In Which I Finish a Full Week of Riding

Ready for ride to campus Friday morning--note snow on the driveway. The thin layer proved not to be slick, which was my hope.

I have been enjoying this year’s late February dry spell—snow fell twice this week, but only very light snow. The heaviest amount was today, Friday morning. “Heaviest amount” meant you could actually visually detect it—snow was visible on the pavement and in the grass this morning.

But the layer was very thin, and I knew the pavement had been dry the day before, so I decided the chances that there was any hidden ice under that lacy layer of white was pretty minimal. My personal rule in general is not to ride on ice or snow, but I decided today was an exception.

I have a mountain bike mostly for winter riding, and I just didn’t think it would be slippery. I think I was right.

The morning commute was a bit slow—I was trying to be careful. But I never felt that it was treacherous—I never sensed any slipping.

Tracks in the morning snow, C Avenue near Blair's Ferry Road. The thin line is my tyre track, the thick one is where i put a booted food down to help stop.

By afternoon, when I was ready to head home, the sun was shining down on a chilly, wintery Iowa world. The sunshine didn’t exactly warm my corner of planet Earth much, but it was enough to cause the morning flakes to all have disappeared back into the atmosphere (on a cold day, snow in sunshine doesn’t melt so much as just becoming vapor that dissipates into the dry air).

Corner of C and Blair's Ferry during afternoon commute home.

Why did I ride today? I think I was just feeling a bit cantankerous. I wanted to finish a full work week of riding.

And I did it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warm—chances of some sort of Saturday right are good. And I rode and rode and rode this week.

I hope you had a chance to get out on your wheels. If not, you should this weekend. Winter is not done with us yet, but there are starting to be signs of spring!

In Which I Contemplate Cold Critters and Cracks

Cedar Lake on Tuesday, pretty and pretty quiet. I don't think that the other birds wanted the company of an eagle who was hanging around.

The week-where-biking-would-not-be turned out to be a week of fine, if cool, biking so far.

And also an entertaining set of creature features.

On Tuesday, just because I could, I took the “long” route home where I ride over to Cedar Lake on the Cedar River Trail. It was a pretty afternoon, but as I approached the north end of the lake, where the ducks and geese usually congregate in open water, it was unusually quiet. The usual goose cocktail party was not in session.

And I noticed a figure out on the ice of the lake—dark. Clearly a black bird, but much too large to quoth like a raven. It seemed eagle size to me, but I wondered because it did not have a clearly white head. And then the eagle sprang into the sky.

Oh. A teenager or yearling. An adult sized bird that has not yet grown into its adult colors. But as it circled overhead, its size, the lightening of the its tail (it’s not white yet, but it’s getting there) and the straight way it would hold its wings—this is clearly the national symbol, just without a white head yet.

I snapped some images and circled the lake. The usual water fowl crowd was hanging out in the smaller lake to the south—maybe not so comfortable with the murderous fisher dino cruising around the larger lake.

Many views of a young eagle at the lake.

As I looped around the lake, returning to the north side, my eagle pal was there, sitting high in an old cottonwood tree. I appreciated he or she sitting for some tree portraits before taking off again to keep the riffraff out of the neighborhood.

More images from Cedar Lake Tuesday. Someone has been ice fishing (above). I heard a clatter and lost my sunglasses, which I recovered. And many trees are being cut out on west end of lake, not sure why.

I count that as a pretty good Tuesday ride.

Cedar River Trail Tuesday, some other users on a cool, cloudy afternoon.

Rooster is OK with Bernie Sanders. Bernie is not Colonel Sanders. Seen on ride home.

Gas station at corner of C and Blair's Ferry is going goodbye.

Today, Ash Wednesday, I was fighting the “wind hill” on the way home. Wind chill was a real thing this afternoon. It had briefly flurried in the afternoon, but the sky was sunny with some broken clouds when I rode home. I was well dressed, and despite the cold wind, was comfortable—so, for no particular reason, I decided to head down the Lindale Trail and climb the Bowman Woods Hill on the way home.

As I rode down the trail, enjoying the pretty golden light, a doe stepped onto the trail may 30 yards in front of me. She leisurely ambled across the trail and I snapped on image of her. Then, silently and quickly, a second doe zipped across the trail, and I caught a series of her running.

First deer, above, series of second running deer, below.

I decided not to cross Lindale Drive at a busy time, and turned down the sidewalk to go through a residential neighborhood to the short side trail. I was lucky it was cold—the limestone trail has been mushy lately, judging by all the cracks, tracks and ruts. I was glad to be on the mountain bike, and went slow.

Then again, I always go slow. It’s how I ride.

All in all, the last week of February, which was to be snowy and turned out dry, has been a pretty good week for rides. As long as you dress warmly.

Pretty afternoon light Wednesday, Lindale Trail.

Angry birds. It's late winter, is mating season making them misbehave?

Why a mountain bike was good for Wednesday ride.

In Which I Enjoy Warm Rides Before the Storm

Data from today's ride--14.5 miles for Sunday. I'm sure I topped 30 miles for the two-day weekend.

We were lucky in Iowa this weekend. A winter storm is bearing down on the state, and Tuesday and Wednesday this week the wind will pick up and lots of white stuff will fall from the sky.

But this weekend was a preview of late March and early April. The late February sun warmed the melting snow cover and the temperatures flirted with 50.

On Saturday, I rode my road bike down to Lucky’s to meet with family members for lunch. Later, in the very late afternoon, I put the child seat on the hybrid bike and gave a grandson a ride to DQ in Hiawatha. It was full dark by the time we finished our treat, and he rode home in a car with his mom, but heading to DQ with a chatty 4-year-old was fun.

Today, I wrote a quiz for a Monday morning class, and around 4:30 p.m. left home to go print it. I took a rather indirect route, going over to the Cedar River Trail again, and circling Cedar Lake before I headed to the Mount Mercy campus to print the quiz.

Some sky views from the Cedar River Trail and Cedar Lake from the Sunday ride.

I may ride to work Monday, but I doubt this week will be as good for biking as the last week was.

Still, it was a nice to have a foreshadowing of spring, which is inevitably coming. One more week of February and a winter storm before we get there, though!

Cedar Lake, Feb. 23.

Deer watches as I ride down Cedar River Trail.

Rounding the south end of Cedar Lake.

Birds and water at north end of Cedar Lake.

Another view of duck. I think it's the same one, and I didn't reverse an image--duck swan in a circle.

Coming in for a landing on ice near water at Cedar Lake.

In Which The Cold Sun Shines

Sunshine on a frozen pond this afternoon.

 I was leaving work this afternoon and happened to run into the Provost of Mount Mercy University. How cold does it have to be, he asked, before I would not ride?

It was about zero this morning, which a bit of a wind that made a 10 below or so wind chill. Honestly, that was not too bad of a problem because the wind was from the west and my ride was mostly south. But, at a couple of points in the ride and I do turn to the west for a few blocks--and when I did that this morning, the ride didn't seem like such a good idea.

Still, I was dressed well, and was fairly comfortable when I go to campus. The ride home was sunnier, but still cold, yet pretty, too. When I was nearly hope, I looped around the C Avenue Pond, just to look at the light.

As I crossed the C Avenue Bridge over Dry Creek, I noticed six or so deer not far from the road in the creek valley.

All in all, despite the chill, it was a nice day to ride.

Deer in the creek bed.

In Which I Climbed Macho Mountain

Sun setting during Feb. 19 bicycle ride home. Looking west from corner of C Avenue and Blair's Ferry around 5:30 p.m.

After some poor weather and limited biking last week, this week has been very cold, but still a refreshing change. I had to drive to work Monday due to a cold rain, but on Sunday, Tuesday and today, I ride my mountain bike to campus.

The Fancy Beast has been serving me well.

Sunday’s ride was the warmest, and on my ride to campus in the afternoon to work on the campus newspaper, I took the “back way.” When I ride to campus, I come in from the north by Warde Hall. There’s always the Hill to climb, but if I’m feeling lazy, I’ll take the drive that leads to the Wade Hall parking lot—it’s the gentlest ride.

Most days, I enter campus via the Prairie Street parking lot in front of Warde Hall, which is a bit of a hill climb. The hill by Basile Hall, which I sometimes use, is a bit more of a challenge, although I use it now and then.

But Sunday, I circled around to the south side of the campus, to ride up Mercy Drive. I think of that route as “Macho Mountain,” which is a private joke because, while the steepest ride up the MMU Hill, it’s surely not Hawk Hill near the Golden Gate Bridge. Still, I feel a small sense of accomplishment for taking that route to the library.

Feb. 16, Sunday milky sunshine through the clouds. It's mid afternoon and I'm biking to work.

Feb. 16, some melting snow.

Mercy Drive on Feb. 16, the bottom of Macho Mountain, I pause before I climb.

On Tuesday and today, I also rode my bike. This week, it has been winter cold, February in Iowa with a vengeance, but luckily not polar vortex cold. I’ve been dressed for it.

I’m looking forward to warmer weather, which should arrive at the end of this week. I’m hoping to enjoy some rides on the hybrid bike or road bike. The mountain bike is serviceable as my winter beater vehicle—and is good to be riding when there may be a few patches of ice on the ride. I do appreciate the wide tyres on that bicycle.

Feb. 18--Rain fell Monday and froze--but luckily pavement was mostly dry on a cold Tuesday morning. Sunshine from my bike parking spot after I get to campus in the morning.

A few icy spots Tuesday morning on C Avenue--but Fancy Beast was up to the task.

Bike parked Tuesday morning. Cold, sunny day.

It was gray and brisk when I cycled to campus this morning. And midday, snow was swirling in the air and I was regretting my decision to ride the bike. But in the afternoon, the sun was finally shining again and the little snow that fell was swept away by the brisk wind.

I rode into that wind, and it was rather cold on my ride home. Still, there’s an upside to that cold winter wind, as the pavement was again bare. In winter biking, that’s an acceptable tradeoff.

Feb. 19--snow falling midday at MMU--on my bicycle parked by the library.

Another view of the parked Fancy Beast as snow falls.

Feb. 16--sun view from MMU campus as I am crossing the middle of campus as I bike home.

We are well past the midpoint of February. In this leap year, we have but 10 days to go in this shortest month of the year. March in Iowa can be anything—winter and spring in any combination. Dry or wet, warm or bitterly cold—who knows what March will bring? But March is the transition month, the change time. April and May and great riding weather are on the way.

I’m grateful that this February has not been as harsh as many others, and I’m glad that I’ve been able to ride three days already this week and yet should be able to ride more.