Summer meltdown or not

August riding is usually hot and lonely. Only the really motivated usually ride in the heat of August. This August however has been anything but too hot. With evening lows in the 50's and highs in the 70's it has been great riding weather. It feels more like fall than summer. With such great weather it's been very easy to get out and ride.

Saturday it was too muddy to ride off-road. Brian and I decided to hit the High Trestle Trail(A2W trail). He had never been on it and I had never ridden the whole thing. We started off in Ankeny at the sports complex. We rode out to where the bridge will soon be, to see the supports awaiting their new duty. It's a great valley view from the trail. It will complete a very attractive and probably very used trail. On the way back we took a detour in Slater to check out the trailhead for the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail. This is a crushed limestone trail that goes from Slater to Melbourne. It was in great shape and was just begging to be ridden. We decided we had time to ride to Cambridge and back. The trail was very much worth the ride. Without all the clearing needed for paving the trail seemed much more like you were riding through nature. Somewhat more mountain bike trailesqe than the usual paved bike path we have so much of. It was a very nice trail and a nice excursion. We ended the day back in Ankeny with almost 63 miles and a few extra hours of riding than we had planned.

Last night I made a point to get out and ride my mountain bike. Squirrel mowed almost the entire(Center) trail during the day. This is very exciting as it really cuts down on the itchy scratchy legs you get from hitting weeds at speed on the bike. Thanks for mowing buddy. I met up with Courtney and we rode a couple of laps. Finishing the last half lap in the dark. The trail was in tremendous shape. Too bad the rain is going to ruin it.