In Which Sand Beats Sommer

I've just turned onto the "Interurban Trail," one I've never been on before. I'm not even sure I'm on a trail, but it turns out I was.

No, Sommer wasn’t another candidate in the Democratic primary for governor this year. As you may recall, Sommer Livin is my name for my tricycle—and what temporarily defeated (de-wheeled?) her was literal, gritty sand.

I finished May with almost 338 riding miles, which I consider respectable, but slightly disappointing because I rode a few more (almost 378) in March. Checking my ride records, there were a few 20 plus rides in March, including one 42-mile day. I rode more days in May, but just didn’t do rides that were that long.

Deer on Lindale Trail May 17.

Stretch of Cedar Valley Nature Trail north of Boyson Road has new paving, seen on trike ride May 14.

New art under Highway 13 on Grant Wood Trail, image made during trike ride May 13.

May 12--Snake on a trail! On side trail off of Boyson Trail, heading towards Menards area.

May 17--I see my first Monarch of the year on the Lindale Trail.

No matter, I rolled across this warming planet and enjoyed myself. Except when I couldn’t roll—as we’ll get to. It’s June here in Iowa now, and seems a very warm, summery June. My most interesting (and longest recent) ride was this Monday, June 1. I hadn’t planned to ride a particularly challenging route that day, but just wanted to enjoy a fine summer day on the first day of the new month, so I set off from home, heading south on the Cedar River Trail.

My goal was to ride to the Prairie Park Fishery. I did, and circled the lake there, and considered. Did I want to ride the Sac and Fox Trail? In the past, I usually used my mountain bike for that trail, but have permanently retired that bike. Sommer, however, has fairly wide tyres, and the weather has been dry—the Sac and Fox Trail is not paved, and I would not have tried riding it in damp conditions.

The problem wasn’t the S and F itself—the issue is where I would be once I finished the trail. The Prairie Park Fishery is at the south end of the trail. The north end is in a city park off of East Post Road south of Cottage Grove Avenue.

I’ve ridden a bicycle home on Cottage Grove Avenue before—but I don’t consider its full length to be trike rideable. I knew that further west of where I was there is a bike lane, but there’s not one that goes as far as the neighborhood where the Sac and Fox Trail ends.

Well, just last week I had ridden a bicycle to the Bever Park neighborhood on a ride with a grandson—so I knew going along Cottage Grove wasn’t my sole option. The Bever Park area features quiet side streets and a bike lane along its main drag that made triking at least worth considering, so I decided to take a chance.

I made several discoveries along the Sac and Fox ride. The main one, I am pleased to report, is that when it’s dry, Sommer can easily handle the Sac and Fox. I can put that trail back into my riding rotation even if I have to skip the side mountain bike trails that I used to ride. It takes some time to get to this trail—in the past, I often drove to the north end with my mountain bike in my van—and I won’t ride it often, but it’s a good trail on the right days. And Monday was a right day.

Another discovery was a bit amusing. I entered the trail from the south and went north. It’s about 7 miles, and midway through the ride, I passed some orange fencing rolled up on the side. Hmm. Weird. Then, I passed a road where a bridge is being replaced. The unpaved trail gave way to soft ground, and it felt like I was crossing a construction zone.

Workers and equipment were off to both the left and right, and I very much felt out of place. Sommer slowed in the soft ground, but didn’t bog down. I passed the short, odd construction segment and continued north—only to encounter a barrier across the trail. I rode around it to the other side, and it proclaimed “trail closed.” Why was it closed headed south, but open headed north? Was the rolled-up fencing an error?

Sign (above) seen after I came from that direction--above. It's closed headed south but was open riding north. And me with sign on cell phone image I posted during my ride (below).

Anyway, while Sommer is trail ready, I’m not sure the trail is meant to be ready for riding, so it will probably be some months before I again ride the Sac and Fox.

At the park at the trail’s north end, I picked up a trail map and considered my options. My vague plan was to head south on the wide sidewalk beside East Post Road until I got to a quiet street, then turn right and worm my way to the Bever Park area. I don’t really know the route, however, and I’m far more adventurous on a bicycle where my field of vision is much better than I am on my tricycle.

Hmmm. The map showed, as a dotted line, the “Interurban Trail,” which looked to be nearby and looked to reach East Post Road. Was that an option?

I passed a driveway with no mailbox or house visible, and wondered if that was the trail. Fortunately, I didn’t take that route, because a bit more along the road, I found what clearly looked to be a grass trail headed west. There was no sign to identify it, but there was clearly a path along a line of utility poles, so I turned west on the grass and started out.

The “trail” was very primitive and bumpy. After a few yards, I stopped, and attempted to call up Google Maps on my phone to see if it would help confirm where I was. As I was looking at the tiny screen, a biker on a mountain bike came up behind me and passed me, continuing west. Well, that seemed like evidence this grassy walkway might be the elusive Interurban Trail, so on I went.

It was a little weird. I would have been much more comfortable here on a mountain bike, but Sommer was up to the route. That is, until I crossed a street and reached a sandy stretch. I attempted to ride there, but almost immediately my rear drive wheel started tossing sand in the air as the trike stopped all forward movement.

Yikes! I unhooked my feet and prepared to push the trike. However, the ground was level and I could move my side wheels by hand and “walk” with my legs. The level ground was important, because unclipping your feet on a trike might be an invitation to run over your legs, which is a painful experience best avoided. Anyway, between walky feet and pushy hands, I slowly sloshed about 20 yards to the end of the inconvenient, but thankfully small, sandy area.

I've just manually moved trike through the "beach" on the Interurban Trail.

The trail continued. At times, it felt like I was just triking along at the edge of someone’s backyard, but the journey carried on. Then, I reached a narrow, quiet paved street. It looked like a driveway, but had a street sign. I had trouble figuring out where it was, so I asked a gentleman who was walking his dog where I was. He pointed to a corner shortly ahead, and said I could turn there and go left to reach Bever Avenue or turn right to reach Cottage Grove Avenue.

Well, bad news. On the map, the Interurban Trail continues to Bever Park, and my plan was to take the trail all the way there—but across the street from me there was a fence and gate blocking the trail. I learned later from one of my daughters that the trail in fact does continue—one can walk around the blocking gate—but I couldn’t see a way to ride a trike there.

Honestly, I didn’t want to tackle Cottage Grove Avenue—I was in the valley of a tributary of the Cedar River, and Cottage Grove climbs steeply out of that valley. I know from my time as a CR biker that the Cottage Grove hill is a monster.

My final few yards on the Interurban Trail--what appears to be a nicely paved driveway is actually a quiet, narrow street.

The side street that the nice man had directed me to had bike lanes, fortunately, so I turned left to head towards Bever Avenue. And looked ahead. The road I was on climbed out of the same valley that Cottage Grove Avenue does. And if I reached Bever Avenue, I would be some ways from an easy-to-trike route home.

But I have biked up Cottage Grove Avenue before. While it features a high hill, it also, this far west, features a bike lane. And if I reached the top of the mountain, I was pretty confident in several OK options to reach home. I could continue heading south and climb the unknown hill to Bever Avenue, or turn north towards the big, but known, Cottage Grove rise.

It was warm, I was tired. But I decided to go for it—I executed a U turn and headed back towards Cottage Grove. I got to s stop sign, turned left and headed up that mountain, riding in the bike lane.

It was a tough slog up that incline—but memory is a funny thing. While Cottage Grove features a very challenging hill, it was more challenging in my memory than in reality. Don’t get me wrong, it took a lot of effort to ascend, it just wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. Halfway up, I tried to comfort myself. Count 100 strokes, I told myself. Before you reach 100, you will be on top of the hill.

It wasn’t exactly a lie but also not exactly true—it took pretty much all of those 100 strokes to climb out of that valley—but it didn’t take more, so I guess it was OK. On a bike, my route home would be to turn right at Washington High School—but that’s a “bike” street, not a trike route. I decided to continue west on Cottage Grove Avenue, not a familiar route, and I was pleasantly surprised. What had been a bike lane turned into a dedicated bike trail between the street and sidewalk. I had to switch to the actual sidewalk when I crossed First Avenue, but soon found myself on familiar, quiet streets in the Mount Mercy area, and I was able to easily make my way back to the CeMar Trail for the familiar trip home.

So, I don’t know how June will end. Will I exceed March’s miles now that summer is here? I don’t know, and I hope I don’t worry about it too much. The journey, not the mileage total, is the point. Still, I rolled 29.55 miles on that warm summer day—including climbing what is one of the most daunting hills available in my town.

Not bad.

Trike at intersection of Creek Trail and Boyson Road late in the day May 17. I just liked the angle.

Young deer by Lindale Trail--not caring a human is riding by.

Memorial Day, May 25. I ride over to Oakshade Cemetery to say hi to my parents. They don't have a headstone yet, but one has been ordered.

In Which I Birthday Roll on Three Wheels

 

Aug. 30--Pausing on my birthday to take a picture of my new recumbent tricycle.

A conspiracy was afoot that I caught a few hints of, but didn’t get the whole story of until after the fact. And as a result, my biking life has significantly changed.

Is there anything for a biker more exciting than new bike day? For me, my Aug. 30 birthday this year was that exciting day. Although I had gone to the neighborhood bike shop and helped pick it out, and I rode it home, I was enjoined not to ride the new bike much until it was presented the morning of my 2/3 of a century day.

And “bike” is a loose term, related to bicycle, meaning two wheels. The new bike is technically a “trike,” a recumbent tricycle. Although I think the terms “bike” and “biking” are still broad enough to cover what I do on my cool new teal vehicle.

Sept. 5--Rode to campus where I worked before I retired, mostly to make flower images there and for a restroom break on trike ride. Model of the new trike shown on frame.

Tricycle parked at MMU bike rack.

Trike brand.

Me, reflected in campus building window.

The conspiracy started in January when I had heart bypass surgery. I’m getting up there in years, and while I was in the hospital, or so I’m told, one of my sisters suggested to my wife that maybe a trike would help me continue to roll as I become, shall we say, more mature. My children, my sister and my wife pooled resources to pull this off (a trike is an investment).

I have long been open to the idea of getting a recumbent tricycle. My four-person RAGBRAI group—comprised of my two younger sisters, a brother-in-law and me—has three members who ride trikes. They are slow uphill and fast downhill, and can stay even with this slow biker on the flats. And my teammates can ride all day without feeling the sore butt that bicycle riders must endure. An advantage to trikes.

A three-wheeled trike is, by its nature, more stable than a bicycle. Second advantage, one that grows more important as I age.

There are a few disadvantages, however. A trike is a larger vehicle than a bike, with a more substantial frame—add more metal, more structure, to anything and you add weight. And a recumbent tricycle is lower to the ground, which enhances its aerodynamics, but also means car drivers don’t see you as well. Nor, because you as the biker are lower, do you see them as well.

On balance, whether a tricycle makes sense depends on who you are and what kind of biker you are. I do a significant portion of my riding on bike trails, and a tricycle is perfect for that riding environment. And I haven’t given up bicycles. Just today (today being a loose term for when I first drafted this post, not the day I published it), I went for a bicycle ride on my hybrid bike because I was going to stop at a gym for a while. There is some street riding to get there. For in-town commuting via streets, I’m still going to ride a bicycle.

My sister Cate precedes me on Labor Day ride north on Cedar Valley Nature Trail.

Visiting new bike trail at Cedar Lake with new tricycle Aug. 31.

I parked trike outside during family lunch Aug. 31, when I came out for second ride, I had a visitor on the tricycle.

New trail at Cedar Lake, seen Aug. 31 while riding tricycle.

But I’ve also really enjoyed the new trike. I had decided well in advance of my birthday that, due to my wacky health history this year including heart bypass surgery and a follow-up procedure, I would split my usual birthday bike ride. I turned 67 this year on Saturday, Aug. 30, and I decided any rides Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday could count as birthday rides.

Well, I rolled way over that 67-mile goal, with most of those miles ridden on three wheels. On Friday, I rode my hybrid bike 12.86 miles. Then, on my birthday, I broke the trike for 20.6 miles. Then, on Sunday, I rode twice, 6.59 miles in the morning and 18.34 miles later in the afternoon (there was a very enjoyable family birthday lunch that day, hence the two rides). My sister, who lives in town and is on Team Joe, went on a 32.59 trike ride with me on Labor Day.

Counting all four days of my birthday weekend, I rode 90.98 miles. Just on the new trike alone, I put in 78.12 miles. All in all, a good 67^th birthday ride!

A few bike ride images to show I have not neglected by two-wheel steeds. On Sept. 2, I used my mountain bike to ride the Sac and Fox Trail, including one of the side mountain bike trails--although the limestone trail itself is best ridden with a mountain bike.

My mountain bike parked at south end of Sac and Fox Trail. I rode the Fancy Beast on the trail after parking at north end--after rest I had to ride the 7 miles back to the start. The ride was a bit over 14 miles, due to added distance from also riding a mountain bike trail beside the main trail.

In Marion, there is a side trail east of the Boyson Trail. It's been closed for months due to a large city utility project, but on Aug. 29, on my first birthday ride, I noticed it was again open. Bicycle on that trail. I don't know if I will trike this trail--tricycle may be too wide for a narrow bridge at one end of the trail.

Fixed the chain on my ancient (1970s vintage) tandem bike--wife and daughter and grandson rode a couple of miles with me on my birthday. My grandson and daughter rode this bike, after the derailed chain was put back in place. The biggest part of the project was removing and putting back on the chain guard (not shown, this is just after I fixed the chain).

 

In Which Long Rides Bring Various Encounters

Rode with this flag on the front of my mountain bike in mostly blue, sunny skies. An image from one of my final commutes to work the week before Spring Break.

Spring Break 2024—in the past, my wife and I have sometimes planned a trip for the week I have off teaching at a university. We didn’t do that this year, partly because we knew there were several times we were going to watch grandchildren, but unusually warm weather (which is over for now) made for some good opportunities for bike rides.

For example, on March 11, a Monday, I went on my first ride of more than 50 miles this year, riding down the Cedar River Trail to the Hoover Trail, ending up in the town of Solon, about a 25-mile journey from my house.

It was a warm day, with the temperature reaching 70, but also quite windy, so the ride was something of a challenge. It was a cross breeze most of the time, but was more against me as I headed south—which was by design, I was hoping the wind would help me a bit on the way back home.

My bike in Nature Rec Area in Solon, Iowa.

A few days before the ride, I had a mildly unpleasant encounter with a group of teen boys on the Lindale Trail. Nothing too scary, they were just a bit rude to an old man on a bicycle.

And I had a feeling of déjà vu as I left Solon. Behind me I could hear adolescent voices chattering. In my mirror, at some distance, I could pick out three riders rolling along together, headed my way.

In the scheme of things, I’m a relatively slow biker, and I assumed what I knew was a group of teens would eventually overtake me. I decided I would try to not to care, and not rush myself.

Anyway, I was on my road bike, my fastest vehicle. As it turned out, while the following bikers would sometimes approach a bit, at other times I would roll ahead. They never got close enough for me to see them well.

A few miles north of Solon, I got to a rest area that is across a county highway, where I planned to rest a bit. On a ride of this length, I’m deliberate about taking some off-bike time, and this was a designated break.

And I was there, resting on the bench, when the teens rolled up. And it was a slight surprise—three teen girls, indifferent to an old man. It’s amazing to me that, at a distance, the conversational noises made by groups of adolescences can sound like the same background noise, whether made by girls or boys.

Anyway, the girls hopped off of their bikes and gathered to take a selfie, jostling for position for the phone camera.

“Do you want a picture from farther away than arm’s length?” I asked.

Well, they did. And I shot a picture for them with one of their phones.

Shortly afterwards, I headed out, and wished them a good ride. “You have a good ride too,” they cooed like a flock of birds.

That encounter was the more pleasant one. And the earlier one, to be fair, was a minor incident on an overall nice ride. The wind was sometimes a challenge this week, but rides were still unexpectedly good for this time of year. Not all my encounters were human--I saw lots of wildlife, including the first butterflies.

I rode the Sac and Fox Trail on Wednesday. That day, I cycled down the Cedar River Trail to the New Bo area, and headed down Otis Road to the south end of the trail. After circling the lake at Prairie Park Fishery, I entered the Sac and Fox Trail, an unpaved trail that I ride on my mountain bike several times a summer.

My bike on mountain bike trial next to the Sac and Fox Trail.

Frog statue in park at north end of Sac and Fox Trail, someone in the neighborhood always dresses it for the season. It's ready for Saint Patrick's Day.

The trail proved a pleasant surprise. In the past, there have been some soft sandy spots and some rocky gravel areas. I skipped about 2 miles of the 7-mile trail by taking a mountain bike route through the woods, but the 5 miles or so of the Sac and Fox that I did ride were in great shape. Last year, they must have covered most of the trail with a new limestone layer—there were no tricky soft sandy spots, no gravel areas to crunch over. The Sac and Fox is always a nice trail because of its scenery , but it was much more ride-able than in the past. I could have ridden my hybrid bike here.  I probably wouldn’t—I like having a mountain bike on this trail, partly for the option of cycling the woods—still, early in the season in 2024, Cedar Rapids bikers, check out the Sac and Fox.

What else is new in my corner of the biking universe? Something important to me.

A week ago, a daughter had an out-of-town trip planned, and my wife and I agreed to watch her 7-year-old son for a couple of days. And my wife decided that, with the nice weather, we would help him practice riding a bicycle, a skill he had not yet mastered.

She drove him to a school parking lot in Marion on Saturday, and I rode a bike there to meet them. By the time I got there, he was already practicing and doing fairly well. He only could ride a few yards, but was starting to get it.

In his final ride that day, he went maybe 25 yards, his longest solo bicycle journey. He had agreed to the biking session in exchange for playing at the school playground, so we stopped the Saturday practice and played.

Sunday, we went back, this time to a nearby intermediate school with a slightly newer, larger, flatter parking lot.

And the breakthrough was achieved. That weird transition that a person makes, when biking seems too difficult and scary and theoretical, and them something between their brain and body clicks, the balance that eluded them starts to appear and their muscles learn that all you have to do to balance a bike is to keep it rolling—well, it’s magical to see.

Grandson is suddenly a biker!

Another biker has joined the tribe this Spring Break. I hope it foreshadows some pleasant rides coming this summer.

The 50-mile ride March 11 was my longest of 2024. We spent several days in Des Moines at the end of this week, which has also turned seasonably cold, so after Thursday I didn’t add any miles. Still, between March 9 and 14, I rode almost 150 miles (149.47). It included the 50-mile day and several days over 25 miles. It included using all three bikes. It was a nice spring biking break.

So far, on this Saint Patrick’s Day, a bit over halfway through this month, this old half-Irish rider has cycled 210.53 miles for the month, and 566.21 miles this year. More pictures from this Spring Break week:

March 9--Grant Wood Trail east of Marion. It must be a spring thing--usually I see these blackbirds 1 or 2 at a time, but they were in large groups today. Felt a little Hitchcock.

March 12--Deer crossing Lindale Trail.

March 14--Pretty sky seen at creek bend on trail in Marion--the side trail off of the Boyson Trail near Menard's.

Riding alone the Sac and Fox Trail March 11.

More deer March 12, Lindale Trail. A group of more than a dozen were crossing the trail and disappearing into a small patch of woods.

March 14--Is this bridge on the Lindale Trail? The Grant Wood Trail? Somewhere where these trails run together.

Start of Sac and Fox Trail March 13.

March 10--Bike at Cedar Lake.

Pretty sky March 9 on Grant Wood Trail east of Marion.

March 14--Final late-day ride of Spring Break.

Seeing more insects in general, but this butterfly, on final Spring Break Ride March 14 beside Lindale Trail, is a bit unusual to see at this time of year.

March 11--Stop at the rest area between Ely on Solon during long ride.

March 7--Turkey on Lindale Trail.

In Which I Blaze New Trails New and Old

Oct. 26--C Avenue Pond at Collins Aerospace steams on a cold fall morning. I think it was around 30 degrees (international friends, that's just below 0 in Celsius).

Hello, bikers, it’s been a minute. Busy times in the life of CR Biker.

Fall break this month was a few days of not biking as I traveled to Minnesota to visit a daughter and her family there—reportedly, the Twin Cities are a great biking hot spot, and I hope in the future to feature more rides there.

But the family are settling into a new place and I was there briefly with my wife to help some in that process, so the vehicle was full of stuff that did not include a bicycle or bicycles. Future Minnesota biking to come!

Anyway, I did do a few rides this month—some on older trails, some on new places as bike trails in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, continue to expand. I usually do at least one fall bike ride on the Sac and Fox Trail, a 7-mile unpaved trail. It’s best to have a mountain bike, and this year, for the first time, I rode some of the mountain bike side trails off of the Sac and Fox—so that trip was both trails old and new.

Oct. 7--Rode the Sac and Fox on a fall Friday afternoon--this is Cedar River seen from trail.

Oct. 7--The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike, on mountain bike trail off of the Sac and Fox Trail.

Oct. 7--Put bike in minivan and drove to north end of Sac and Fox Trail. My bike, ready to ride.

The Cedar River Trail, which had long been paved through town, became unpaved. Heavy equipment had to be brought in to take out trees destroyed in a destructive 2020 storm—the infamous derecho—and that equipment had basically converted paved trail back into gravel. It took some time to get all repairs done (and, to be fair the trail was not closed, it was just gravel for a while). One of my rides was to roll along that new pavement.

Most exciting, and closer to home, the westward expansion of the trail whose name confuses me (there long has been a Grant Wood Trail heading east from Marion and, more recently, a Lindale Trail headed from Cedar Rapids into Marion—now the trails have been joined, and I’m wondering if the “Lindale Trail” still exists or is or will be renamed to be part of the Grant Wood Trail—unsure) continue. It’s growing, like a long aside that can eat a blog post sentence.

Oct. 22--Riding to the new tunnel under Blair's Ferry Road.

Oct. 22--Bike with Tag-A-Long ready for ride to new tunnel.

Anyway, although paving is not done along this new trail, much of it is done. You can now ride under Blair’s Ferry Road. Because the trail after that still goes nowhere, it’s unclear if that will become my usual morning commute ride, or if I will continue heading south along C Avenue to the bike lane south of Collins Road, but we’ll see. Anyway, I took several grandsons under Blairs Ferry using my Tag-A-Long attached to Clarence, my hybrid bike.

For the record, grandsons love new trails at Halloween time. A great place to make sunset ghostly howls.

It’s been a fine, dry, warm fall in Iowa—great for biking even if the human and gardener in me wouldn’t mind a bit of wet stuff falling from the skies. We can, however, tell that that the seasons are shifting.

Mornings have become freezing cold at times, and the winter riding jacket, warm socks, gloved and the biking hat that fits under a helmet have all been found and worn.

Still, it’s not winter yet. I wear the jacket in the morning and stow it in backpack or bike bag for the ride home.

October is not quite over and I may do a few more miles, but so far this month I have rolled 211 miles. That gives me 2,406 for the year—still some 600 from my 3,000-mile goal. Not sure if I will make it, but it’s still possible. And certainly I’ll get within rounding of 3,000 miles.

And now, as happens when I have not posted for a while, a long gallery of October biking images: 

Oct. 3--Ride along Grant Wood Trail, seeing some last-minute fall insects. You can still find bugs in Iowa, but they are becoming increasingly scarce as frosty nights are common:

Pond at Waldo's Rock Park.

Big predator on Grant Wood Trail.

Mantis guarding my bicycle.

One nearby had been run over, glad I saw this one before it either was squished or froze.

Pretty sky on Grant Wood Trail.

Oct. 7--I was on my own for part of October, as my wife was helping my daughter in Minnesota. One of my "bachelor" Friday afternoons was spent riding the Sac and Fox Trail:

Fall colors on trail.

Fall colors.

Sac and Fox Trail.

Sign for mountain bike trail off of Sac and Fox.

Bike on trail.

I know it's not true, but I felt like my mountain bike was happy. It enjoyed the trails it was meant for. Of course, it was me enjoying it, but that's what it felt like.

Fading fall flowers.

Finished one of the bike trails.

Deer on trail.

Deer by trail.

Watch out for the trees.

Power line by trail.

I had not planned to ride the whole trail, light was failing, but I did--at south end of trail and now I have to ride back to van.

Sunset seen on Sac and Fox Trail on ride back.

Famous frog in park at north end of trail, pretty in pink.

Oct. 12--Ride south on Cedar River Trail to see new paving--and new art downtown:

Above and below, biking mural in downtown CR.

Late blooming Hibiscus in downtown.

No more loose gravel--this paving is now repaired.

Leafs on Cedar River Trail--very fall look.

Above and below, biking mural under downtown bridge.

Part of trail by federal courthouse closed, a minor detour on the way to the repaired trail.

Here and next three images--mural on parking garage downtown.

Above, below, Cedar Lake light.

Oct. 18--Part of my daily commute, navigating construction zone at Blair's Ferry and C Avenue. Not to complain, glad to see improvements, but it takes a while:

Barrier north of Blairs Ferry. Still waiting for paving to be poured.

Paved corner south of Blairs Ferry.

Road work zone.

Oct. 19--Two late bugs warming on pavement on cool day after freezing night, seen on Lindale Trail:

Caterpillar.

Grasshopper.

Oct. 21--Final image, fall morning at C Avenue Pond:

C Avenue Pond morning light.