In Which Kids Say the Darndest Things

Monday--bike back in Warde Hall rack after busy biking weekend. The rack was put on the pickup trailer for the trip to the trail Saturday.

I don’t recall what Mark Mettler, president of the Mount Mercy Bike Club, said. But I recall the answer by Lloyd Mackayi, vice president.

“Every time you speak, Mark, I’m mentally face palming.”

What is it like to drive a van full of excited MMU students on a 150-minute journey to a bike trail?

Well, they didn’t seem to need any midday boosts—the energy level, joking and noise were all pretty high.

It seemed right. We were on our way at midday April 23 to the High Trestle Trail, a trail I’ve ridden before, but which was new to MMU bikers.

And the trip was awesome. MMU groundskeeper Brady Klein kindly volunteered to drive a pickup truck with as many MMU bikes pulled on a trailer as we needed. Phillip Platz, multimedia guru in the MMU PR office, was along for the trip.

Three of my photos. My son Ben, in yellow Team Joe shirt, joined our MMU group for this ride. We are on the observation deck near the start of the bridge.

Lloyd Mackayi, Bike Club VP and its best photographer.

Walking on bridge as night falls and lights come on.

The weather was perfect—a bit breezy, but warm and mostly sunny. As we neared Woodward, the western end of the trail, we crossed the Des Moines River on the Highway 210 bridge, and there, just a few hundred yards to the south, was a nice view way up there of the bridge we would soon cross on bicycles.

Along the way, we found a fun small-town ice cream shop, played in a city park, ate at a trailside bar-restaurant and timed our ride so we could indeed see the lights.

It was the highlight of a weekend that seemed to be devoted to MMU biking. There was a 15-mile ride on Friday just because it was Friday, the 30-mile journey on the High Trestle Trail Saturday and the first MMU Bike Club safety rodeo at Arthur Elementary School on Sunday.

Mark watches two Northtowne Cycling employees do a bike safety check.

Well, what a weekend it was! CR Biker is tired, but happy. The first remote ride was a rousing success, and I hope students will want more in the future.

Last, but not least, the Saturday trail ride was a first—all MMU students on the ride wore helmets. I like that trend, too.