In Which I Wish for More Riding in the Lion-Lamb Month

Student plays chess in U Center during Bike Club Club Friday. The room was empty as it was soon to be decorated for Vegas Night--I rode my bike that day and did take a few spins around the U Center. Don't tell anybody.

My wife found some bike bling on sale earlier in February, and picked up some new string lights, a license plate that has my name on it, and one with a grandson’s name.

She also got some regular lights, and I actually used a set as secondary lights on the mountain bike for one of my rare rides in February.

There were only a few bicycle rides this month. I honestly was tempted to ride today, but lately the streets have been so narrow with snow, and there was snow in the forecast, that I didn’t. February has been what January more commonly is—a hiatus from bicycle riding, partly due to cold, but more due to snow and ice.

Morning sunshine early in February--I drove that day and am about to walk up the hill.

I can dress for cold, but that does nothing about friction or lack of it.

Still, there are some signs that better biking days are ahead. The Mount Mercy Bike Club hosted a Club Friday recently, and plans are to take the bikes in for service soon. The cold has been persistent this odd winter, and another polar vortex is arriving with March to vex us, but at least the sun is in the sky for much, much longer.

I don’t want to jinx it on this final day of a very cold and snowy February, but I believe that there will be more biking for me in March—once the vortex is gone. At least, I hope so!

Afternoon shadows on the deep, deep snow on campus late in the month. Good news, however, is that it would have been dark in December or January at this time of day.

In Which I Enjoy an Interesting No-Snow Day

My bike at MMU library.

Feb. 16—my marathon-running daughter posted an image of her and a friend after a 5-K run that Saturday morning. I also was hankering to get outside, and as these things go, this winter day was not too bad.

It was around zero Fahrenheit that morning, although the day warmed up. I had to go to Mount Mercy to edit the first Introduction to Journalism TV story done by one of my students, and I was tempted to ride—the sun was shining, it had been a couple of days since snow fell, and I knew most streets were in decent shape.

Which doesn’t necessarily make it a great day to ride a bicycle, but perhaps it made it a day where the level of “terrible” was manageable. So I did it.

I decided to head west to the Cedar River Trail figuring that: A) Some sidewalks on the more direct route south were either not shoveled yet, or shoveled several days after a layer of ice had set in, so where “cleared” more symbolically than practically, and B) Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha do a very good job of clearing the trail.

I started out headed north on Devonshire, which had plenty of snow and ice on it, but also enough pavement that, on my winter beater mountain bike, it was ridable with care at slow speed. I planned to take the sidewalk on C Avenue north to 74th Street. I rode briefly on the Boyson Road bike lane—which was clear, thank you city, and then headed through a relatively clear parking area in a shopping plaza, heading back to C Avenue.

As it turned out, the sidewalk along C Avenue for about a block at the north end of the shopping area was completely covered in snow and ice—although packed snow and ice that had been shoveled. I rode very, very slowly, but I rode, and am happy to report that the Fancy Beast and I arrived at 74th unscathed.

Sidewalk on C Avenue south of 74th Street, contrasted with the better conditions (below) on 74th Street.

That street was fully open, bare pavement. There were a few patches of snow and ice at the end of a few drives—but largely good riding.

Then I got to Council Street, where the plan was to take the west sidewalk south to Northbrook Drive. As it turned out, the sidewalk north of Boyson was packed with ice and snow—until one block away from Boyson, where the semblance of shoveling broke down completely by a church, and the crossing of Boyson was blocked by a 5-foot white mountain range.

Council Street sidewalk--rode it, ridiculously slow going. And then, the church by Boyson Road and the places where the bike must be carried (images below).

The Fancy Beast is fairly light, and I hefted it and crossed the mountains. A helpful passenger in a car at the light suggested with enough speed I might just shoot over the range, but I respect my mortality way too much to try that plan. South of Boyson, the sidewalk was uneven, sometimes clear, sometimes very icy—but better than it had been north of Boyson.

Then I got to Northwood and headed to the trail. The street was in great shape, and as I got to the creek between Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha, one of my goals for the ride was unexpectedly and early realized.

An eagle was wheeling around north of the street. It was a bit of distance away, so my pictures aren’t great, but it was very nice to see. Despite the bike-toting hikes, slow riding and winter day—well, I have to admit I was all fan-boy happy to see an eagle and decided right then that the ride was probably worth it. And it was.

Shortly after that, a raven quoth at me for a while, and that was fine to see and hear, too.

Eagle circles over Hiawatha.

The raven of Northbrook quoths at me.

There is something pretty about an open creek in winter. Mallards along the Cedar River Trail in Cedar Rapids.

Geese on the frozen Cedar Lake.

The Cedar River Trail was great, both in Hiawatha and Cedar Rapids. There were a few spots where snow had blown over after it had been shoveled last, or snow had melted and caused ice on the trail, but that’s to be expected. All in all, it felt great to be on the trail in the sunshine as the day grew slightly less cold. It never got warm, but I was properly dressed, and it was still a good day to be out.

I headed down to circle Cedar Lake before going to campus. I had half hoped to see an eagle there—when a lot of ice forms in Cedar Rapids, it’s sometimes a place where there is a bit of open water and the big birds visit. As it turned out, the lake was pretty thoroughly iced over. Never mind, I had already scored an eagle on this ride.

Well hi, Hiawatha. I arrive at the Cedar River Trail, and it is good.

Cedar River Trail, Cedar Rapids, north of 42nd Street. Some ice, but most of the trail was clear.

Joggers up ahead by Cedar Lake. A few people were out running--did not encounter other bikers.

South end of Cedar Lake--must have been more snow blowing across here. Most of Cedar River Trail was bare, except this part, but even it was OK on a mountain bike--better than some sidewalks I had been on.

When I got to MMU, I worked for most of the remaining afternoon on campus—the bike ride, usually 30 minutes, had taken well over an hour, due both to the longer trail route, my carrying the bike over the Boyson Mountains and my going very slowly on snowy spots. Still, I think the ride left me feeling in high spirits.

Why I ride--the stark beauty of a sunny winter day. View of sunny sky on Cedar River Trail (above) and passing by Daniels Park (below) on my way to campus. The air was cold, but I was dressed well and my heart was warm.

It was getting close to 4 by the time I was ready to head home, but I wanted to leave before it got dark. I decided to take my regular commuting route, as it is more direct. The streets were, for the most part, OK, although icy here and there. The worst was Lennox Avenue, and in retrospect, I probably would have gone up E Avenue instead. I took an older route I don’t often use nowadays and went up F Avenue to the Collins Aerospace campus—I knew the newer route along the bike lane on C Avenue was iffy, and there are some sidewalks beyond the bike lane that are never cleared of snow (business park at the corner of C and Collins, I’m wagging my finger at you).

C Avenue was a repeat of Council Street, with the fun addition of also being on a steeper hill, so for much of the last half mile of my “ride” I walked my bike.

At MMU, rodent watches as I reach the top. I rode up the "macho" way, behind lower campus, by the garage and up to the library.

Still, all in all, it was a nice February break, a brief biking interlude that I was glad to take advantage of.  A bunch of snow has dumped on us on this Sunday, and the weather forecast into the first part of March is for this messy, snowy winter to keep going, so I am grateful for Saturday.

And, as time goes on, there should be more of these breaks in the weather. The sun is shining more now—it’s starting to look a bit like spring on a sunny day, and it won’t be that many weeks before it starts feeling like it, too. Knock on wood.

Almost home, looking back at C Avenue bridge. The only bare pavement on the walk down the hill was just north of this bridge. I traveled most of the sidewalk on foot.

In Which There Are Snowy Tyres

Tyres in the garage--next to my hybrid bike and road  bike, there is the snow blower, the kind of tyre I used on this cold, snowy Iowa day.

For me, biking season is on a hiatus of undetermined length. I was lucky in January to get some bicycling in, but since the Polar Vortex, the atmosphere has been volatile, with frequent bouts of sleet, freezing rain, and most, of all, snow.

The sun is supposed to shine tomorrow—but 6 inches of snow fell yesterday and overnight, and the temperature has dropped and the wind has picked up.

For now, my bicycles are parked in the garage. Tucked in between them in a snow blower, which has come in pretty handy this February.

This morning, the university where I teach opened a bit late, and I had been up until the wee hours working with students on the campus newspaper. So, the late start was great in terms of giving me time to clear the sidewalk and drive.

I had some trouble getting home—the snow was falling heavily when I attempted to leave campus, and my car was stuck in a parking place where the drifting snow rested on a bed of ice. Luckily, it is a front-wheel-drive manual-transmission car, and I was able to get it rocking back and forth until I was able to slide it out of the place. It was one of those snowy nights when a bicycle ride would have been darn near impossible, and a drive was rather dicey.

But, I made it home unscathed—and got stuck at the end of the driveway in the mountain of snow that had been scraped off the street. So in the dead of night, I was out there, an old man with a shovel, digging out the car and clearing a short path on the driveway.

The story ended well, in that the car was moved off the street and my aging heart did not break under the strain. That may be thanks to years of bike riding.

And up until this year, I had mostly been a shovel man, where snow is concerned. Three years ago, my wife and I decided it was time to join the mechanized age, at least where snow removal in concerned—then over a year ago, the starting chord on the snow blower broke. I bought a new one and tried to install it, but proved, as if I didn’t already know it, that I’m a better as a writer than as a mechanic.

Anyway, my older son found and ordered online a new chord unit for the snow blower, but he was visiting over Christmas 2017 and had to return home before installing it. Then, over Christmas 2018, my wife and younger son put the chord unit on.

I was worried about whether the snow blower would start—leaving small engines idle for a couple of years is probably not a good maintenance tip. Or at least I think so—but I’m a writer and biker and not a mechanic. Indeed, on one snowy morning in January, I tried to start the blower. For many pulls, probably 20 or so, there was nothing beyond a few coughs. And then the blower reluctantly growled to life. It ran roughly, but a roughly running snow blower was better for removing snow than a shovel and my aging back.

And since then, I’ve had lots of practice with the snow blower. There must have been crud built up in it that slowly got cleaned out, because these days, I set the choke, feel like I should say a brief prayer, and pull the chord—and, knock on wood, don’t want to jinx it, these days it’s a one-pull and go system.

I miss bike riding. We’re approaching the middle of February, and the forecast is not promising—cold, followed by snow, followed by cold, followed by snow.

But it is mid-February. I am grateful to family members that the wheels I use these days in my garage do help remove copious amounts of snow—this morning would have been very difficult without a snow blower. And the RAGBRAI route has been announced, plans are being laid for summer bicycle rides and the sun remains somewhere above the clouds for longer and longer each day.

It can’t come too soon—but bicycling in 2019 will resume. Before April Fools Day, I hope.

In Which the Hawk Soars and I Fall

Looking east on Blair's Ferry. I did not ride that way, but much of the C Avenue sidewalk I rode on looked like this. Hooray for a mountain bike! My front tyre (below) on a city street near the MMU campus.

For once this week, on an icy Saturday morning, I decided to ride to work. Feb. 2 was Scholarship Day at Mount Mercy University, and I had volunteered to help with interviews.

I was to be in the U Center by 10 a.m. and left home at 9:10. Because the ride is half an hour, usually, I thought I had plenty of time. I was wrong.

It was grey and cool—but warm to an Iowan who has survived the Polar Vortex. A melt was expected today, and the snow was slushy in spots, but in the morning, the melt was just starting.

There was still lots of snow and ice—and CR Biker was riding carefully and slowly. I arrived on campus without incident, about 5 minutes before 10. There, I put the Fancy Beast mountain bike to the side in the entrance of the U Center—I doubted I would find a shoveled bike rack.

And I don’t blame anybody for that. The best road of the ride was the drive up the hill at MMU—the university’s facilities crew has been heroic in their snow removal efforts this week.

I conducted interviews with an alumna, and I enjoyed them very much. It seemed like a good group of incoming students. Then, I enjoyed lunch. It was about 1 by the time I got ready to leave campus.

First robin of spring? Dinosaur seen on my way to Cedar Lake--it was one of a group of male robins hanging out there.

Some of the streets had been covered in snow on my morning ride in, so I decided to take the longer trail route home. Just for fun, I headed towards Cedar Lake. Near the lake, a hawk was hanging out on the trail and soared into the air as I approached. I was lucky to get its image.

Three views of the hawk on the trail just north of Cedar Lake--as I first saw it (above), taking to the air (below) and zooming away (bottom),

The trail route strategy worked, the trail was in better shape than the streets, even if the route did lead to a non-consequential fall.

Trail on south side of Cedar Lake--have to watch it, but passible on a mountain bike, and most of the trail was wet, but not icy or snowy.

McCloud Run north of J Avenue on Cedar River Trail--pretty creek even in winter.

After the fall. The view from the tundra near Harding.

As my long-time bike riding pals know, some years ago CR Biker seriously messed up a knee via a fall on the ice. But I was riding a tall hybrid bike then—a much poorer choice for winter biking than the mountain bicycle I rode today. Today, I got plenty slushed, but was fine on the ride. No slips, no falls.

Until I got to Harding Middle School. If I take the trail home, one possible route is behind the school building. I rode that way—and when I got behind the building, I encountered maybe 100 yards of unplowed sidewalk buried under the snow.

Well, I was only carrying shoes in my backpack, so I was not weighed down, and the Fancy Beast, despite being a mountain bike, is fairly light. And I had on snow boots. So, I decided to hike across the tundra.

And promptly awkwardly tumbled into the wet, cold snow. There were maybe two feet on the ground there beyond the shoveled walk. The bad news was how wet and cold I suddenly was. The good news was that it was a slow speed tumble into soft snow—no old bikers were hurt in the making of this blog post.

Looking back at my tracks in deep snow behind Harding Middle School. It was quite a bit of work to carry a bike through deep snow. But as I reached the bridge and saw cleared sidewalk ahead of me (below), the sun appeared, another reason that your fallen bike correspondent did not get too cold.

The hardest part was getting purchase so I could stand up. The unplowed walk was from the building to a small bridge—beyond the bridge, for some reason, the sidewalk was cleared again (why clear the walk to the bridge and not to the school?). After crossing the bridge, I remounted and, slowly and carefully, was once more on my way.

Despite the fact that I was slightly damp, the temperature was so warm that I didn’t really chill in the remaining couple of miles to get home. Mostly, I was just glad I was able to ride just once this week. The forecast over the next 10 day is not promising—after a warm Sunday, winter is due to return late on Monday, bringing cold and chances of snow on many days.

The cold won’t be so severe that I couldn’t bundle up and bike in it—but today was stretching my limits for pavement quality. I can dress for cold, but that doesn’t eliminate snow and ice on the road.

I was happy with the Fancy Beast today--my winter mountain bike made this ride possible. Above, the bike in my driveway before I start the morning ride. Below, parked by the trail on the way home.