In Which I See Many Monarchs

Parked off of Cedar River Trail north of 42nd Street. Trying to get butterfly pictures in flower field, and failing. One showed up and flitted away quickly.

The ride today was short, due to heat. I rode for a while in the morning, and because I was only doing a few miles (around 15), I did go to campus and did complete four climbs up the Hill at MMU.

Now, I’m at home enjoying AC. The heat index was over 100 by the time I got here, so those few miles were good “heat” practice, but I’ll take that in limited doses, please.

The final few rides this week have been a bit short, but good. I rode south on Wednesday, intending to go to Ely, but turned back and I got a message that my daughter and grandson were coming over for supper. After the meal, we rode our bikes around a bit, stopping at a city park on Council Street to play for a while.

When we started, the grandson was excited to see several pickup trucks pulling trailers go by us on C Avenue. He loves trucks and trailers are even more exciting. The trailers were clearly balloon trailers—they each had a gondola.

After we circled the duck pond and rode for a while, we did the park stop, and then on the way home, saw four hot tail balloons moving east away from us. It looked to me like they launched from a park in Marion, although I can’t be sure.

Wednesday, headed home on 74th Street bike trail, wife and daughter are ahead of me, grandson is on my bike with me. You probably have to click image to see them, but there are balloons in the eastern sky.

Thursday, I picked up my road bike. Clarence had been in the shop, primarily for the worn rear tyre, but I ended up with two tyres and tubes, a new back wheel (they said the old one was cracked), new brake shoes (not a surprise) and new chain. Well, with the new pedals, equipment and tune up, the bike should be RAGBRAI ready now.

I then did a quick ride up to Center Point before heading to campus for a meeting.

So, there has not been another 60-mile ride, but I’ve gotten some good miles in during the past few days. The Japanese beetles are starting to appear, which is annoying, but I hope they have peaked and waned before RAGBRAI.

I haven’t taken my good camera on a ride for a while, and I want to because I want to make more Monarch butterfly images. It’s just my impression, but the Cedar River and Cedar Valley Nature trails have been hotbeds of butterflies lately. The city has planted a lot of flowers along the trail in Cedar Rapids, and this plethora of insect color is a pleasant result.

Images of flower plot near 42nd Street.

Cedar Lake is a good place to look for Monarchs. Another hot spot is the large flower patch that is just a little north of 42nd Street on the east side of the trail. And I always spot some along the Cedar Valley Nature Trail north of town, although I don’t have a particular hot spot to recommend.

There have been plenty of years where Monarchs have been more scarce and hard to spot. Get out there soon and enjoy them! And do it very soon if you plan to go north of Center Point—I saw a note online that the trail there will be closed soon for a bridge replacement.

Final biking note: In Wednesday’s paper, an elderly gentleman wrote one of those biking rant letters. You know the kind—how terrible bikers are, how they should get off the streets, etc.

Well, this one was a bit different. This guy didn’t want to get rid of bikers—he simply wants a verbal warning before he is passed.

I found myself in total agreement with him. It’s not often that I am so comfortable with a bike rant letter—but he’s totally right. As a slow biker, I also appreciate it when passers sound a warning.

And I’ve written before about the importance of “bike on your left” or “passing on your left.” Speak it loudly, without shouting, and just a few seconds before you get to the walker—give them a bit of reaction time.

It’s the polite thing to do, and makes the trail safer for bikers and walkers alike.