A Favorite EISC Bicycle Forum ride – CR to Solon
Bike Forum
With the warmer weather coming on, we thought we would write about a favorite EISC Bicycle Forum ride. The EISC goes on several weekday bicycle rides that are announced on the EISC website’s Bicycle Forum. One of the favorites is the ride to Solon that starts at either the C Street ball diamonds Trail head or the Czech Village Trail head and goes through Ely to Solon and back. The route runs on the Cedar River Trail connecting to the Hoover trail. It is flat, smooth asphalt from the start in Cedar Rapids through Ely on a reclaimed railroad bed. The wider, new trail to Solon is concrete with some impressive new bridges, some scenic view points and does have several small hills. There are three rest stops on the trail between Ely and Solon that feature large limestone blocks and a 1800’s drainage culvert. If it is an early morning ride, the group stops at My Mom’s Bakery in Ely for good coffee and some great sweet baked goods – some of those rides start way too early to beat the mid-day heat, I was told. If the rides start at a more reasonable time of the day some folks will drive to the park in Ely to make it a ride to Solon for lunch and back on the new trail.
The trail comes into Solon past the Timber Dome Lodge, Solon Recreation and Natural area and baseball diamonds. The EISC riders usually continue on into town and the Big Grove Brewery for some lunch and refreshments. Big Grove has a large outside beer garden - lunch area, good food and some really superior craft beers. The trip back seems to be at a slightly slower pace. Dan and Debbie’s Creamery in Ely is a popular ice cream stop for some. The rides are always at your own pace with several stops along the way. The riders tend to group up with folks who maintain about the same pace – and there is a variety.
The distance of the ride is approximately 7 to 7.4 miles to Ely (depending on the starting point) and another 6.2 to Solon or 13 .6 out and a total of around 26 to 28 total miles although with the rest stops, it does not seem that long. Please join in on the EISC Bicycle Forum rides if a fun, easy paced bicycle ride sounds good to you. If you have questions or need any additional information, please contact the organizer of the EISC Bicycle Forum ride.
