South from Malvern~

 A perfect day, chilly, light wind, but perfect.  I wanted to ride the trail again but decided to try the more difficult section going south from Malvern. With no construction traffic today, I parked at Boehner Pond in my usual spot.  I expected to see people at the park, but all was quiet.

At the bicycle tree, going south~

I'd worn a t-shirt, my vest & windbreaker.  This time, my arms were cold under the windbreaker!  Lesson finally learned!  Take my coat!  The uphill grade starts at the beginning of the limestone & continues to the first road crossing. Not too much farther, the old sign gives you an idea of where you are.  I still think this is one of the more challenging sections of the trail & isn't as popular.

At almost 4-miles~

It takes a while to go to Imogene, as Butch & I found out last season when Finn went with us.  It was late in the day when we'd returned. 

My plan today was to ride out for about an hour, then turn back.  I'd not made connections with Doris, so Finn stayed home alone.  I don't feel comfortable leaving him in the yard, he's so small.  (Nika was larger & accustomed to being out - from her time on our acreage in WA.)  

Tree down~

My last ride here April 12th of last year, the plums were in bloom.  No blooms today, we'd had a low of 21 at home last night.  A hard freeze that ruined the beautiful Magnolia blooms on all the trees & some of the other early bloomers too.

I couldn't miss the limb across the trail in the photo above.  It was attached to a huge old cottonwood the winds had taken down, shown in the photo below.  It was split right down the middle, with each half falling two different directions.

The remainer of the old Cottonwood, split in the middle~

All was stunningly quiet at the White Cloud Trestle.  The river flowed below; the birds were singing above & it was warm on the new dark deck boards.

White Cloud Trestle~

I continued on, there were so many obstacles on the trail.  Limbs down, twigs everywhere.  I was glad for fenders each time a tire hit something & it hit the fenders instead of my legs!  I was somewhat worried about getting a flat.  It would be no fun to walk out from here, since it's a more remote area.

Woodchuck damage?

Stopping at the bench where Butch & I had taken a break on our trip back, I couldn't help but notice the damage to the new bench!  My first though was beaver, but after talking to Butch & looking around - no water - I realized it had to be a woodchuck!  It had tried to nibble along the top rail of the bench, but the brown wood type material hadn't been as easy to chew as the black.  Mother nature wins this one...

From the bench & break spot~

The afternoon was even more beautiful than the morning had been.  I'm partial to late afternoon light anyway.  No blooms of any kind yet, but I kept hoping.  Maybe in another week & things will change.  I turned back toward Malvern & enjoyed the relative ease of the downhill grade.  Even so, I noticed the difference, after a winter of cruising around at Lake Manawa.

West Nishnabotna River~

Back at the Trestle, I stopped again for a few minutes, just soaking in the sunshine & the quiet.  In just a short distance I saw a jogger up ahead, then another girl doing the same.  Impressive, since they had to have started from Malvern & were possibly doing ten miles or more. 

Back in Malvern~

Another photo with the large bike!  This trip, Shadow has over 700 miles, the last time in April, the bike turned over 100.  I was tired by the time I'd returned to the Bronco.  I'd ridden just over 15 miles.  I hope to improve my mileage & gain an edge on Butch before he gets a chance to be on the trail again!