After sending out a way last-minute email, I got a thumbs-up from Nathan and Sarah and the High-Trestle group night-ride was born. We wanted to see how the long bridge looked lit up, so we left Pella in about enough time to hit the Woodward trailhead around 8:30pm (I think?).
Leaving work, the car thermometer said 113°, which is partially due to heat-soak from the office building but still the highest number I've seen on there this year so far.
On the trail and moving in plenty of time. The stifling heat very rapidly gave way to cool breezes (which was about 85° at this point but it really felt that much better).
Timing perfection - we stopped to look around and the lights clicked on. I thought more of it would be lit but it's still pretty neat to ride through.
One of the most interesting folding bikes I've seen. The four-wheeled "kick-stand" was bizarre. I think the kick-stand turned into a rear cargo rack when you're in riding mode, I wasn't paying enough attention when they rolled up to find out.
Great views from up here. I'm sure it was great fun (or terrifying) to be in a train flying across what was probably a mostly wooden bridge back in the day.
We did bring some lights and they proved to be very necessary. Lots of people do high-speed training rides out here at night and you definitely want to be seen. I blinded lots of people with my (Corrine's) headlight and all four of us were complained at for lack of tail-lights.
This picture was taken shortly before we were semi-asphyxiated by anhydrous ammonia. We had made it to the second town after Woodward (I've forgotten its name) and were riding past a coop of some sort. A tanker truck filling smaller tanks was releasing a fair amount of product into the air and it was just kind of hanging around. I think we were well past the powerful smell stage and into the irritating effects stage. We turned around and rode back out of it. The group we met shortly after rode through it, but they were screaming a lot, so it was passable but not well.
Back on the bridge before arriving at the trailhead, the lights are extremely bright now. It was pretty great to ride though, a great finale to a great trip.
