June 4, 2020
Where the Buffalo Roam
A few thoughts before I get to today's ride. As spring becomes summer, my rides exploring central Iowa have ventured farther from home but have become less frequent. In addition, my descriptions of those rides are increasingly posted after the fact. I still manage to go riding several times a week, but now mix training-type rides on my local routes with more leisurely trips to parts unknown. I am the first to admit that repeated entries of the Ames environs will exceed the limit of even the most ardent admirer of corn and soybean fields, and therefore have elected to not post about these local rides. However, I will indulge you with an occasional reminder of the wonder of the High Trestle Trail.
The pandemic is not ending anytime soon, and I’ve also been wondering how long to extend this journal. I was scheduled to return from my aborted tour along the VIA and Northern Italy on June 14, and that seemed a logical ending point. But there are several reasons to keep at it. Riding locally with the perspective of a touring cyclist forces one to view things more closely, to ask more questions, and to focus on the journey and not just the ride. I’ve lived in Iowa for almost all of the last 30 years but feel that I am just beginning to get a real sense of the place. I will be moving to North Carolina in October and want to explore as much of Iowa/the Midwest as I can before moving on. Peggy and I are enjoying our gravel rides and they will probably continue on at least a weekly basis through the summer. Finally, a couple of short stateside tours tentatively planned for the coming months could be rolled into this non-conventional journal. We’ll see – for now, I hope you enjoy today’s entry.
Today’s destination was the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge which, like the Neal Smith Trail mentioned earlier in the journal, is named for Iowa’s longest-serving US representative (1959-1995). As chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Smith had an enormous impact on the state of Iowa and was instrumental in establishing the federal national wildlife refuge that bears his name. Established in 1990 from land once destined as the site of a nuclear power plant, the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge has embarked on a number environmental restoration projects, including the tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and sedge meadow ecosystems that once covered most of the state. Today, the refuge is also home to a conservation bison herd, numbering 50-70 animals, and a 15-20 elk herd that share an 800-acre fenced area within the 8,654 acre refuge.
We started our ride in Mitchellville, a town of 2,300 that straddles Polk and Jasper counties, about 43 miles southeast of Ames. As is the pandemic norm, Peggy and I arrived in separate vehicles and were on our bikes shortly after 9 am, heading south on a well-paved, moderately trafficked highway. Though southwesterly winds were a moderate 10-15 mph, when combined with the regular stream of trucks, it made for some unpleasant riding. After a mile, we headed for the gravel road a mile to our east. The next 10 miles took us south through a gently rolling landscape of terraced cropland, hayfields and pasture on a mix of gravel and tarmac roads. To my delight, we passed several equine farms, including one with a quartet of miniature donkeys. The route took us back to the north and east, up and down short steep hills, until a wonderful expanse of prairie indicated we had arrived at the eastern edge of the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.
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The day was sunny and hot, and we pulled into the Prairie Learning Center for short break and a bite to eat. The Center was closed, but we found relief at some partially shaded picnic tables. We hadn’t been there long when two other cyclists pulled up – a pair of sisters who’d grown up in the nearby town of Monroe. We had a delightful, and extended conversation about bikes, RAGBRAI and the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge. They were quite alarmed when informed of our intention to cycle into the refuge to see the buffalo. Based on their warnings of charging buffalo protecting their young, we decided to forgo further exploration of the refuge, at least for now. Besides, time was passing and we faced a long ride in the heat of the afternoon.
On leaving the Prairie Learning Center, we experienced five miles of cycling bliss – a winding, gently rolling, traffic-free roadway through a landscape that took you back to the days “before the plow”. Expanses of waving prairie grass in hues of reds, greens and yellows. A brilliant deep blue sky peppered with cumulus clouds. It seemed we stopped every 50 feet for another photo. The only negative is that we saw only a single buffalo, way off in the distance.
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The disappointment of seeing only a single, far-off buffalo was eased a bit when we passed the large metal sculpture on the outskirts of Prairie City. Definitely worth a stop. And Prairie City was a delightful surprise, a small, decidedly bike-friendly town that would be great to explore in non-pandemic times. Today, however, we skipped the ice cream shop and headed out of town.
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Leaving Prairie City, we turned north onto an undulating gravel road that stretched into the distance through fields of emerging corn and low hillsides. The mid-afternoon sun was fierce and constant. Sweat-inducing uphills were followed by the cooling breeze of descents. The clouds were magnificent, a panorama of changing shapes that evoked real and imagined predators. The only vehicle we met on the five-mile stretch was a large tractor/disk harrow emerging from a newly-tilled field.
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The heat was getting to me by the time we reached Colfax – perhaps I’d not fully rehydrated after a long, hard ride two days earlier in 98°C heat. After a short rest in the shade, we skirted town and headed west into the wind on county highway F48. By now, I felt a bit like the single-minded horse heading back to the barn and this was the most direct route to Mitchellville. Once in town, we found a nice spot to cool down, enjoy some chocolate milk, and reflect on the magic of the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge. We vowed to return in the fall, when the weather would be cooler and the bison more active.
Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 690 miles (1,110 km)
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