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*A VIEW along one of Iowa’s ideal bike paths, north of Blairstown.By John Karras^PHE-SUGGESTION—left—usflabbergasted.Ann (I'm her husband) and I had bicycled into Garrison, la,, no more than an hour earlier and now this total stranger, who had met us only minutes before, was inviting us to have dinner with her and her husband and stay the night.We were totally unprepared for such an invitation. I mean, people don't invite strangers into their homes anymore, right? Years ago, maybe, when thiswas the frontier and months lay between the sight of one new face and another, but today?When rapists, thieves and murderers roam the land ?We were unprepared, but on reflection, we shouldn't have been, because that invitation was just one more of the delightful surprises we've had while pedaling around Iowa:A farmer stopping to chatgone up, but I doubt it) . . . coming^-over—a-rise—and—seei n g—llthe road sweep in a curve through, hardwoods in fall colors down toward the Mississippi... having a car follow patiently be-John Karra*, Register assistant telegraph editor, is a bike nut and authority on Iowa’s “perfect bike roads.”_hind as we toiled up a long hill, then seeing the driver wave and smile when he could see far enough ahead to pass.Cycling around Iowa means to see and feel the state and smell it — I’m talking about apple blossoms and about netvly cut siveet grass as well as hog lots — in a way that is impossible when insulated from the world inside a car.I mean, when you've sweated up a two-mile hill out of the Mississippi valley, you know you've come up a hill.(Register Photographs by John Karraut)the rest of the nation will some--day—discover-tckatrsome-of-m— already know — that Iowa is a bicycle rider’s paradise — and we’ll subsequently be overi'un with pedaling Californians.But until that unlikely development develops, we resident bike freaks can continue to enjoy our rich endowment in comparative solitude.That endowment is Iowa’s farm-to-market roads, and it is rich indeed. 4Other states have built more bicycle paths and have marked more bicycle routes, but I doubt than any has paved as many roads from nowhere to nowhere as has Iowa.They Uiy out there stretching smoothly through some of the prettiest, countryside in the state, just waiting for the bicycles to take them over.Some areas have more than others: South of Des MoinesDiue unes on your oiiiciai lowa -highway-map)-ar-e-just-great-for bicycling, with good surfaces and light traffic.Ann and I have been enjoying them for several years. We've ridden a couple of thousand miles (that's true, I swear it), most of them within 50 miles of Des Moines, and have taken two tours, one lasting three days (Marquette to Waukon to Lansing to Marquette), and one lasting two (Marengo to Garrison to Marengo).We tour light, staying in whatever accommodations are available, rather than camping. This approach has had the advantages of keeping a lot of weight off the bikes and of allowing us get the feel of the small towns we've stayed overnight in. And that's been at least half the fun.The trick, whether taking a one-day ride or an extended
Newspaper Details
Des Moines Register
Des Moines, Iowa, US
Sun, Mar 25, 1973
Page 153
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
IA, USA 11 May 2023
Other Publications Near Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines Daily Leader
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Des Moines Daily News
