Trails need signs; I need directions.

[red]

Trails are very useful and pleasant to ride on, if you can find them.
The Iowa River Corridor Trail is marked properly, so you can find
it and follow it without any trouble. Other trails are much more
difficult to find, because they start like a sidewalk and then there
is an unmarked turn somewhere, which would have taken you to
the trail, if you hadn't missed it. At a fork on a trail off North
Dubuque St., I counted five signs, including one telling you to pick
up your dog's poop, but there was not one telling me where the
two paths went. The one I took climbed a hill and ceased to exist
in the middle of a grove.

I wish to ride from West Iowa City to Oakdale Blvd. using the
Clear Creek Trail and the North Ridge Trail. I know how to get to
the I-80 tunnel, but the rest is a mystery. The tunnel leads you
to a small, parkish place, consisting of grassy areas and a
confusion of paved walkways, trails and sidewalks. There are
redundant loops, black-and-gray playsets (?), even a cute but
unnecessary bridge. (The area would be perfect for a kid learning
how to ride a bicycle for the first time.) After much looking, I was
able to locate a sign that said "Bicycle Trail," and featured a
double-headed arrow. One arrowhead pointed back to the tunnel,
and the other to a lighted peace-sign in some guy's frontyard.
I rode around for nearly an hour trying to go north, but the roads
in that neighborhood were not designed for transportation, but
to increase the sale price of the houses around them. They kept
leading me around and around only to take me back to where I
had started. In the end, I was left with no choice and had to get
on HWY 965 to get where I was going (The seven-mile trip took
me more than two hours.).

So, will someone please describe how to get from the I-80 tunnel
to Oakdale Blvd. using the North Ridge Trail?

Many thanks in advance.

-

[grittystash]

Red-

Hope this makes sense.

When you come out of the tunnel, stay to the left. You cross over the bridge and then approach the street (Holiday Rd.). Take a right on Holiday Rd. and you'll go up a hill. Near the top of the hill on the North Side of the road is the entrance to the bike trail that will take you to Oakdale Blvd.

I agree with you that it is a confusing area and not marked very well. It took me a while to figure it out as well and I naturally went left on Holiday Rd. myself when I first explored the area.

Happy Riding!

[jay]

Here you go. The red lines are trails and the highlighted part (blue) is your route. Click on the magnifying glass below the pic to see the full size version.

[Mark Wyatt]

Jay,

What mapping program is that?

[jay]

It's called ArcGIS. It's the GIS editing suite we use at Johnson County. That red trail line you see is part of a bike trail layer that I'll be putting up on our website in the coming weeks. Here's the site address:

www.johnson-county.com/website/jcmap/gis.cfm

[red]

After reading the description by grittystash, I knew where to
look for the trailhead; but looking at the map jay posted, I knew
right where it was. I took a printout with me on the first day,
just in case. It turns out the trailhead is marked, if you go that
way on Holiday Rd.

I have been commuting that way for two weeks now. My total
daily commute time has increased to 140 minutes, but almost
90 minutes of it is on trails. Riding on trails is quite a different
experience from riding on streets. I was once chased by a goose
that escorted me out of its territory and once by a squirrel. Not
the grey, garden variety. This was a huge, furry, copper-colored
thing that ran alongside me until I was far enough from whatever
he was protecting. I looked back over my shoulder and saw him
standing in the middle of the trail looking after me. Also, there
is a little chipmunk that lives near by the funny bridge north of
the tunnel. Every morning he sees me and scurries away among
the blades of grass. It looks like something is flowing. He moves
10 feet or so away from the trail, stops, and raises his head to
see what I am up to. Funny little fellow. One morning, east of the
big mall, there was a duck sitting right by the side of the trail,
maybe one foot away. It looked at me through one eye, then
turned its head and looked at me through its other eye, but didn't
run or fly away. I have learned that the black birds with the red
shoulders are called red-winged blackbirds. I saw many of them.
They are very territorial. I learned to recognize their initial warning
call. They have many other calls, too. I came across two Coralville
city trucks on the trails. That is uncalled for. What happened
to no motor vehicles? I am sick of governments at all levels who
think they have a right to violate at will their own laws and
regulations. I also saw many humans on bicycles. Mostly good,
experienced riders. One guy said hello, then rode a little ahead
of me. Whenever I fell behind, he slowed down, allowing me to
catch up a little, then sped up again. I felt the urge to try and see
if I couldn't keep up with him for a little bit, like a kid tries to do
what his older sibling is doing. It felt strange. I saw that girl
again after a long time. We waved. I should turn around and
talk to her sometime. Oh well, I don't think anyone is reading, sooo:

Thanks again for the trailhead information, guys, you rock!

Over and out.