In Which I Look Back at Biking in 2020

How was you biking year? It is strange to think of how different 2020 was back in January before we wore masks and stayed apart. How each biking year in Iowa is punctuated by RAGBRAI, and how worried I was that the new Iowa Ride and RAGBRAI might hurt each other.

And then came March.

Well, biking has long been an important stress reliever for me, and there was a lot of stress to relieve in 2020.

It was a year in which I tried some new routes—finding out how to get to the Grant Wood Trail from my house, and then on a later ride going on the grassy second leg of the trail. I rode to Solon for the first time on the Hoover Trail south of town. Although we had done it before, it was still an adventure when my sister and I rode 100 miles one day, going north on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.

I also “met” people from many diverse places when Fred Zelt created the “Social Distance Cycling Club” group on Facebook. At some 7,000 members, it’s smaller than a RAGBRAI, but still a pleasant crowd of people who share a range of biking experiences and locations. Thanks, Fred.

I am not sure what to expect from 2021. Will there be a RAGBRAI? To what extent will I participate if there is one? If 2020 taught us anything, it is that nothing is for certain.

Mural on city parking garage at Greene Square, downtown Cedar Rapids. It's along the Cedar River Trail, which is part of the planned national trail route.

So, the past biking year is not what I expected. As I look ahead, I am glad that Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is near the center of a gradually linking national trail, and I hope some day to take it to new places. Maybe I’ll see “Lost in the Pond” man on the trail.

Here is a look back at highlights from my year on my bicycles:

• Jan. 9: It’s not my first ride of the year, but this winter ride included some of the prettiest sunset images at Cedar Lake that I’ve ever made.

• April 2: One of my early posts to share with the Social Distance Cycling Club—I ride from my house to the Grant Wood Trail for the first time.

• June 7: My sister had told me that she had ridden her trike to Solon, but to me, the Hoover Trail ended a few miles south of Ely, well north of Solon. On this day, I find out that one can indeed ride the trail all the way to Solon—a route my sister and I use later on faux RAGBRAI.

• June 29: I enjoy a pleasant ride to a park with one of my grandchildren, and return to the route to try to photograph a butterfly we had seen, when the butterfly tries to steal my bike.

• July 14: I take The Fancy Beast, my old mountain bike, for a ride farther on the Grant Wood Trail than I had been, only to be attacked by forest beasts. Fortunately, both biker and beast emerge unharmed from the experience.

• July 25: On the week when RAGBRAI would have happened, one my sisters and I decide to ride the equivalent number of miles on local routes. This is a description of our century day.

• July 26: My wrap-up of the week that was not RAGBRAI. We reached 356 miles that week.

• Dec. 22: And finally, my report of some pretty rides on the shortest days of the year.

Well, that’s it for 2020. I did not ride in the final three days ft the year as 10 inches of snow fell in my town, but I’m hoping for pleasant biking miles in 2021. And, knock on wood, when and if things change, maybe we can share a few rides in person. Happy trails!