can often times be destroyed in such storms due to their state of deterioration. 

Well, I am sad to report that I saw where one of the unique, old barns succumbed to the storms, or was just knocked down recently. It was a big one too. Glad I got to see it before it was gone......

This old barn still stands. It helps when owners still use the structures for a purpose.

More ditch ornamentation in the form of day lilies here on Gresham Road.

I just kept marveling at how good this ride was. The roads were about perfect. The maintainers were out, but they seemed to be not spreading new rock as much as they just were spreading out what was already there. The breeze was there, but it was cooling and not a bother. The humidity was low, for an Iowa Summer, and so everything about the ride was really enjoyable. 

The "German Burial Grounds" on Gresham Road

Another old survivor out on Moline Road

All in all, I was so pleased with the way I was riding and how it all was unfolding that I actually said out loud, "It all has just come together today." That doesn't happen often, and maybe because this year has been rife with bad weather, tons of wind, and many days that just did not work out to get a ride in, that when it does all work out, well, it is notable. 

Or despite all of that, this ride really just was what it was. A spectacular day out on a bicycle. To think I could have thrown it all away by choosing a bad attitude after forgetting my shoes in the beginning. Just goes to show you that it pays to allow yourself to make mistakes and forgive yourself for them. 

Ain't none of us gonna bat a thousand, ya know?