SS 69 - Bike riding Iowa; High Trestle Trail; Ironman 70.3; Just Go Bike; John F Kennedy; Des Moines
06/22/21 • 3 min
Quote “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” John F. Kennedy
Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast. Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.
My husband and I had planned our weeklong summer vacation to Colorado for the past week. However, multiple things occurred that caused us to delay the vacation a month or so. However, I definitely needed a break, and it was the weekend of our fifth wedding anniversary, so we ended up taking a four-day weekend.
We were going to head to Duluth / Superior since neither of us had been there before, but there were very few motel rooms to be had and the ones available were way out of the price range I was willing to spend.
Instead, we headed to Iowa to bike ride all weekend. Without even having a plan when we left on Friday morning, we couldn’t have ended up with a better weekend. I had heard about the High Trestle Trail for many years, mostly because I still listen to Ragbrai and Iowa Bike Coalition’s podcast “Just Go Bike”. I had seen pictures and was intrigued. We got to the area early enough on Friday to ride a portion of the trail and still check into our motel room, eat dinner, and head back to see the bridge lit up at night. The trail is amazing. Super smooth and very wide, so even though there was plenty of bike traffic, there weren’t any passing issues with a narrow path.
High Trestle Trail | What We Do | INHF
Saturday, we headed south of Des Moines and rode part of the Great Western Trail, which took us past the Des Moines airport. We got to see a couple of jets landing and a few taking off. We then hopped in the car and headed towards downtown and rode along the river and up to the capital building. We also rode by Principal Park where I snapped a few pictures for my daughter who is a Cubs fan. The Cub’s minor league team plays in Des Moines.
Great Western Trail - Polk County Iowa
Principal Park | Cubs (milb.com)
While in Des Moines, we realized the 70.3 Ironman was happening Sunday. Since I am usually a participant and not a spectator and an Ironman race is known to be so well run, we decided to spectate. However, thunderstorms rolled through overnight and early morning, and no one was sure if the race would even happen. So, we didn’t bother setting an alarm and decided to play by ear. While it did take us longer to get to parking than we planned, we still were able to sleep in a bit and get to the race while the swim was in high gear. They didn’t end up starting until 9:45 and they had to cut the bike distance in half to reduce the time impact.
(10) IRONMAN 70.3 Des Moines | Facebook
WOW! That was a lot of people and a lot of logistics! I’m not sure I would have done my 70.3 if I had spectated a race of that distance beforehand. It was exhausting just watching the participants.
Overall, it was a great, relaxing weekend with lots of fresh air. Just what I needed.
Thanks for joining me. Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and ... don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
Find us on Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sherylmrobinson/
Twitter @sherylmrobinson
Instagram @sherylmrobinson
Quote “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” John F. Kennedy
Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast. Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.
My husband and I had planned our weeklong summer vacation to Colorado for the past week. However, multiple things occurred that caused us to delay the vacation a month or so. However, I definitely needed a break, and it was the weekend of our fifth wedding anniversary, so we ended up taking a four-day weekend.
We were going to head to Duluth / Superior since neither of us had been there before, but there were very few motel rooms to be had and the ones available were way out of the price range I was willing to spend.
Instead, we headed to Iowa to bike ride all weekend. Without even having a plan when we left on Friday morning, we couldn’t have ended up with a better weekend. I had heard about the High Trestle Trail for many years, mostly because I still listen to Ragbrai and Iowa Bike Coalition’s podcast “Just Go Bike”. I had seen pictures and was intrigued. We got to the area early enough on Friday to ride a portion of the trail and still check into our motel room, eat dinner, and head back to see the bridge lit up at night. The trail is amazing. Super smooth and very wide, so even though there was plenty of bike traffic, there weren’t any passing issues with a narrow path.
High Trestle Trail | What We Do | INHF
Saturday, we headed south of Des Moines and rode part of the Great Western Trail, which took us past the Des Moines airport. We got to see a couple of jets landing and a few taking off. We then hopped in the car and headed towards downtown and rode along the river and up to the capital building. We also rode by Principal Park where I snapped a few pictures for my daughter who is a Cubs fan. The Cub’s minor league team plays in Des Moines.
Great Western Trail - Polk County Iowa
Principal Park | Cubs (milb.com)
While in Des Moines, we realized the 70.3 Ironman was happening Sunday. Since I am usually a participant and not a spectator and an Ironman race is known to be so well run, we decided to spectate. However, thunderstorms rolled through overnight and early morning, and no one was sure if the race would even happen. So, we didn’t bother setting an alarm and decided to play by ear. While it did take us longer to get to parking than we planned, we still were able to sleep in a bit and get to the race while the swim was in high gear. They didn’t end up starting until 9:45 and they had to cut the bike distance in half to reduce the time impact.
(10) IRONMAN 70.3 Des Moines | Facebook
WOW! That was a lot of people and a lot of logistics! I’m not sure I would have done my 70.3 if I had spectated a race of that distance beforehand. It was exhausting just watching the participants.
Overall, it was a great, relaxing weekend with lots of fresh air. Just what I needed.
Thanks for joining me. Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and ... don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
Find us on Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sherylmrobinson/
Twitter @sherylmrobinson
Instagram @sherylmrobinson
Previous Episode
Sensory Strides #68: depression; support ystems; trails; Shannon Alder
Quote “A best friend is the only one that walks into your life when the world has walked out.” Shannon Alder
Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast. Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.
The last two weeks have not been my best. I thought I was coming out of my depression along with the weather getting warmer. Then, I had an interaction with someone that shut me down. I felt belittled and dismissed. I shut down so much that I couldn’t even talk with my husband. I needed to shut myself in my room alone for a few hours. It took me a couple of days before I was able to bring down the walls I had built up and interact with others on a more normal basis.
Then, a series of smaller interactions kept me from climbing all the way out of the hole I was in. I relied on my different support systems and managed to feel strong enough to have a face-to-face conversation with the person that was most central in the different tensions. We had a great conversation and I feel much more positive going into this next week.
It is important to have those crucial conversations when something isn’t going the way you would expect, and you aren’t sure why. You don’t know what is going on in the other person’s life that could be affecting them. Just like I am experiencing depression and know I am being more sensitive due to that condition, other people may have similar conditions that you aren’t aware of. By talking to them on a personal, non-confrontational way in order to learn how to improve you open the opportunity for those more personal conversations and may learn more of the why from their perspective.
It is also important to have support systems with different perspectives. Of course, I have my husband. I also have a very good friend that I rely on who is very analytical and process driven. Additionally I am part of an accountability mastermind group that I meet with every week. While the group mainly helps me with my fitness and activities external to my work environment – like my podcasts and speaking engagements – there is a large trust factor we have built with each other that allows us to share us successes and troubles candidly and know we will receive honest feedback.
I am not sure where I would be right now if it weren’t for these different people. I hope each of you have similar people that support you.
On a positive, the weather has been very warm, my husband has been out working in the fields, and I’ve made it to the county park to hit the trails twice in the last week. Trails are so much more interesting than walking the same route through town. However, I would rather walk with my husband in town than alone on the trails.
Thanks for joining me. Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and ... don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
Find us on Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sherylmrobinson/
Twitter @sherylmrobinson
Instagram @sherylmrobinson
Next Episode
Sensory Strides #70: Girl Scouts Adult Recognition Thanks Badge II; HRSA Community Health Center; 20 year anniversary; setting goals; Albert Schweitzer
Quote “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer
Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast. Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.
The past two weeks included lots of celebration.
I am honored to have received the Girl Scout Thanks Badge II. The Thanks Badge is the highest recognition an adult volunteer can earn. The Thanks II is given to a volunteer already awarded the Thanks Badge. In addition to work within my council, they awarded me the Thanks II for the work on my other show – Hearts of Gold and the speaking work I have done to promote the Girl Scout Gold Award.
https://www.youtube.com/c/sherylmrobinson
Hear more about all of the Girl Scout Adult Awards on episode 63 of Heart of Gold.
I also celebrated my 20th anniversary at the community health center I work for. I started there as a part time Staff Accountant and am now CFO. I love working there as we really focus on our communities and creating healthier environments, in addition to the health care we provide. The integrated services we provide to care for the entire person - medical, dental, behavioral health, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, and pharmacy – allow our patients to see multiple providers the same day. The sliding fee scale we offer allows patients to receive the services at reduced rates. I’ve loved watching our health center grow over the years.
Find a Health Center (hrsa.gov)
I feel I have pulled passed the depressive state I was in this spring. However, I find I am still having trouble setting personal goals and continuing to manage those things needed in order to keep things, like my podcasts, going. My fitness has suffered this year because of it. As discussed on prior episodes, I am a big fan of training plans, following the plan, and checking off each day as the workout is successfully completed. I have lost my motivation. This past quarter I tried stepping back into it by choosing some 30 day plans, one was a squat challenge and the other a pushup / crunch/ squat / lunge challenge. Nothing difficult or time consuming, but I found not completing those plans increased my anxiety. My waist has grown and I recognize I need to do something to stop the negative affects my body is facing. In discussing this with my mastermind group, they suggested that I just take one day at a time and set a daily goal the night before or that morning as to what fitness and food goals I want to have for that day. That felt more reasonable to me as I could take into account my schedule, the weather, and other factors as I plan the goal for the next day.
Thanks for joining me. Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and ... don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
Find us on Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sherylmrobinson/
Twitter @sherylmrobinson
Instagram @sherylmrobinson
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