Sunday, March 17, 2024

In Which Long Rides Bring Various Encounters

Flag on mountain bike
Rode with this flag on the front of my mountain bike in mostly blue, sunny skies. An image from one of my final commutes to work the week before Spring Break.

Spring Break 2024—in the past, my wife and I have sometimes planned a trip for the week I have off teaching at a university. We didn’t do that this year, partly because we knew there were several times we were going to watch grandchildren, but unusually warm weather (which is over for now) made for some good opportunities for bike rides.

For example, on March 11, a Monday, I went on my first ride of more than 50 miles this year, riding down the Cedar River Trail to the Hoover Trail, ending up in the town of Solon, about a 25-mile journey from my house.

It was a warm day, with the temperature reaching 70, but also quite windy, so the ride was something of a challenge. It was a cross breeze most of the time, but was more against me as I headed south—which was by design, I was hoping the wind would help me a bit on the way back home.

Bike in Solon
My bike in Nature Rec Area in Solon, Iowa.

A few days before the ride, I had a mildly unpleasant encounter with a group of teen boys on the Lindale Trail. Nothing too scary, they were just a bit rude to an old man on a bicycle.

And I had a feeling of déjà vu as I left Solon. Behind me I could hear adolescent voices chattering. In my mirror, at some distance, I could pick out three riders rolling along together, headed my way.

In the scheme of things, I’m a relatively slow biker, and I assumed what I knew was a group of teens would eventually overtake me. I decided I would try to not to care, and not rush myself.

Anyway, I was on my road bike, my fastest vehicle. As it turned out, while the following bikers would sometimes approach a bit, at other times I would roll ahead. They never got close enough for me to see them well.

A few miles north of Solon, I got to a rest area that is across a county highway, where I planned to rest a bit. On a ride of this length, I’m deliberate about taking some off-bike time, and this was a designated break.

And I was there, resting on the bench, when the teens rolled up. And it was a slight surprise—three teen girls, indifferent to an old man. It’s amazing to me that, at a distance, the conversational noises made by groups of adolescences can sound like the same background noise, whether made by girls or boys.

Anyway, the girls hopped off of their bikes and gathered to take a selfie, jostling for position for the phone camera.

“Do you want a picture from farther away than arm’s length?” I asked.

Well, they did. And I shot a picture for them with one of their phones.

Shortly afterwards, I headed out, and wished them a good ride. “You have a good ride too,” they cooed like a flock of birds.

That encounter was the more pleasant one. And the earlier one, to be fair, was a minor incident on an overall nice ride. The wind was sometimes a challenge this week, but rides were still unexpectedly good for this time of year. Not all my encounters were human--I saw lots of wildlife, including the first butterflies.

I rode the Sac and Fox Trail on Wednesday. That day, I cycled down the Cedar River Trail to the New Bo area, and headed down Otis Road to the south end of the trail. After circling the lake at Prairie Park Fishery, I entered the Sac and Fox Trail, an unpaved trail that I ride on my mountain bike several times a summer.

mountain bike on trail
My bike on mountain bike trial next to the Sac and Fox Trail.

frog at Sac and Fox trail
Frog statue in park at north end of Sac and Fox Trail, someone in the neighborhood always dresses it for the season. It's ready for Saint Patrick's Day.

The trail proved a pleasant surprise. In the past, there have been some soft sandy spots and some rocky gravel areas. I skipped about 2 miles of the 7-mile trail by taking a mountain bike route through the woods, but the 5 miles or so of the Sac and Fox that I did ride were in great shape. Last year, they must have covered most of the trail with a new limestone layer—there were no tricky soft sandy spots, no gravel areas to crunch over. The Sac and Fox is always a nice trail because of its scenery , but it was much more ride-able than in the past. I could have ridden my hybrid bike here.  I probably wouldn’t—I like having a mountain bike on this trail, partly for the option of cycling the woods—still, early in the season in 2024, Cedar Rapids bikers, check out the Sac and Fox.

What else is new in my corner of the biking universe? Something important to me.

A week ago, a daughter had an out-of-town trip planned, and my wife and I agreed to watch her 7-year-old son for a couple of days. And my wife decided that, with the nice weather, we would help him practice riding a bicycle, a skill he had not yet mastered.

She drove him to a school parking lot in Marion on Saturday, and I rode a bike there to meet them. By the time I got there, he was already practicing and doing fairly well. He only could ride a few yards, but was starting to get it.

In his final ride that day, he went maybe 25 yards, his longest solo bicycle journey. He had agreed to the biking session in exchange for playing at the school playground, so we stopped the Saturday practice and played.

Sunday, we went back, this time to a nearby intermediate school with a slightly newer, larger, flatter parking lot.

And the breakthrough was achieved. That weird transition that a person makes, when biking seems too difficult and scary and theoretical, and them something between their brain and body clicks, the balance that eluded them starts to appear and their muscles learn that all you have to do to balance a bike is to keep it rolling—well, it’s magical to see.

Boy riding bicycle
Grandson is suddenly a biker!

Another biker has joined the tribe this Spring Break. I hope it foreshadows some pleasant rides coming this summer.

The 50-mile ride March 11 was my longest of 2024. We spent several days in Des Moines at the end of this week, which has also turned seasonably cold, so after Thursday I didn’t add any miles. Still, between March 9 and 14, I rode almost 150 miles (149.47). It included the 50-mile day and several days over 25 miles. It included using all three bikes. It was a nice spring biking break.

So far, on this Saint Patrick’s Day, a bit over halfway through this month, this old half-Irish rider has cycled 210.53 miles for the month, and 566.21 miles this year. More pictures from this Spring Break week:

Blackbirds
March 9--Grant Wood Trail east of Marion. It must be a spring thing--usually I see these blackbirds 1 or 2 at a time, but they were in large groups today. Felt a little Hitchcock.

Deer
March 12--Deer crossing Lindale Trail.

Creek and sunshine
March 14--Pretty sky seen at creek bend on trail in Marion--the side trail off of the Boyson Trail near Menard's.

Boyson trail
Riding alone the Sac and Fox Trail March 11.

Deer on Lindale Trail
More deer March 12, Lindale Trail. A group of more than a dozen were crossing the trail and disappearing into a small patch of woods.

Bridge on Lindale Trail
March 14--Is this bridge on the Lindale Trail? The Grant Wood Trail? Somewhere where these trails run together.

Sac and Fox entrance
Start of Sac and Fox Trail March 13.

Cedar Lake
March 10--Bike at Cedar Lake.

Bike on Grant Wood Trail
Pretty sky March 9 on Grant Wood Trail east of Marion.

Lindale Trail or Grant Wood Trail
March 14--Final late-day ride of Spring Break.

Butterfly
Seeing more insects in general, but this butterfly, on final Spring Break Ride March 14 beside Lindale Trail, is a bit unusual to see at this time of year.

Bike on Hoover Trail south of Ely
March 11--Stop at the rest area between Ely on Solon during long ride.

Turkey on trail
March 7--Turkey on Lindale Trail.



Saturday, March 2, 2024

In Which Early Spring Brings More Than 30 Miles


Bike on MMU campus
During Feb. 25 ride, I stop to check if first flowers have bloomed at Mount Mercy University Campus. They had.

Bike on trail
Between Ely and Cedar Rapids on Hoover Trail, resting on a bench and enjoying the woods on Feb. 25 ride.

Bike in bike rack
Feb. 23--First commute to work on road bike after replacing front tyre.

Bike at Grotto
Feb. 27--Bike parked at MMU Grotto. Windy afternoon, next day was the one day this week I didn't ride--below-zero wind chills in the morning.

I suppose, technically, that I own four bicycles—but one is an old tandem, used primarily for short summer rides with either my wife or a grandchild.

Grandchildren and spouses, in my corner of the world, don’t do a lot of bicycling in the chilly early spring, which is what February has turned out to be in Iowa. In a normal year, it would still be winter and I would be weeks away from writing about spring. This is not a normal year.

And that’s added up to some extra biking miles for me.

My first ride of the year of more than 30 miles was Sunday, Feb. 25. I went some distance south on the Cedar River Trail for the first time this year, rolling to Ely and then back. It was oddly warm for a February Sunday, and when I rested in a park at Ely, small spiders were skittering across the pavement. Bugs in February. It’s not Heaven, it’s Iowa, but it’s hot like Hades, at least “hot” for this time of year.

Sunshine in Ely
Feb. 25--Resting at mid-point of long ride in Ely. I will have to dig up sunscreen, got a mild sunburn on this ride.

Cedar River
Feb. 25--Sunny view of Cedar River on trail headed south, south of river. Mount Trashmore in background.

Eagle on tree
Feb. 25--Large bird of prey. I think it's a young bald eagle that hasn't grown into its adult colors yet. Although it could be a hawk. What say you, internet hive mind?

Geese on Ely pond
Feb. 25--Geese in Ely city park.

I didn’t have time to continue riding south to Solon for a much longer 50-mile or so ride, and I wasn’t dressed for it anyway (I need bike shorts for longer rides).

It was a pleasant ride. I took two brief rests, one in Ely and one on a bench in the woods on the way back. It was a bit breezy, but still a good day to be out. The ride totaled 32.88 miles.

It was on the road bike, which I have finally repaired. I took it to Goldfinch, because I’m too old to easily read tiny black numbers on black rubber, and no, I don’t have my bike tyre size memorized. They concurred that I needed a new front tyre, but advised the that worn back tyre is still good for a few months, although it will need to be replaced before longer summer rides.

Changing the tyre is never my favorite thing, but honestly it worked out to be easier than changing the tube on my mountain bike, which I had done a few weeks ago.

Bike in bike rack
Feb. 21--Bikes in rack near Regina Hall, MMU. None mine. Seeing lots more bikes in February than is normal.

Hawk feather and bike
Feb. 23--My bike parked at Warde Hall, early ride after fixing road bike. Hawk feather has blown against rear wheel--there are a pair of red-tailed Hawks that nest on Warde Hall, I assume this is their greeting card.

So, recent rides have seen me taking advantage of the full trio—the long weekend ride and some commutes on Argent, my road bike. When I’m in the mood or worried about poor weather, rolling on The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike. And several routine commutes using the all-purpose pickup truck bike, my hybrid, Clarence.

I rode 224.29 miles in February and 6.94 miles on March 1, giving me 362.62 miles for the year so far—more than 10 percent of my goal in the early winter months of the year. I hope that foreshadows a good riding year. I’m not sure the year includes RAGBRAI—they have a hilly, southern route this year, which doesn’t, frankly, appeal to me much, and last year’s crowded, hot ride kind of spooked me a bit.

I may be ready for fake RAGBRAI this year, where I just try to top 300 miles during the week of the ride. We’ll see. And that way, I can ride my variety of bikes as the mood strikes me—maybe even the tandem (which has no name right now).

Flowers at MMU
Feb. 25--I wondered if first flowers had bloomed, so rode to campus on my way home from Ely. Yup, early spring is official. Building in background, Warde Hall, is oldest on campus and where my office is.


Tuesday, February 20, 2024

In Which Tyres Bring Some Challenges

Lindale Trail
Jan. 29--Pretty late day light on Lindale Trail in Cedar Rapids.

C Avenue Pond
Feb. 20--Pretty, frosty morning seen on morning bike ride to work, C Avenue Pond.

Creek Trail in Marion
Feb. 18, pretty late light on Creek Trail behind Linn-Mar High School in Marion.

It’s been a little while since I reported on my two-wheeled journey through life. It was near the end of January the last time your correspondent wrote a blog post.

It’s been a busy time. Winter term turned to spring semester with no break; I attended a statewide student college media conference; my wife and I worked on jigsaw puzzles and got hooked on an old British TV mystery show (Midsummer Murders)—what with one thing and another, almost a month has passed.

Most of that month has been a sunny, dry and unusually warm February. In fact, today, Feb. 20, I posted images on Facebook of flowers blooming in my backyard gardens.

Anyway, while I have not done any long (over 50 miles) rides, I have been riding almost every day. There was even one day, Friday of last week, when it had snowed overnight, but I made the unusual choice to ride anyway. The snow was just a light dusting, and it was cold so the snow hadn’t melted and frozen into ice, but stayed a white powder. I thought I might be OK rolling across it on my mountain bike, and, as it turned out, I was correct.

Warde Hall bike rack
Feb. 16--Snowy Friday and I'm not the only crazy bike commuter. I don't know whose it is, but a white bike beside my black mountain bike.
Bike at Warde Hall
Feb. 15, pretty morning light as I arrive on campus.

I was lucky to have the mountain bike ready to ride. In January, the back tyre went flat. I didn’t find the cause, but changing the tube seemed to fix it. But, when I took the wheel off, I noted the brake shoes were so worn the metal under the rubber was starting to show.

So there was a slight delay until I could pick up some new shoes before I could ride that bike. Meanwhile, I was riding my road bike or my hybrid bike. The mountain bike is my usual winter bike, yet this February has barely counted as winter.

But I got the job done, and The Fancy Beast is rolling again. Meanwhile, I noticed that the outer layer has started to wear off of the front tyre of my road boke. For more than a week, I’ve left it parked as I have simply not found the time to get to a bike shop for a new tyre.

Bike shoes
Feb. 4--New brake shoes installed on The Fancy Beast, after a few days, it's ready to ride again.

Flat tyre
Jan. 28--One morning I just found this. I had ridden this bike the day before. Time change tubes.

Wheel, tyre and tube
Jan. 28, changing tube. Sadly, bike not ready to ride when I'm done--brake shoes too worn.

One reason the quest isn’t too urgent is the season. I make far less use of my road bike Argent when it’s winter—the Fancy Beast is my usual winter ride, and I’ve used Clarence, my hybrid bike, when I want a lighter steed. The road bike will be ready when the weather turns really warm and I aim for longer rides.

If I’m going to roll 50 miles, it would only be on my lightest, fastest bike. But at this time of year, other bikes serve me perfectly well.

Meanwhile spring is coming early. Your biker correspondent has been on the saddle nearly every day. As of Feb. 20, I’ve ridden 152.88 miles this month. That compares to 128.39 in all of January. So far this year, I’ve rolled 280.94 miles, which I think is OK given the time of year. More images from recent rides:

Deer
Jan. 29, Deer by trail.

Bike at sunset
Feb. 3--Bike at day's end (road bike shortly before I stopped riding it due to tyre wear).

Bridge in Robins
Feb. 11--Snow has melted off county trails--on ride north to Robins.

Boyson Trail
Feb. 18--Creek on trail near Menards.

Mountain bike on trail
The Fancy Beast in the woods Feb. 20--finally dry enough to ride mountain bike trail off of Boyson Trail.

Bridge on Boyson Trail
Feb. 4--On bridge on Boyson Trail.

Lindale Trail
Feb. 4--Warm weather brings bike and foot traffic to Lindale Trail.

Cedar Lake
Feb. 8, ride down to Cedar Lake.




Saturday, January 27, 2024

In Which I Contrast Two Winter Rides

Waldo's Rock pond
Jan. 27--Grey sky at Waldo's Rock Park.

Six days separate my latest two bike rides.

It’s been a bit of bummer this January, to be so seldom being out on two wheels. I’ve make a halfhearted effort to ride an indoor bike for exercise during dreary ride-hostile days, but it’s honestly not the same.

It seems actually being outside is a huge part of my biking experience. Without the wind, the trees, the trail, the people, the deer, the birds, the walkers, joggers and things to see and experience, biking is just not as enjoyable.

And lately, outdoor riding hasn’t happened much. The theme for January this winter in Iowa has been arctic cold followed by a weird winter wet and warm interlude, with daily rains.

Bike on Boyson Trail
Jan. 21--On Lindale Trail bride. It's better than it looks. the snow is so thin riding on it wasn't bad.

Street and snow
Jan. 21--Trail behind Amoco and Popeye's has not been cleared of snow, so I have to navigate a short city block. The street has been plowed for cars, but the deep salty slush is show going on a bicycle. In contrast, trail pavement is pretty clear.

So, it was nice, in the past week, to be out twice. I rode 7.11 miles on Sunday, Jan. 21, and 11.7 miles today, Saturday, Jan. 27. I guess 7 and 11 must be my lucky numbers this week.

They were contrasting rides, although both were late afternoon rides. My life seems to be filled with busy days—either I’m putting in lots of hours at work during the week or I have family events on the weekend. To be honest, while I do look forward to a more relaxing schedule this summer, I enjoy both the work and the fam, so it’s not bad to be busy the way that I am. But it does cut into rolling time.

So last Sunday, at the end of the arctic blast, I rode a few miles on the Boyson Trail. Snow on the road was a challenge. The trails had been cleared, but not all of the sidewalks or streets I used to get there—the Sunday ride convinced me that Monday would a be a driving day, and cold rain the rest of the workweek did the same trick.

Deer next to Boyson Trail
Jan. 21--Deer  seen near north end of Boyson Trail, just as I am deciding it's time to head back home. "Hey pinky," I imagine them thinking. "We don't have warm houses to go to. What's your excuse for being out here?"

Despite being “warm,” it was darn cold. It was about 18 degrees with a stiff wind—my phone weather app put the wind chill at about zero Fahrenheit. I was toying with maybe aiming for 10 miles, but after a short ride into the wind, determined that I would just be happy with what I got and I headed home.

Today was different. For one thing, I was not going to ride the Boyson Trail—part of it is limestone, and days this week have been both wet and above freezing, which means that part of the trail would be mushy and sloppy. I knew from ruts on the Jan. 21 ride that not all bikers share my philosophy, but I just don’t enjoy furrowing a trail like a plow and would rather not, thank you.

But the sidewalks and little piece of street I would use to get to the Lindale Trail are clearer now, thanks to a week of melting. Even where they have not been shoveled well, pavement is showing on the sidewalks.

So, today I got the Fancy Beast out and mounted it at about 4:30. I was planning a quick sojourn, maybe another 7-mile ride before darkness set in.

I headed east. There were a few places, at intersections, where I was glad to be mounted on my trusty winter beater mountain bicycle, where snow speed bumps from street plows were still in place, but by and large the trail was clear. My one concession to the winter was that I didn’t ride on bike lanes, which I usually use when crossing Marion on the Grant Wood Trail. Today, the little pavement interfaces that lead from the sidewalk portion of the trail to the street trail part of the route were still blocked with sone.

Never mind. I didn’t think traffic would be heavy on the wide walkway along the trail route, and I was right. While I did encounter one other biker on the trail and saw several walkers and joggers, the trail traffic was decidedly light.

And I just kept rolling. I wasn’t as dressed—no long johns, no scarf. It was in the 30s and not terribly breezy, a grey, damp, but decidedly warmer day.

I expected to get to Highway 13 and then turn around. I know the city of Marion clears its trails, but I am also aware that Linn County does not. (And I don’t want that to sound like a complaint—I understand traffic and walking and other considerations means it makes sense for the cities to clear their trails, while the many more miles and many fewer trail users makes the opposite decision by the county pretty clearly understandable).

Anyway, the Highway 13 tunnel is marked as the interface between city and county, so I expected that to be the end of snow clearance and the outer limits of my ride. I was pleasantly surprised that the city carried on, clearing the trail all the way to Waldo’s Rock City Park on the east edge of Marion.

Beyond that, trail seems snowbound, so I stopped, made a selfie where the snow clearing ended, and then mounted up, circled the pond at Waldo’s Rock and headed back for home.

It was getting full dark, but it was cloudy and I was not out in the county. If you have a low cloudy evening in the city, the clouds act like a giant reflector and the “dark” areas of the trail have far more ambient light than you might expect.

CR Biker on Boyson Trail
Jan. 21--Very cold late afternoon ride, me near north end of Boyson Trail, when I turned back towards home.

On Jan. 21, I was glad to put in over 7 miles but also very glad to return to a warm house and relieve the deep chill in my old bones Today, I kind of wished I had started earlier. The day was very grey, but from a biking point of view, much more rider friendly.

In any case, in two rides of 1’s and 7’s, I had contrasting experiences, but enjoyed them both. That’s the thing about the outside, even if you go to some of the same places and ride the same trails, it’s different from day to day, and I love that difference.

This next week may be different. It will continue to be in the 30s, but is not forecast to include daily rain showers. Perhaps there are more miles coming soon! So far in 2024, 94.18 miles.

CR Biker and bike on Grant Wood Trail
Jan. 27--A much warmer bike ride, me with bike parked where the snow clearing ends, where trail meets Waldo's Rock Park.