In Which I Ride with Stinky Stubby

I head out to get my bike. I still have to put on coat and mittens.

I wrote earlier this month that, thanks to a sliced tendon in my left index finger, and wearing a splint on that finger, I was done with biking in 2020.

Well, cycling friends, often our problems are not as bad as they seem. This week, I got the stitches removed. I was impressed, while the splint was off, that the final joint of the finger did not curl over, but I was able to briefly hold the finger straight. Getting the stitches out hurt, but only briefly, and otherwise the finger seems to be healing well.

But it also smells bad. A splint holds in dead skin cells, skin oil and sweat. Even without infection, and I have no signs of infection, my stinky stub has an unpleasant odor.

Well, whatever—it’s not nice, but also not all that strong. And this week, it’s been cold enough in Iowa that I’ve had to cover my hands to drive to work. One reason I thought my biking days were on hold was I cannot fit a glove over the splint. But this week, I found I can slide on a mitten, as long as I’m careful and slow in removing it.

So, late this afternoon, I decided to take the mountain bike for a spin and see how it went. It was already close to 4 and getting dim when I left, so I figured it would be a short ride.

Early in ride, crossing C Avenue Bridge over Dry Creek. CR did a decent snow removal job on bridge. Snow fell six days ago.

End of the trail ride on Lindale Trail. The trail is half in Cedar Rapids and half in Marion. CR cleared its snow, Marion did not. Oh well, I just turned around and rode an alternate route.

I planned to ride down the Lindale Trail and through a neighborhood in Marion to reach the Boyson Trail, but it turned out that only the Cedar Rapids end of the trail has been cleared of snow. So instead, I turned back to C Avenue, rode up to the pond at Collins Aerospace, and then looped around the neighborhood south of Dry Creek. In all, I think I only went 3 to 4 miles—I don’t have a holder for the GPS computer on the mountain bike.

Sunset at corner of C Avenue and Blairs Ferry Road.

Here and below, late afternoon views of icy C Avenue Pond at Collins Aerospace.

It was only a short ride. Handling the controls with a stiff index finger did take a little adjusting, but it was not bad. It was cool, in the 30s and breezy, but not so cold that I needed long underwear. For a winter ride, it was short, but comfortable.

Weather willing, there may yet be a few more miles for CR biker this year. Even with stinky stubby.

My mountain bike, that I named The Fancy Beast, in my driveway at the end of the riding experiment. Success! CR Biker can get back on the seat.