In Which We Bike Over 7 Miles for Sweets

Monarch I watched and shot as students got ready for ride.

Oh, you sweet thing, you.

Today, at a fancy candy shop next to the Paramount, I purchased a piece of chocolate-covered bacon. It tasted of salt and chocolate—it was a pleasant combination of sweet and salty, like chocolate covered peanuts. (If any of you want to bribe CR Biker, by the way, I hear he loves chocolate covered peanuts).

My wife and I packed up our bikes this morning not long after 7. It was only the second time we’ve ridden bikes to work together, but today was a special occasion.

The Mount Mercy Bicycle club was having its candy ride. The club offered $5 worth of candy to the first nine students who signed up to ride, and since pretty much all of the MMU bikes ended up being used, the bribe proved effective. As for Audrey and I, we didn’t have the bike club pay for our bacon, but went along for the ride.

The traditional club seflie became just a group shot, as there were too many bikers for me to merely hold out my arm. But no matter. While students organized themselves and unlocked bikes, I shot some photos of a butterfly visiting some nearby flowers.

Bike club before ride.Francis in front.

And then we were off. It was a hazy, sunny, warm afternoon. Riding with 10 others was a little challenging—we got a bit spread out and the group had to stop now and then, but we did better once we reached the Cedar River Trail.

Then it was downtown, where the bike lanes were briefly crowded. The students were pretty excited by the candy shop, which was a cool place to visit.

Shopping for candy.

Lloyd tries chocolate-covered bacon.

One young lady from Germany said she didn’t like to have her photo taken. Then, she made a Halloween-appropriate face just to get her photo taken.

Do not take my picture, she said. Then, this.

Between Catherine McAuley’s birthday cake and this bike ride, it was a sweet afternoon. Between this ride and commutes to work and a couple of errands at a store, I got close to 20 miles today. The club rode about 7.5.

Sweet.

Stopped on way back to campus, nearly there.