Mineola to the Trestle~

A day that was supposed to be less windy.  I told myself it was, since I'd planned to do another section of the Wabash trail.  I made the drive to Mineola & parked at the trail head.  This day, I was going to ride south toward Silver City & beyond another four miles to check on the repair work at the Silver Creek Trestle.

Shadow on the curving bridge~

This is another section of the trail with a good uphill grade for the first two miles.  Butch & I had ridden it for the first time on Easter of 2019.  My Garmin recorded the assent as 195 feet by the time I'd reached Silver City.  It doesn't sound like much, but it's a steady grind.

Rest area almost at the crest of the climb~

I was amazed at how quick & easy Shadow made the assent.  We've had such beautiful weather if it weren't for the ceaseless wind.  In just a short way, past the top of the hill, I reached the concrete & coasted the last mile to Silver City.  

Leaving the rest stop~

Not stopping in Silver City, I was anxious to see what the Trestle looked like.  It was nice to be on my favorite section of the trail again.  The fields were alive with the purple ground cover that always blooms early in April.

Past Silver City, toward the Trestle~

Reaching Gaston Road, the signage made it obvious the Trestle repairs weren't yet complete.  I decided to go around & continue forward.

At Gaston Road~

As I drew near the Trestle, I passed the staging area by the old fallen down picnic area.  It would sure be nice to see some improvements there too, someday.

At the Silver Creek Trestle~

I stopped about 1/4 mile from the Trestle, as I saw trucks & equipment there.  I didn't want to get in the way, so turned back.  I found out after returning home, they had opened the bridge just shortly after I was there.  I'm sure I'm not the only one happy to have this major section of trail back open.

Dust - Gaston Road~

I was returning north & had just crossed Gaston Road again, when I heard a car coming fast.  I looked back & took the above photo of the raised dust.  Between the gravel road dust & dust flying off the fields as the farmers start to prepare for spring planting - the air was thick.

Shadow too, wanted a picture taken at Happy Trails!

Back in Silver City, I looked for Mari Jo.  The shop isn't open yet but will be the 24th of April.  It will be a busy season for Glenwood, Silver City & all the small towns in our area with the Ragbrai ride coming through the end of July.

I continued on north, up the hill, down the far side & back to the Explorer in Mineola.  I'd ridden 16.5 miles in 1:30.  My average speed was just under 12 mph.  Four miles per hour faster than the last time I'd gone this way early September of 2020 riding Speedy.  (I'd avoided this section since my accident.) On the downhill, I again turned the assist off & pedaled my way up to 16.7 mph.  

Garmin Connect has a category for e-bikes now - so I can track these miles separately from when I self-pedaled.  Shadow gave me another great ride & had only dropped one bar of battery charge over two days of riding.