CR Biker: In Which We Can Expect Delay

Friday, April 8, 2016

In Which We Can Expect Delay

Street sign on F Avenue morning of April 4. By mid-week, workers were indeed constricting the street--only the first major traffic delay in coming weeks, as a bigger event, the closing of C Avenue, looms.

What was biking like in Iowa during the first week of April 2016?

I got sprinkled on at least a couple of times, and decently rained on at least once.

The sun was shining except when it wasn’t, often in the same day. It was windy, cool and partly cloudy today, but got sunny as I approached campus—so sunny I took some gratuitous flower photos before heading in to my office.

Walking professor said it looked like the photographer was at work. Actually, he was shirking work.

“The photographer at work,” quipped an English professor on the way in. Well, no, more like the photographer putting off work as long as possible.

Anyway, I think it has rained almost every day this week, except when it snowed, which was today, but luckily I wasn’t actually biking during the snow.

Snow! Spring in Iowa ....

During the snow, the bike club cancelled this afternoon’s ride. And now the sun is shining. Still, it’s a bit windy and cool, and I’m not sure students who bike would be up for a ride this afternoon.

It’s been a very mixed week. I wrote earlier about my windy Sunday ride—wind has been pretty much a theme this week.

But, although it has rained pretty much every day (except when it snowed at midday Friday), the rains have blown through quickly or been at night.

Two Friday morning Francis shadow photos (above). Below, wicked weekend winds played havoc with the pedestrian crossing light on C Avenue, but the city quickly fixed it once told of the problem.

I managed to bike five of the five days this week—a pretty good average.

The street repair season, however, promises to make biking interesting. F Avenue south of Collins Road is down to one lane as chunks of broken pavement are being removed. And next week, C Avenue, the main north-south route in our area of Cedar Rapids, is to be closed.

Closed! My wife wonders how she will drive to MMU. Council Street is going to be heavily backed up.

Despite the weather, it has been a good week to bicycle. Next week, when the main car commuting route is closed, but my parking-lot biking route will still be open (even if a bit dicey on F Avenue), I’m thinking it will be an even better week to be riding two wheels!