.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Until a recent bicycle ride, I was woefully ignorant about The Great Train Wreck of 1877 just west of Altoona. But someone made the effort to install a plaque, so we made the effort to stop and read it, and now we know. Good tragedy.

On the same outing, we were impressed that somebody would make the effort to slap a poison ivy warning on a random hillside, pondered the strategies of the sawdust business as we pedaled past Hawkeye Wood Shavings Inc., spotted a sort of faux European village – no, really, it was right there – and tried to calculate how much time someone spends mowing along first one side of a 7-mile path, then the other.

So there’s always something to see and think about when you try a new trail. Part of the Project Destiny sales pitch the past few weeks has been “help make Central Iowa the trails capital of the world,” and if they pull that off, I’ll look forward to eventually riding every mile of it.

But I may not be worthy of their dreams. The Yes to Destiny flier about trails complains about “disconnected routes … trails that lead to nowhere, requiring us to return the same way we went … maintenance issues that make it difficult to get through … lack of amenities along the routes.”

But turning around and returning on the same path is how I get back to my vehicle. What am I supposed to do, persuade someone to drive over and pick me up? Not sure anyone wants me back that badly.

They’re talking about “more than 300 continuous miles of trails” and “the two largest trail loops in North America,” and whenever someone mentions bicycling and North America in the same paragraph, my minuscule calf muscles start to cramp up. How about a series of 12- or 14-mile loops? Enough to get some exercise, not enough to require spandex or willpower.

As for maintenance issues, how much time and money will we wind up spending on this world-class network? I’m betting we won’t choose the option seen on the Altoona trail; yellow dashes run down the middle, mile after mile, suggesting that once there was a summer intern with very loosely defined duties.

Then there’s the problem of providing amenities to suit everyone’s expectations. Imagine workers stationed at little concession stands out in the woods, staring hopefully down the trail and longing for the excitement of a toll-booth job. Nearby would stand a well-maintained building with restrooms. You say we don’t need restrooms in the woods? I say remember that poison ivy sign.

No, we probably can’t make 300 miles of trails truly comfy. Not without triggering low, growling noises among non-bicycling taxpayers.

Enough carping. It really is a miracle that we’ve happened across such an easy solution to our outdoor recreation problem. If our ancestors had known that all it takes to keep people happy are a few asphalt trails, they could have persuaded their kids to stay instead of watching them run off to Chicago and New York.

Although it seems sort of odd that people require a designated trail to lure them outdoors, when they could be walking or biking around their neighborhood and chatting with their neighbors. But, seriously, no more complaining. If it’s trails they want, let’s give them trails until their feet wear off.

I’m just kind of surprised that no one worries about being all alone out in the middle of nowhere when suddenly … OK, never mind.