Des Moines/Ankeny

We are located east of Des Moines in a suburb called Ankeny. It is about a mile and half from the High Trestle Bridge Trail. The bridge is the highlight of the trail and it lights up after dark. We have looked at this trail for quite a while now and thought we should take advantage of this trail since we were close by.

We left this morning around 9:00. We are about 24 miles from the bridge so we figured a 48 mile day wouldn’t be all that bad. We rode along 1st Ave until we got to the trail and we headed out. We rode about seven miles and I checked the map and discovered we had turned the wrong way and were now further away from the bridge. Why, why? So we turned around and headed in the right direction.

The trail is rather boring, passing along corn fields, and corn fields. It was pretty flat and wide. There were a number of riders but not busy at all.

We arrived at the bridge and it is quite impressive. It is half a mile long, 130 ft high and the longest bike trail bridge in the world.

We met several older couples that were riding as well. They were local and ride together once a week and the bridge was on their schedule for the week.

We stopped at a trailside restaurant about two miles from the bridge as we headed back. The food was good but it was for sure not “fast food”. We had a nice break before we headed back. We arrived about 4:30 and had a 63.5 mile day. The weather started out pretty cold but it soon warmed up and was great riding weather the rest of the day.

This trip is wrapping up quickly.Read more