In Which There Is Too Much and Not Enough Water

This morning, 9:40 a.m. Remains of the rain that has just passed by can be seen, but when you look to the west (below), all you see is blue--and birds. Both images on C Avenue in Collins Aerospace area.

I once again didn’t get in as many miles as I had hoped today—it was great biking weather and I did ride, but I also stopped on campus to help plant a new pollinator garden.

It was time well spent, and I suppose digging in the garden in summer warmth is exercise of a sort, so perhaps indirect RAGBRAI training. And I learned the men’s volleyball coach, one of nicest women at MMU, might ride RAGBRAI this year, which would be cool.

We had rain this morning, and the pavement was wet when I began riding this morning. But the sky was rapidly clearing, and turned blue by the time I got to campus.

After planting, I napped, and it was getting close to 4 by the time I rode on. I headed south on the Cedar River Trail, heading towards the river. There, I turned aside to go circle the Prairie Park Fishery—and was surprised to find that the Cedar River and the lake at the fishery as still joined by high water. There was a short area of trail covered by water, which I suppose I could have ridden through, but decided not to.

Fish swim on Prairie Park Fishery trail, where high water means the river and lake are connected.

Too much water.

But I was running low on water. Well, there is a drinking fountain in Greene Square, but the trail detours that park right now. No matter, I thought, I’ll fill up at the city park at Cedar Lake.

Except I would not. There is some project going on there, and the drinking fountain has been, temporarily, I think, removed.

OK. I rode on to the park at J Avenue. Where the drinking fountain was broken and off.

So, from the Hiawatha border clear to Tait Cummins Park, where there normally would be four watering stations in a hot summer day (J Avenue, Cedar Lake, Greene Square, Sokol Park), this summer, the Cedar River Trail goes by exactly zero water sources.

Poor form, City of Cedar Rapids. OK, I'll grant that Greene Square is still there and I should have gotten off the detour to get water there, but still. Please at least fix the water fountain at J Avenue—you did plan projects that did remove most of the water sources on the city's longest bike trail all at the same time.