Smokey - 1,000 + miles!

 As I was leaving home, I decided to try Gaston Road - again in the hope the paving would be done.  It wasn't - but they were letting traffic through on one lane.  I ended up behind a truck & gave him plenty of room, it wasn't long before he was pulling off & I continued on. 

One my way~

It didn't take long to reach Silver City.  Mari Jo was at her shop, we talked for a few minutes before I turned to the trail.

The corn emerges!

It's amazing to me, how fast the corn breaks the surface of the soil & turns the dirt brown fields to pale green!

The Walnuts~

To me, the show stoppers are always the Walnuts!  As the leaves open, they become nature's green lace against the clear blue skies.  The limestone of the trail is dry, very dry. The surface had been graded going toward Silver City from Malvern, but sadly it stopped short of the deep ruts we've had to avoid all spring.  All it takes is one uncaring person to damage the surface when it's wet.

The timber ~

The rivers are the life line of the countryside, as is the trail.  The protected "Wildlife" area runs the length of the trail.  The birds are abundant here - today I was buzzed again by the Cardinals, Oriole's & tiny finches. ( I've repaired my bright orange feeder at home & filled it with grape jelly.  It took a day for them to find it - but now I'm refilling it daily!)

Blooms under the Malvern Arch~

When I reached the Arch, I checked my Garmin to find I'm finally riding the speed I'd accomplished by September last year.  Every year, I wonder if I'll be able to at least maintain or improve!  I like having a goal to work toward.

Rows of corn~

The patterns of the planted rows, give depth to the roll of the land.  Even if Iowa's landscape has been manipulated to maximize farmable acerage, it still retains it's beauty.

When I downloaded my stats - I added the numbers up to find I've ridden Smokey 1,077.50 miles since purchasing the bike in November 2021. I started riding a bike as my major sport in April of 2020 & have ridden 2,211.69 miles to date!  I hope to enjoy many more~