Sunny Cedar Falls

With Memorial Day here, the girls (Tessa and Tessie) and I decided to make our way down to Eastern Iowa to visit some friends and get a few Iowa miles in.  As I made my drive down from Minnesota, I couldn't wait to leave behind all of the traffic and noise for my little Iowa escape.

My first stop was at Sarah's house.  Sarah and her husband Charles, along with their son Hudson and dog Pete, had recently moved into their new home in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  This was my first time seeing their new place and immediately felt that it was meant for them.  As I put the car in park, I was greeted with "Aunt Dia come jump!" - I did not relize this house also came with a trampoline!  I enjoyed an evening filled with blonde little boy curls and laughs shared in a hostea filled backyard, while catching up with my friend from the front seat of her porch.

As much as I love seeing Sarah and family, my favorite part of my visits is their guest bed.  You see their own a fantastic bedstore, Fosters Mattress, so of course they have the BEST guest bed of all time.  I soon drifted off into a deep slumber only to wake up around 5 a.m. feeling like I had slept for years.  With my eyes open, no chance of closing again, I peered at my phone.  50 degrees, sunny, and no wind.  The makings of a great morning bike ride.  I quickly assembled my gear, grabbed a breakfast bar and was out the door with a text - "Went for a bike ride, be back in an hour or so."  

As I rolled out the alley and down the road, I felt the first kisses of the morning sun.  They reminded me that even though this had been a long, hard, cold winter - summer was finally here.  At first I didn't find the bike path like I had intended but instead rolled along a shared roadway and found a cut down street.  I have learned over the years that roads with name like "Lake St,""Bluff Rd," "Riverview Drive," are roads I should be rolling on.  In this case Lake St didn't disappoint.  I followed the quite road as it passed beautiful homes and rolling marshes, and then eventually pointed me in the direction of the Cedar Valley Bike Trail System.

I had been on this trail before, and well, to be honest, it sucked.  It was last spring and it involved me getting lost several times, an emergency call to Max at Wayne's to help with a bike repair, and snow.  Yep, snow.  Lots of snow.  Let's just say that it was a rough ride, and walk, for Tessa and I that day.  But today was different.  The trail was lit by the morning sun and the only trail hazards came in the form of several deer.  And they were some stubborn deer at that.  They took their sweet time moving their tails off of the trail as I whistled and stomped my cleats.  I learned from many a moose in Alaska, that is best to make sure all animals are off the trail or you may find yourself in a fight with four hooves and a tail.

Downtown Cedar Falls

As I coasted along the trail, I relished in the twists and turns of the route.  I drank in the views of the Cedar River and took deep breathes of the fresh Iowa air.  As my wheels turned and gears shifted, I made my way back downtown and towards Sarah's.  Since I had started my ride just shortly after 5:30 a.m., the town was now starting to wake up and move.  I cranked my way up Bluff St and rolled into the downtown area.  I had been here several times in the past with Sarah and is one of my favorite downtown areas.  Normally when I am here it is bustling along with college kids and the daily hum of town.  But this morning it was quite, peaceful and serene.  I crossed over from downtown to the river walk area and let Tessa take a break.  The view spread out for miles and filled my soul with so much beauty.  Summer was finally here.

Tessa and I made our way back to our starting point and with the promise a bike ride to the farmer's market and some of the best croissants in Iowa, we watched as the sun continued to rise and fill the morning air with the makings of a beautiful day.