In Which I Seem Near My Goal

Dec. 19--Cedar Lake sunset, rode by lake on one of the nice December afternoons.

I don’t want to jinx it, but as of Dec. 19, I have ridden just about 3,293 miles this year—just 7 miles short of my 3,300-mile goal.

It’s been a weird December—in the pattern of November, it’s been mostly dry and unusually warm, although it also featured a few very cold days where full winter regalia was called for.

December is a very busy month, so squeezing miles in has been a challenge—but again, it appears I may soon reach my biking goal, so I can’t complain.

One reason was a fine ride in Des Moines. My youngest son who lives there is traveling to California with his wife and son to be with her family over the holidays, and we drove to Des Moines Dec. 14 to pick up their dog, who is staying with us for about two weeks.

He’s very big, but not, knock on wood, not a lot of work so far—we feed him and walk him and play a bit with him and he seems content. While his family is on vacation in California, he gets to be on vacation with us.

Dec. 14--Des Moines ride.

Anyway, we made a day of it. We drove to Des Moines in the morning, ate a late breakfast at a very fine diner there. In the afternoon, after the grandson’s nap, the plan was to play at a park. It was, in this warm December, one of the nice days, and my daughter-in-law and I decided to ride bikes to the park, while my son, wife and grandson drove there.

It turned out to be a ride of a bit more than 9 miles on a very fine afternoon. At first, we rode north through relatively quiet residential streets, and then met a bike trail that snakes along the south bank of one of the rivers in Des Moines. We turned east. In the distance, we could see the skyline of downtown and then the state Capitol, but the trail had a nice country feel to it, and the last few miles literally felt like a countryside ride along a pretty river valley.

Our goal was a playground at Easter Lake. We got there, we played for a while, and considered riding the 9 miles back—but it was December, days are short, and light was going to fade soon. One disadvantage of a country trail in Iowa is that when it gets dark, it’s very, very dark, and there would be no moon to help. Well, the drivers had brought a bike rack with them, just in case, and thus we put the bikes on the car, all squeezed in and rode back.

Dec. 14--My son's and daughter-in-law's bikes--my son let me borrow his--parked at Easter Lake Park. Grandson has a big smile for grandpa, too.

It was a pleasant ride. Not the longest of the month for me, as I did ride a 15.5-mile route on Dec. 9—but I really enjoyed the Des Moines trail and look forward to more visits on two wheels to Iowa’s capital city.

The final week of the semester at the university where I teach featured the taste of winter. There were mornings in the 20s where the windchill approach single digits. It was indeed cold, but the afternoons weren’t as bad, and with long underwear, warm boots and multiple layers, I found I could handle the commute, although I’m pretty sure I would not have wanted any longer rides on those days.

Today, we had an out-of-town commitment, which is a shame because it was again one of the unseasonably warm, sunny days. So no miles. Rain is coming—Christmas for us won’t be white, bur rather wet. Still, I’m hopeful to get in the few remaining miles, maybe, weather willing, on Thursday.

We’ll see. Still, it’s been a good December to be a biker in Iowa, and I’m closing in on my goal with a week and a half left in the month. That’s nice.

Miles so far this year: 3,292.97. As of Dec. 19 (I did not ride Dec. 20, as I noted), for the month: 116.16.

Map of the longest ride and more images from December rides:

Dec. 9--the longest ride.

Dec. 19--Passing Christmas lights on the way home.

Dec. 19--Another look at Cedar Lake.

Dec. 19--On colder days, mostly rode mountain bike, but today, rode the road bike. Parked at campus.

Dec. 19--Another view of the Christmas lights seen on ride home.

Dec. 19--Geese at Cedar Lake.

Dec. 12--Frosty morning at C Avenue Pond, one of the cold days.

Dec. 12--Grey and cool on bike ride home, but swing by Cedar Lake. They are a bit distant, so I'm not 100 percent, but I think three juvenile eagles were fishing.

Dec. 8--Deer by Boyson Trail on warm day.

Dec. 8--More deer by trail.

Dec. 8--Mountain bike on Boyson Trail.

In Which There May Have Been Eagles

Some snow and ice on sidewalk along Council Street. Not too hard to avoid, and the pavement was actually in good shape for a bike ride this afternoon.

I thought about it, but decided not to.

This afternoon, the air temperature was in the mid-20s Fahrenheit, with a brisk west wind making it feel in the lower teens. The day, as most have been lately, was grey and cold, with morning flurries.

But, as I finished grading a final exam around noon, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a nearby star shining brightly in the sky—my old pal Sol. It’s be a while, sunny.

So I decided this afternoon, in lieu of my first choice (a nap) or my second choice (tackle the mountain of school work) to take my first longish training ride of 2017.

Because it rained and snowed this week and flurried this morning, I decided the hybrid bike Clarence was a more appropriate choice than the road bike Argent. In fact, if one had been ride-able, I probably would have chosen a mountain bike.

Anyway, about 1:30 or so in the afternoon, I started out. I dressed in full winter regalia, including long underwear, clumpy boots and mittens, and it was a good thing. The wind was indeed brisk.

I headed up Devonshire, intending to take the north route along 74th Street to Council Street, and then head by sidewalk to the street that would take me to the Cedar River Trail in Hiawatha.

As it turned out, despite the snow and ice everywhere, the streets were in reasonably good shape. I could have ridden Argent after all. But when I got to Council Street, the sidewalk was a little icy in spots, so maybe having my trusty hybrid was not a terrible deal.

Cedar Lake this afternoon. Some open water at the north end attracts many birds, while a bit to the south, a goose (below) walks on the ice.

 The trail, when I go there, was in fine shape. A lady was on the bridge at the north end of Cedar Lake taking pictures there, and I paused to snap a few, too. Then I headed downtown, aiming for the Bridge of Lions.

I was not sure if I would go farther than that—but when I got there, I was still in a riding mood. The trial is closed by Sokol Park by a big, raw earthen dike, so I rode through Czech Village to C Street and turned towards Kirkwood.

I wondered how far I would have to go, but did not see any trail access until I got to Tait Cummins Memorial Park.

There I turned back onto the trail, and headed west again, thinking I would probably have to double back when I got near the dike, but also figuring I wanted to ride along the river, just in case there were eagles.

Well, although not entirely deserted—I saw one old man jogger and another old man biker (is it only mad dogs, Englishmen and old man bikers who will go out on the midday sun when what was their water bottles are slowly becoming slush bottles?). Mostly, however, I had the trial to myself, and despite the chill wind, it was kind of pretty.

View of Cedar River from bridge over creek that flows into the river between Mt. Trashmore and Tait Cummins Park. If you look carefully, you'll see CR Biker's shadow. The trail, below, felt quit and isolated, which is pretty nice, to be honest.

 And when I got past Mt. Trashmore and headed around the bend to where I could, in the distance, again see the Bridge of Lions, the dike lay in my path. But, at the far east end of the dike, there were muddy bike prints leading to the street. I took those, and it turned out I need not have gone so far down C Street—there is about a two-block detour that leads back to Czech Village.

As I cycle west on Cedar River Trail, I meet the east end of the new dike built for Czech Village. But, as you can se by the "Road Closed" sign, there are bike tyre track to the street. As I get on the street, some old guy (below) passes me. What is it about cold winter days that draws crazy old men bikers?

I took it, and again biked across the Bridge of Lions. As I got to the north end of the bridge, movement in the sky to my right caught my eye.

There were a pair of birds, wheeling about well above the water. They were not terribly far away, maybe halfway between me and Mt. Trashmore, but they were wheeling away from me.

I quickly reversed course and rode on the sidewalk of the bridge, hoping to get to a place where I could try a shot with my point-and-shoot camera.

Looking east from Bridge of Lions at the sky where, seconds before, two large birds were circling. They could have been turkey vultures or hawks, but I thought I saw a white head and tail on one--and that would mean eagle. Could not be sure due to distance. Oh well, I move on, but pause again to look back at bridge (below).

 No dice. In just a few seconds, they were gone. At the distance I was, I wasn’t 100 percent sure—but they sure looked like eagles to me. One in particular, I think, had the characteristic white head and tail. The other was all dark, which would make it a younger bird.

Well, I didn’t get their picture, but it sure didn’t spoil my nice bike ride. I turned back to the trail.

I thought about heading out to the Prairie Park Fishery, but it was getting a bit late, so I just headed back along the Cedar River Trail. That is what I thought about and decided not to.

Minor bit of biking drama by Federal Courthouse. I did not notice right boot was becoming untied, and lace snagged in chain. The potentially dramatic story has a happy ending mostly because the person riding the bike is a very slow biker, and so had plenty of time to react before said lace got too enmeshed. I just had to stop, pull the lace and tie by boot. My fingers did get greasy, though.

Two scenes from afternoon ride--The east side of Cedar Lake looking west at sky growing cloudy (above) and a view of a factory across the Cedar River from the north shore on my ride back.

On the way home, I stopped at Mount Mercy to check my email and pick up some of my spring text books.

It was just past 5 by the time I left campus, and the sky was looking very pretty. More clouds were coming in, but at least there was a pretty sunset, which has been rare, lately.

I don’t know exactly how far I biked today because I was riding the bike that does not have a computer. I was away from home for 4 hours, but at least one of those hours was in my office. Still, I’m thinking I probably did more than 20 miles, which isn’t bad for a first long ride of the year on a raw January Friday.

Clarence, above, had bike rack at Warde Hall all to himself. Pretty sunset (below) as I leave campus.

 

In Which The Eagle Quest Has a Tiny Success

The Beast parked in my office hallway today. Because, below, the rack is blocked by snow.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, it was just too darn cold to ride a bicycle. Wind chills of 30 below will cure me of the biking habit.

But today, the morning temperature was in the positive zone. A stiff, cold wind was blowing, but the chill was just not as bitter as it has been. So, I decided to take the chance. It worked out OK—I got a bit cool on the way in, but it wasn't too bad. In the middle of the day, the sun came out, and I was looking forward to a sunny bike ride home this afternoon.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the trail. Before I left campus, clouds rolled back in.

However, the temperature did not drop, and even if it was chilly as I started my afternoon ride, I was well dressed for it. I swung down to Cedar Lake, hoping that maybe the recent cold snap had reduced available open water, and perhaps some eagles might be found by that body of water.

Nope. But since the day was, well not really nice but not totally crappy, I decided to keep going and check out the river. I've recently ridden east to cross at the lion bridge, and I thought that possibly I saw an eagle in the distance when I rode that way, but I’m not sure. So I decided to head west today instead, biking towards the Ellis Trail.

That’s a slightly dicey choice. Because of construction, finding a bicycle route to cross the river downtown isn't easy right now—and I ended up riding on a sidewalk so I could cross going the wrong way on a one-way street. But I made it to the west side, and turned west on the riverfront walk, heading towards the five-in-one dam.

That’s where I was hoping to find a few eagles. The churning water keeps a large area of river open, and probably makes life a bit easier for a carnivorous bird that has a taste for fish.

5-in-1 dam and river. Looks like good fishing area to me. Where are the eagles?

Lots of birds, some of them large. But not our nation's symbolic bird.

Pigeons roost on the I-380 bridge, the top level of the 5-in-1 dam. Looks like another snack bar for eagles, to me.

I suppose one issue might be that a lot of the river is open water despite recent cold. There are lots of spots for eagles to fish in.

But, no. There were lots of birds in and near the open water—geese, some sort of gull, pigeons—many of which would probably not be hanging around if an eagle were nearby in the sky. If an eagle can’t grab a fish, it will gladly snack on a pigeon.

After I crossed the dam, the river closed into a solid sheet of ice. It didn't look like eagle country to me, and I headed west just to finish the loop of the trail by the river, planning to try some other day to find the big dinosaurs.

And I decided to stop, briefly, and photograph the river.

This is what the river looks like all frozen over. Amanda Moscou,  I should caption this picture "spring in Iowa."

That’s when I noticed something. There was a nest in a large tree across the river—a large nest high up in a very large tree. And sitting in the tree next to the nest (the bird was in the next tree, not the tree with the nest) was a bird. At that distance, I wasn't at first 100 percent sure—but it looked pretty big. I think in this area only a turkey or an eagle would be that size—as the dark bird looked way too large to be a hawk. Still, at this distance I was partly guessing at size.

The bird just sat there, but then it turned its head. And when the angle on its head changed, even at a distance where I could barely see it, I was suddenly sure.

That head: white. A big dark bird with a white head that sits high in a tree by a river? Here in Iowa, there’s only one option: eagle.

I put my compact point-and-shoot  camera at max and tried to snap a photo. It was not easy—when the little camera is at maximum range setting, it’s easy to “lose” an object because the field of vision is so small. And camera shake might make the photo blurry, anyway.

So I knelt down behind a park bench that was beside the trail, resting the camera on the back of the bench. I must have looked odd to passing motorists—who is that strange man who prays alone at a bench by an icy river? As I shot, I could not tell if the pictures were clear, and as you can see, they are not super sharp. But, they are sharp enough. The photos confirm it. That dot on the horizon, maybe more than a mile away from me across a wide stretch of the Cedar River, was for sure a bald eagle.

Two views. You can see the head, the body shape and, if you look close, the white tail. Even, barely, the pointy curved-down beak. Definitely an eagle.

The nest is in the tree to the left, just a bit beyond the field of view for this photo. This bird is a mile or so west of the dam,but then again, as big as eagles are and as powerfully as they fly, it's a pretty easy short flight for this bird. Maybe it does go their for lunch, fish or pigeon.

Well, I can’t whine anymore about not seeing any eagles. Granted, in the past I've been much closer to them—maybe 20 yards away when a group of them roosted in trees by Cedar Lake. Once, on a March bike ride we (Matt, one of my sons but I am not sure which one, and I) passed very close by an eagle in a tree.

So, this is only a tiny success, a distant look at an eagle. Still, it beats not seeing an eagle.

TV reporter from KWWL was by the river, too. Not for eagles--she said she was shooting a story at the site where a car eluding police recently hit a school bus. The suspect faces more charges and police are seeking him.

In Which a Commute Turns Into 25 Miles

I left campus and headed south--crossed the river and went as far as the beaver pond that is just beyond the Mt. Trashmore area. Francis after I've turned around--note how dry the pavement is.

When I rode my bike to campus just before noon today, 37th Street was pretty bad. In contrast, much of the route was OK—I was pleasantly surprised at how much the sidewalk on C Avenue had improved.

But the streets around Kenwood School seem still to come from the Land That Snowplows Forgot.

Bottom of 37th Street hill. I just rode down this hill. Did not want to ride up it later in the day.

So on the way home, I decided to try the trail instead. I figured if it had been cleared (and it usually is) then it would be in better shape than the streets I rode on.

I also decided, partly because I had my nice camera with me, to head down to Cedar Lake. I’m anxious to catch some eagles this winter. As it turned out, the lake is too iced over right now to have an eagle-friendly spot.

I was enjoying the quiet and solitude of the trail in winter—passing by a few hardy dog walkers, one or two joggers and nobody else—that I kept going. I wondered if I would see eagles down by the river. I didn't, but it was a quiet, pretty ride despite the grey, cool day.

Birds on Cedar River near Federal Courthouse.

I did startle a hawk of some sort, which flew up in front of me about 10 yards away and tore off through the trees. I saw it roosting and looking broodingly at me, but it was gone by the time I got my camera out.

Still, even if I did not capture the hawk’s image or see my eagle, I did catch a murder.

It seemed like all the crows in Cedar Rapids were gathered by the lion’s bridge, most in the trees, some out on the ice of the river. I don’t know why they were gathered, just that they were.

One of the crows takes flight.

I rode about three hours, and I guess I probably did about 25 miles today. Not sure I will ride tomorrow—I have a dentist appointment, I need to do some grocery shopping and I’m planning on visiting my daughter and her children, so the speed of car commuting may be too good to pass up.

Still, a few good sunny days in the 30s, and the streets will be in good shape and there won’t be any impediment to my biking and a few more trips to try to catch the elusive eagle.

Sun seen through the clouds near Mt. Trashmore. It was a grey day, but not so uniformly grey to be dull. My feet got cold, but I liked being out on the trail.

In Which Three Bikers Have Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

 

Learning to use the timer in three steps. Step 1--is it on? (yes). Step 2--can you see a red light blinking? (yes, but it's been blinking a while). Step 3--success, the three bikers, Me, Matt and Ben.

Thanks, Amanda, for the title. Well, the winds weren’t too bad and the sun was shining, so I invited Matt and Ben for a Thursday afternoon ride.

I rode my bike, Ben rode his and Matt borrowed Audrey’s bike. Which I don’t think was his favorite, but he was still willing to ride. We set out shortly after 2.

It was cool, but very nice compared with yesterday.

I took them south on the Cedar River Trail, hoping that when we got to the river, we would find eagles. We succeeded way beyond my expectations.

Shortly after we passed the new Federal Courthouse, there in a tree between us and the river sat a very large, very majestic bird. She or he wasn’t in the mood for visitors, and the eagle leapt in to the air, spreading its 5-foot wingspan and launching into the sky over the river. It was probably just five feet from us. It was very much a close encounter of the bird kind.

As Ben said, when you see an eagle up close, you can easily believe that birds are closely related to dinosaurs. Matt noted that he’s glad he’s not a small creature, like a little dog. That bird looked big enough to abscond with such a critter.

Well, talk about good omens. The sun continued to shine brightly as we, jazzed by our first eagle encounter, crossed the river and headed east towards Mt. Trashmore.

And there, circling above us, being followed by a white gull, was another eagle. I attempted to shoot it’s picture, which was not easy with my point and shoot, but as you can see, I got at least one in-focus shot.

No doubt about it. What was circlng overhead was indeed a bald eagle.

We continued. In a woodsy areas, at the top of a cottonwood near the river, there was a third eagle. I stopped to grab my camera, indicated it to Ben and Matt, but the eagle was having none of it and, as these birds can, made a very quick exit.

Well, I think I might have seen more eagles the other week when I was on this stretch of trail alone—but most were distant. This was three clear and close eagle sightings. We were getting a bit chilled, especially Matt, who had not worn warm socks. California kid. We turned and headed home.

All in all, 2 ½ hours well spent. Despite the early spring cool, a nice ride.

In Which The New Gloves Are On For Spring

I've got my spring gloves on, baby. Note no coat: It was winter in the morning, spring in the afternoon.

My life as a hand model. Reaching for spring.

Today’s fashion biking news: It was winter when I left home this morning, the sky grey with a hint of potential snow. I was lucky and no flakes flew on the way to work, but when I got there I parked inside in the hallway. Snow still blocks the bike rack. Things were about to change.

By mid-day, it had cleared off, gotten sunny and some serious early spring thawing was in the air. My wife and I participated in a “pi day” walk at Mount Mercy, and trekked outdoors sans coats. It was a bit cool, but turning nice.

I had to stay on campus until about 6, getting a mid-term exam ready for Friday morning—however, with daylight savings time, the sun was low but still shining when I was ready to go. It was warm enough to bike without my coat, and I thus decided to wear new bike gloves that my sweetie got me for Christmas.

Well, I didn’t have time to take an extra long ride home on the trail. Still, it was still a very nice biking day. I think I made it home in 25 minutes, which is pretty quick for me.

The long slow winter, which was so mild back in January but has been so snow packed since, is finally beginning to yield to a new time of year. It’s not greening up yet, and I’ve yet to see a flower on my rides, but the turn today was symbolic of a larger turn coming. Or so I hope.

Anyway, I missed biking Wednesday, which was a nice weather day, due to an 8 a.m. class. I’m hoping to bike tomorrow, but will have to get an early start. Not sure it will happen—I’m picking up my daughter and her family at the airport late tonight, so we’ll see.

For today, I was happy to be biking home with no coat, wearing new bike gloves. Welcome, spring, please stick around for a while.

Tuesday, ride home. You can't see it well, but it's snowing as I near home. But, at least the flooding in Dry Creek has gone down. No spring gloves that day!

What I saw Wednesday and again today. Is it the urban eagle? It's hard to see, it's far away, but some majestic bird of prey is circling CR. During the pi day walk today, there were two, and I"m pretty sure they were eagles.