In Which Biking Alone Becomes More Social

Outdoor stage at Lowe Park in Marion Iowa after sunset on March 26.

My bike rides this week have been short, and late. I’ve been busy during the day.

Thursday was no exception, and by the time all was said and done, it was pushing 7 p.m. I decided to ride in the twilight, and got the road bike out for a quick trip to the trail at Lowe Park in Marion.

I passed a few bikers, walkers and runners. I was fairly well lit, but I was surprised at how dark some others were—on the way home, long after sunset in the full dark of early night, I encountered a walker going in the opposite direction. He clearly saw me coming and we were both on the far right edge of the pavement—but I didn’t see him until I was almost on top of him. He had on black clothing, head to toe, with a hood up against the evening chill.

I hope he didn’t cross many streets.

Anyway, although I saw a number of people, the traffic was light, and I avoided any close physical proximity. I thought it was just restful to be out—my brief bicycle rides this week have been good for stress release.

Facebook banner of group.

And my brother-in-law sent me, earlier this week, a link to a Facebook public group that I’ve joined, the “Social Distance Cycling Club.” Other than the Linn County Trail Association, which I just support through membership, and my RAGBRAI team, bicycle is mostly a solitary activity for me.

Anyway, the Facebook group is all about sharing socially distance cycling in the time of COVID-19. It’s fun, seeing all the images from around the country—and Iowa seems well represented in the group. One Des Moines cycles posted a short video of the musical pipes at Water Works Park in Des Moines—something like that, sculptures designed to sing when the wind passes over them—would be cool to have along all of the new trails that are in the planning stage in my area.

As I noted, I’m like Lobo on the bike. I hunt my biking pleasures alone. The Facebook group does allow me to see materials posted by some kindred spirits.

So my solitary activity is now linked to something social in a time of hunkering down and keeping our distance from each other. Cool.

In Which The RAGBRAI Shirt Is Totally Awesome

Most awesome bking T-shirt ever. And that's exactly what I will look like for RAGBRAI.

It's raining in Paraguay today, so no biking (or hiking, which had been the plan) but that doesn't have to mean no blogging ....

Check out “All Sorts of Awesome” on Facebook sometime. It’s a page my talented oldest daughter maintains, showing some of her art.

And here you see a sample. I don’t know how they got me to model a design she did in England, but that totally looks like my torso, in that it has two arms and in that I plan to cover my torso in that design.

Which is awesome. Contact me at joesheller@hotmail.com if you want such an awesome shirt. If I sell any, I’ll dedicate the profits to my daughter in Norwich, England. Because she’s awesome.

A Few Words of Advice To A New Biker

I was pleasantly surprised to learn, via Facebook, that someone I know who has not ridden a bike in more than a decade has started to cycle, a bit, again.

Well, bravo.  Welcome to the biker universe.  As a long-time resident of this existence, pleas indulge me as I offer some advice.

First of all, take it easy.  I know that your legs were in pain following your first ride.  One of the prime rules of biking is that it only has to be as vigorous as you make it—it’s OK to go slow.  Even a slow biker will get around amazingly quick compared to a pedestrian, and you don’t need to compete with the gazelle bikers out there.

Second, get a light.  Even if you don’t ever plan to ride in the dark, it’s a good idea.  The days are drawing short, and sometimes even clouds can made a light a good idea.

Third, keep it up.  Biking is like anything.  I bet it will grow on you.  You’ll start to notice the trees, the little houses or lawn ornaments you used to pass by in a car without seeing.  Biking means being out in the world, and the world is an interesting place.

Fourth, don’t let jerks discourage you.  Sooner or later, probably sooner, these days, you’ll encounter a rude driver who might shout something or zoom angrily by you.  Well, even an interesting world has its percentage of jerks.  I would hope you choose not to let them have any impact on you.

Fifth, don’t let yourself discourage you.  The sore legs will heal.  If you keep biking, it won’t be long before the legs are not sore anymore.

Well, that’s it.  Somehow, I doubt this new rider will be doing RAGBRAI any time soon.  Then again, I didn’t think I would do RAGBRAI either, and I was wrong.