In Which I Glimpse a Nearby Star

Sunrise at Kenwood School during my morning ride.

It’s been cold and cloudy, lately, so a bit of sunshine yesterday—when it was still too slick to bicycle—and a morning break in the clouds today were welcome sight

The ride in this morning was a bit icy in places, and I had to take care. Other than making the ride take longer, however, the conditions caused no problem.

By the afternoon commute, the warmer day and some sun had gotten ride of some of street snow.

And, although I left after 5, it was just getting dark. In both the morning and the afternoon, I was able to catch glimpses of the sun. Glad to see it slowly moving back into our hemisphere.

Two views of sunset at Kenwood School, during th e ride home.

In Which We See the Moon In A Pond

Lights in a pond on C Avenue.

Riding home in the dark at night on one of the first cool fall evenings felt pretty nice.

We have not had the first frost yet, and honestly I am looking forward to that. Not because I’ll love biking in cold weather (although biking in cool weather is actually quite pleasant as long as it’s dry), but because I won’t miss the biting insects.

I was pleased this morning to dig Argent out of the garage—so far this week, I had been riding Francis. That’s been due to carrying capacity—Francis has the baskets but Argent has the speed.

I didn't have too much to carry today, so I opted for speed over capacity. It does not make a big difference in the commute, but I was getting a slightly late start this morning, and I was able to recover about 5 minutes due to riding the faster bike.

Anyway, so it was Francis on the ride home last night. I was late at the office because I stayed for an event in our fall Vietnam series, and was riding home around 9 p.m. The moon, which had been full Sunday, was still large and was just rising in the sky.

I stopped by the pond at Rockwell-Collins. I liked the way the fountains, parking lot lights and moon were all reflected, so I rested my little camera on the handlebars of my pickup truck bike and tried to snap a few.

The shutter was very slow, but I think the results are decent. Like the bike ride—a little slow and decent.

In Which CR Biker Rolls 400 Miles

My sister Cate and I doing an ussie near big flag at edge of Wilton on final day of RAGBRAI 2015.

An average RAGBRAI is about 460 miles. My RAGBRAI team, Team Joe, has 4 members and one support vehicle that we take turns driving. So I usually ride about two-thirds of RAGBRAI.

So I’m pretty pleased to be able to say that I rode 400 miles last week, traveling most of the way across Iowa from Sioux City to Davenport, which means I rode most of a RAGBRAI.

It was quite a week. A highlight was Friday, when Team Joe swelled in numbers as two daughters, two sons and a girlfriend of one of those sons all wore team colors. I also rode much of that day with my sister Cate. Somewhere up there in the last third of the route, Brigid and Eldon were also on the ride—nine Team Joe members in the pretty yellow shirts, printing coordinated by Eldon, art by Amanda.

The core of Team Joe on the first morning of RAGBRAI outside homeless shelter in Sioux City--Brgid, Cate, Eldon and I.

Friday ridng crew included Cate, Katy, Kate, Theresa, CR Biker, Ben and Jon.

The parts of RAGBRAI I rode were unremarkable in terms of scenery—I don’t know if I’m just getting too used to Iowa’s rolling landscape, or if the route this year just happened to avoid the best-looking vistas—but Friday included the Coralville Dam, and that was something to see.

I guess Friday was the week in microcosm, in a way. It had the best and worst parts of RAGBRAI. So for CR Biker, what were the highs and lows of RAGBRAI?

Lows (there are more highs, and I want to finish with the highs):

Rain on Friday. We had rain Monday, too, when riding from Storm Lake to Fort Dodge. Friday’s rain was different—colder, harder, driven by a 40 mph or so wind that made raindrops sting like hail. My teammates said they were rain bullets or rain shrapnel. Riding in the rain is tough at best, and this was a tough rain.

The one good attribute was that it was mostly a headwind. Bikers don’t usually like headwinds—but in this case, they at least slowed the descent down hills. A steep drop that normally might cause Argent to top 30 mph led to speeds like 15 mph in the stiff headwind.

A tailwind would have been terrifying. A side wind might have been fatal. Hooray for that headwind.

Well, the day turned sunny and hot later, and the miles piled up and the hills got steep and headwinds were no longer our friend, but any wind is less of a factor if it’s not raining.

Coralville on Friday. I’ve never seen an overnight town that took bikers through a vendor scrum before they finished their nightly ride—and that gesture by Coralville was definitely not appreciated. You arrive in town hot and tired, looking for your end point and a shower before you consider the evening plans. The last thing you want is a scrum to walk through and vendors trying to sell their wares. No, Coralville, that was not cool.

The arch and carpet? Cute, that was a good idea. The vendor hell riders had to endure? Very poor form.

That’s it. I could complain about chafing, heat rash, bugs, etc., but not only are those not such a big deal, they are just normal RAGBRAI conditions and probably not as bad this year as in past year.

Highs:

Heroes named “Joe.” No, I do not mean CR Biker, but rather Sioux City Joe. Marco, our support vehicle, arrived in Sioux City with a serious problem that developed on the way from Des Moines to the ride start—the driver side window would not close. This was taking place late on a Saturday afternoon—after most garages were closed.

I hope Brigid or Eldon will write their story and share it at some point, but in the end, a friendly car salesman got them in contact with his mother’s husband (the salesman’s father had died a few years ago, so it was not his dad, but clearly in generosity the two are kindred spirits). Sioux City Joe restores cars as a hobby, and although he was not able to fix the window, he was able to hotwire the motor and get the window to roll up and then remove the switch so nobody would put the window down. Way to go, Sioux City Car Seller and Sioux City Joe, you two rescued Team Joe.

Bicycle on display in museum at La Porte City on Thursday.

Our generous hosts. Jean, Amy, Amy’s husband, Big Dog, curse-like-a-soldier Ryan, the fine folks at the Sioux City homeless shelter—thank you. Thank you, too, to Eldora, the tiniest overnight town and the one where Team Joe could not find a home—but it turned out the tiny town had its act together and did just about everything right. Coralville, if you ever need to host RAGBRAI again, shut up and listen to whoever planned the Eldora stop. And, again, a huge Team Joe thanks to Jean, Amy (and her husband), Big Dog, curse-like-a-soldier Ryan, homeless shelter guys—your hospitality was appreciated.

The Microsoft banditos: Chris, Brian, Nigel and Jon on Sunday. Chris was new to RAGBRAI, but the rest rode with me on my first RAGBRAI, was it 2011?

The reunion of the Microsoft banditos. It was a blast to run into Jon now and then, share a meal and a brew, and it was fun to host the former Microsoft boys for their stay near the city of five smells. RAGBRAI 2015 was a reunion of sorts of the group from my first RAGBRAI years ago.

Again, I don´t know the details first hand, but the epic tale of Brian and the tinfoil will live on among RAGBRAI legends. Ask my eldest son or one of the other Microsoft banditos for details.

View from a RAGBRAI bathroom.

Mother Nature’s cooperation. True, there was that quick Friday storm with its bullets of rain. True, Monday morning was soggy. True, the temperature topped 100 on Saturday. But, for most of the week, the sun smiled, the temperature was mild, the nights were cool and good for sleeping—the weather left little to be desired. For late July in Iowa, it was gorgeous.

The new bike. Long-time readers may recall that I had some scary health issues during RAGBRAI last year—general exhaustion and ominous chest pains. I trained harder this year, and it paid off, I think. I got a bit worn at times, but nothing like last year. Besides better training, the difference was having a road bike. Argent proved to be perfect for its purpose. I was able to power up hills. On Francis, I never tried to slingshot from hill to hill, but it was almost not avoidable on Argent.

On Tuedsay, I faced a decision. Go for 100 miles or not? In my four previous RAGBRAIs, I was clearly not ready to ride the Karras Loop and go 100 miles in a day. This year, I decided not to decide in advance, because I knew it would require a day of near perfect weather, plus keeping on time in early communities. Well, the weather was gorgeous. Brigid rode with me in the morning, and kept a brisk pace. Cate rode with me in the afternoon, and for a while we rode with Jon. Although Jon slowed way down to ride with us, for Cate and I, it was very fast moving at the pace of Jon.

And my body held together. No serious aches. No cramps. And when I got to Buckeye by 3 and the choice was either 15 more miles or go for about 40 miles—well, when would there be a better day? With Cate as my companion, I went for it.

Late afternoon Tuesday. Cate and I have finished the Karras Loop and are riding the final 15 miles.

The upshot was I finished that evening rather late and pulled into Eldora quite tired. But I did it, I earned my Karras Loop patch, I rode Argent more than 100 miles in a day (I think my bike computer recorded about 103 miles for the day).

Last, and not least, the newly expanded Team Joe. I enjoyed the whole RAGBRAI week, especially with Jon able to ride, too. But as I already wrote, the Friday ride with extended Team Joe was—despite a broken spoke on Katy’s bike ,a morning flat tire for Cate, the rain, and the fact that Ben and Kate flew so fast that I did not see them after the start until after the end—wonderful.

Taking photos and joking at lunch spot Friday--a Mount Vernon store that is a combination of diner, ice cream shop, video store, tanning salon and antique shop. And it's all one store. Motto: For all your sandwhich, desert, tan, video and antique needs.

Way to go, Team Joe. I hope many of you in the extended team are inspired to ride more RAGBRAIs. As for the core four, despite our ups and downs, we have already begun talking about next year.

RAGBRAI is like nicotine—it is very addictive. But, at least it’s an addiction that is good for you. See more of my RAGBRAI photos here. And see you all on the ride next year!

My bike computer as I pull into the final town I rode to, Wilton. The ride Saturday ended in Davenport, but I was on driving duty that afternoon. I had gone 400 miles in seven days, 100 on just one day.

In Which Lady Cardinal In The Snow Bodes Ill For Biking

Magnolia bud in my back yard as snow falls Jan. 5, 2015.

“Lady Cardinal” sounds like a character from Downtown Abbey, doesn’t she? Come to think of it “Lady Cardinal in the Snow” would be a good fictional village name.

I watched the opening episode of DA season 5 last night, and, spoiler alert, it begins with Lady Edith riding a bicycle to a see a marigold. Actually, to see Marigold, her illegitimate daughter.

And that tells you enough that you either A) Would never want to see the show or B) Are kicking yourself if you missed episode 1. It was everything Downton Abbey is expected to be: an engrossing period soap opera that both immerses you in a faux 1920s England and occasionally sets your teeth on edge with dialogue that almost makes you weep for all the wrong reasons. Despite it all, I’m already hooked on season 5. Let’s hope Bates ends up pushing Barrow in front of a Lorry in London.

Screen shot of opening of episode 1, season 5, Downtown Abbey, viewed at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/

Still, I have to get my biking fix from watching Lady Edith. There won’t be much bicycling in Iowa for some time. We’re getting multiple inches of snow on this Monday, and the week ahead is forecast to be windy and bitterly cold. Under the right conditions, I’m often back on two wheels within 48 hours of snow—but it doesn’t seem that this week will feature the right conditions.

Anyway, of course I drove to work today, and I left a bit early due to the heavy snowfall. When I got home and looked out the back window, a pretty boy cardinal was hanging about in the fading afternoon light, so I grabbed my camera. As soon as I did, he rapidly retreated.

His girlfriend was a bit braver and stuck around, sneaking seeds from the ground beneath the bird feeders I have in the back garden.

I think Lady Cardinal looks a bit pissed off as she collects seeds in the snow beneath a bird feeder. Honestly, if you look at them up close, cardinals usually look a bit maniacal and robotic, so maybe "pissed off" is her default mood.

You’re welcome to the food, Lady Cardinal. Tell Master Cardinal it would be OK for him to eat and be photographed, too. What is the point of his ridiculous scarlet coloring if he’s too shy for the camera?

And Lady Edith, spend more time on your bicycle, it may lift your mood and prevent you from moping about and burning down the abbey. Opps. Spoiler alert number two, too late!

In Which I See Water Smooth and Roads Rough

The rough surface of the Lindale Trail. So I turned back and rode on pavement.

The longest ride of the Christmas break so far, and it came on the same day I spent two hours at the gym and the weather also cooled off so the day was below freezing. Strange how that worked out.

I woke up early, for no particularly good reason, and went to the gym a bit after 4 a.m. “Law and Order” did not start until 5, and my wife and I (she had showed up just before 5) enjoyed first one, and then a second episode. We decided by 7 we had to leave, so she want to pick up doughnuts for breakfast as I went home.

Well, after that sugary breakfast, I went back to bed and slept most of the morning away. I woke up after 11 a.m., had some leftover pizza for second breakfast/lunch, and spent a little time putting out birdseed and putting used bottles in the van.

By around 2, I decided the day was too nice to stay inside, and I dressed for another bike ride. It was cool, but I wasn't sure long underwear was called for. I decided warmth was better then coolth, and opted to risk over heating rather than hypothermia.

I set out, planning first to do the Lindale-Boyson Road trails and then maybe head over to the Cedar River Trail. But, once I got past the half-mile or so of paved trail to the limestone surface, it was both uneven and mushy in places. Although it was only 30 degrees, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the low winter sun was still warm enough to make water on rock liquid rather than solid.

I decided that once I get one of the mountain bikes fixed, it would be OK to ride this rutted trail, but I probably won’t do it on Francis and definitely not Fancy Bike.

So then I had the bright idea to stick to paving—and to go down to the Prairie Parks Fishery via the Cedar River Trail.

Birds on Cedar Lake.

I think it was a good idea. Cedar Lake, when I got there, has started to ice over again (early next week we’ll have lows near zero and it will probably mostly close). There were some walkers and riders on the trail, and plenty of birds were on the lake where water and ice met.

Closer look at some ducks. I like how the blue sky turns both ice and water blue.

Traffic was light as I traveled through downtown. When I go to Otis Road, the approach road to the fishery, Cedar River looked quiet and peaceful—even Mt. Trashmore was pretty reflected in the river.

It was such a pretty day even Mt. Trashmore, viewed from Otis Road, looked nice.

When I got to Prairie Parks Fishery, I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few people strolling or fishing—it’s good to see a park in use. The other surprise is that, unlike Cedar Lake, almost no water birds were crowding the lake. Then again, the river is nearby and birds seem to like it a lot—maybe the moving water stirs up more food.

On north end of Prairie Parks Fishery Trail, look south (top) and you see the lake, turn around (bottom photo) and you're looking north across the Cedar River.

Anyway, I ate the snack I had brought and then headed back home. The last half hour, I was riding with lights on, but by 5, when I go home, it was dim, but no longer fully dark.

While the coldest six weeks of mid-winter lie ahead, it’s nice to realize that the star which warms us by day is slowly rising higher in the sky and giving use more light each day.

Part of the route between the Cedar River Trail and the Prairie Parks Fishery--two blocks of brick street near downtown.

With my computer on the fritz, I’ll be guessing wildly at mileage. But I know this ride felt longer than the trip out to Lafayette yesterday, and that’s about a 20-mile ride. Did I go close to 30 in a bit over three hours?

It’s possible. And whether it was 30 miles or not, it was still a pleasant ride. As the sun slowly sank and the air turned colder, it turned out the long underwear was a good idea, too.

Traditional view of low sun over Cedar Lake, but it does look nice, no? Turned on lights after taking this photo.

In Which I Dream Of Warm Summer Rides

Bike suspended from ceiling at Iowa History Museum. Interesting RAGBRAI display is up there.

My son Jon is off for a while. He and his lovely wife Nalena were home for Thanksgiving, but now have gone back to Pittsburgh and then are going to Portugal in the new year.

But he is already planning to come back next summer to ride RAGBRAI. He is unsure of officially joining Team Joe, because he’s willing to stay in the campground in order to avoid having to drive any shift—he wants to ride every RAGBRAI mile.

More museum transit photos.
Grandson loved stairs.

I don’t blame him. I’m not sure I could have physically ridden all of the miles in 2014—I had a few issues this year with my health—but I did ride all of the miles in my first 2 RAGBRAIs, and there’s something to be said for doing that. Maybe if I can get into slightly better shape … well, we’ll see. The Team Joe strategy—riding most of RAGBRAI but also driving a few shifts—does provide some helpful breaks, too.

So I am not sure of my plans yet. Except that they seem to include RAGBRAI. Just how much remains to be seen—then again everything about RAGBRAI, besides the logo, remains to be seen.

Anyway, the warmer weather this weekend gave way to an Arctic blast today, but the wife had bought me new long johns, so I braved the cold today and rode. My rear derailleur is out of whack, but luckily got stuck in a hill-appropriate gear. The bike still works for a cold, quick commute, but clearly being able to shift will come in handy at some point. And while it was cold, I hasten to add that it wasn't in the “can’t ride” cold category, it was just in the “wear layers when you bike” cold category.

Museum had old plane that look like they have bicycle tires.

And today, the incredible lightness of being has improved for my bike. My wife bought me two spelunking style head lamps that I’ve strapped to my bike helmet. Not only do these improve safety through high illumination, the lights are incredibly cool because they use AAA batteries—which means these lights will last a long, long time.

Long enough, probably, to be of use in next year’s RAGBRAI.

New lights on helmet. Note sophisticated technology (rubber bands) used.

In Which I Wonder What 20s Will Mean

27th Street near Eastern this morning. The darker color is not pavement, it's ice. And this was actually one of more cleared streets on my route. It was a slow ride.

Bike tire shortly after I arrived. Sorry janitors, my hall parking will make a mess, I'm afraid, when the ice holding this sand in place melts. No outside parking available right now--all bike racks snowed in.

The garage door was frozen shut and I had to chip ice to get Francis free. Then, I had to lube my chain and the lube was very thick. The one thing I wasn't on the ride was uncomfortably cold--despite a bitter wind, I was well dressed before the trip. Here is my bike in my driveway before I put the bag in the basket and begin my ride.

Well, darn. I actually watched my odometer on my bike during my ride this morning, perhaps I should not have done so. It informed me that the ride from my house to my office at MMU is pretty much 4 miles.

I used to claim it was 5. I realized that was too much, and thought it was 4.5. Nope. Just the big 4.0.

Well, shoot. I may take the trail route home today, just so I can see what the longer ride is, since I’ve finally discovered the odometer.

The ride this morning was the first of this week. Winter has settled in deep in this corner of the north central US. Winds, snow, below zero temperatures—not ideal biking weather, but it has been 48 hours since the last storm, and my sidewalk wasn’t too bad, and I was itching to ride, so I did.


As it turned out, I did very slowly. Almost all of the streets were snow and ice packed, especially everything in the Kenwood area where it appears they plow the one block around Kenwood School and call it a job well done. I wonder how the plow even gets there. Is it dropped by helicopter and retrieved the same way? Because it seems to reach that one isolated block of clearing without much discernable impact on any road that approaches the school.

Well, I my heart isn’t really in my occasional rant about city snow clearing or lack of it. Given the weather this week, the fact that there was ice and snow on the roads can’t be called a surprise. We didn’t get a lot of snow, but it’s been so windy that snow is just going to be packed into just about any paving.

Still, I managed to get to school safely. I was so not used to riding that I forget my vest—which means I’ll have to leave early enough to ensure it’s full light out. Given that there is snow forecast for later, that’s probably a good idea on many levels. Still, it should warm into the 20s today. It’s hazy cloudy, but that’s warm enough that some melting can take place where the sun hits pavement.

Not sure that’s a good idea. I wonder if that will simply make these snow packed roads more icy? Hmm.

This was actually last week, Jan. 13, but I didn't post it on my bike blog yet. I saw an eagle in the morning during my ride along Eastern Avenue, and I think that was pretty cool.

In Which An Omaha Man Continues To Ride Like They Do In Vegas

From Omaha.com, the web site of the Omaha World-Herald. Mark Crown, year-round bike commuter. Photo by Alyssa Schukar of The World-Herald.

The temperature may be in the teens below zero, but “The World-Herald” in Omaha, Neb., had a story today about a man who commutes year-round to a job at Offutt Air Force Base—in rain, snow, cold, etc.

Intrepid biker Mark Crown is around my age. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe it just takes years to acquire the wisdom to appreciate how much fun biking is compared to driving. Or to go slowly crazy.

Anyway, in other biking news: the "Las Vegas Journal-Review" reports that a local developer there is using bike-theme advertising to promote his “planned” community.

From the Las Vegas Journal-Review.
Photo by Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal

The bikers are well dressed, but not as well dressed as Mark Crown--I guess it's a bit warmer in Las Vegas.

Well, why not promote real estate through biking or ride year round in Omaha?

True, I’m not quite as hardy, or whatever, as Mark Crown is—if MMU is open in the morning, I’m not planning to bicycle there when the temperature is still double digit below zero. But Wednesday? We’ll see.

It might be zero. Clearly, that will be warm enough to bike.

In Which I Wonder If I Should See My Helmet

The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Two Swedish women have invented an “invisible” bike helmet. Actually, it’s quite visible, it’s like a short, thick scarf. When an accident takes place, an airbag head covering pops out.

Is it a good idea? I’m not sure.

For one thing, a traditional helmet should be replaced when it is in an accident, but if it is “deployed” once, it’s not destroyed. The scarf airbag is a one-time use only.

The device also costs $600 and is not yet available in the U.S.

For now, I’ll keep wearing my old helmet. But I can see that the white hoodie balloon does have some advantages. I can only bike in temperatures where a thin hood, which I can wear under my helmet, keeps me warm enough—down to about 20 if it’s windy, down to about zero if the air is still. With the invisible helmet, I could wear a more regular winter hat and potentially overcome any temperature limit. Hooray?

And I would be happy with head protection that does not crush my hair. Not $600 happy, but happy.

My advice for now is to tough it out and wear the mushroom on your head. But keep tinkering and perfecting, Swedish headgear ladies.

In Which Snow Falls On The Chilly Streets of CR

Francis in the pile of ash leaves behind Warde Hall on Monday morning. On Tuesday, I parked in side so my bike would not rust. And yes, despite the snow, I rode on Tuesday.

It was cool Monday, and leaves are piling up as it feels like the frosty part of fall is upon us. I was impressed by the pile of ash leaves by the bike rack near Warde Hall, so I took a picture of Francis parked there Monday morning.

Tuesday was different. Snow!

Rain and snow were headed our way, according to the weather person on TV, but the snow had just started spitting from the sky as I headed out the door. I fully intended to drive this morning, but when I went out the door, the snow was so light and the temperature so not that low—no danger of ice on the road—that I couldn’t put the pedal to the metal. Instead I put the foot to the pedal and pedaled off on Francis.

I’m not sure it was a wise choice. The morning ride was damp and brisk. Still, my wife bought me new gloves, and they needed to be used, so they were.

When I got to campus, I parked inside so that Francis didn’t have to rust in the snow. I was impressed, by the way, by the loud rustling sound wet snowflakes make when they hit trees still bearing most of their leaves. By the time I left work to head home, the streets were still a bit damp, but nothing was falling from the sky.

Tomorrow's forecast includes possible rain or snow in the afternoon. Will I ride? Well, heck, I was crazy enough to ride today …

In Which The Lights Are On and I’m Not Home

Looking east along Blair's Ferry Road at C Avenue Northeast, Cedar Rapids. Sunrise this morning, around 7:10 a.m. Note that most drivers are using their lights. Good for them.

I have been running with the lights most mornings, these days. At shortly after 7, when I hit the road, it’s too dark. No really “dark,” but dark enough I feel I need lights to ensure drivers can see me.

I don’t mind riding with lights, but I am often amazed at how many car drivers don’t use them when they should. Memo to drivers—you don’t only use lights so that you can see. Even if a milky sun has just crested the horizon and the lights no longer illuminate your path—they are as or perhaps more important to make you visible to others. It’s only in the strong light of full day that you don’t need to shine them beams. In clouds or twilight or early morning, be a beacon. Turn on those lights!

Anyway, not only have I been running with lights, but I installed lights on Audrey’s bike, too. She purchases a back light and a front light for herself, plus a spoke light for her back wheel. Tuesday, as I was heading home from bell practice, she texted me that she was over at Katy’s house for supper—and she had biked over there. (Indeed, this was the famous night of pie I already blogged about, now I'm using the same experience in a totally different context. Writing is like that.)

So I turned at the Lindale Trail and headed east to Marion. It turns out that a second daughter and her kids were there too, so it was a pleasant, impromptu family reunion, although by the time I got there, the daylight was already fading.

It was very dark by the time Audrey and I left to cycle home. It was her first ride using her new lights. She followed me about half of the way, and led for the other half.

The ride was fine. There are a few dark stretches on the streets between Katy’s house and ours, but luckily no surprise branches or cracks to bump or grab a wheel. I had spoke light envy when I followed Audrey—that whimsical rainbow light is actually a good idea.

It makes her hard to miss. Or rather, easy to miss, because you can see her, which is the point of lights on a bike.

All in all, I prefer biking in the light, but as a bike commuter, I’m entering a time of year when that’s not always an option. However, as long as I have lights and I’m on familiar roads, it’ll work.

And now Audrey has passed another biking milestone. She, too, can be a light night rider.

In Which Balloons Appear to Make The Ride Cooler

We three bikers. My wife on the phone with my older son, while my younger one threads the needle between her bike and Francis. "Pretty big needle," he said. I picked up the hawk feather in our backyard and decorated the son's headgear. You're welcome.

Balloons over a Marion cul-de-sac. It was that kind of evening.

We had a cool bike ride early Sunday evening—cool in the sense of “nice,” but, in the end, “cool” in the sense of “feels like September, eh?”

We had quite a day on Sunday—we celebrated a daughter’s birthday and hosted a party that included two families of grandchildren. The family gathering lasted until late in the afternoon, when we (my wife, son and I) decided that we could doctor up a pizza and watch a movie for supper, but first maybe go for a walk. I don’t recall if it was my son or my wife, although I think it was the wife, but someone said, “Well, how about a bike ride, instead?”

Well, why not? We three bikers headed north on Devonshire, aiming for the north end of the Boyson Road Trail. We took the connecting trail out to Menards and turned down a cul-de-sac to turn around. Then my wife’s phone, which I was carrying, rang. It was our son from Paraguay calling, so my wife stopped to chat for a few minutes.

Balloon passes overhead.

My younger son continued circling the cul-de-sac. I joined him. We both had a contest of sorts—not exactly a race, but we were both watching our speedometers to see how fast we were orbiting planet suburbia.

He was riding his older brother’s swanky road bike. If he were on the same type of bike as I, he would have been faster anyway, but the road bike just exaggerated things. He topped 20 mph while adding 3 miles to his ride circling in a small area. I reached, at most, 16 mph. That’s OK with me, I consider 16 mph pretty darn fast, especially in a tight circle.

The night was partly cloudy and cool. The light was starting to fail, but the sky still beautiful. Then, just to make it all even more magical, two hot air balloons passed directly overhead. On the way home, I ran with the lights on, and think I should get my wife some lights.

All that—a cool bike ride, and I got to chat with my oldest son who lives in Paraguay. A short evening bike ride can’t get a whole lot better. Oh, wait, it can. Then pizza washed down with Fat Tire while watching "The Man Who Knew Too Little." Sunday was a good night.

A closer view of son in orbit.

In Which Ben Has The Longest Ride of his Life

I had not planned to stop on the morning ride, which was meant to be fairly brief, but when we went past the playground, Amelia started excitedly yelling "Grandpa! Park!" So we stopped so she could play at the park.

50 miles, blog pals, that’s how far CR Biker rode Friday. Four miles were in the morning, when I took my granddaughter Amelia to a playground near the splash pad at Noelridge Park, and then tooddled around the park before heading home.

The other 46? That was the epic ride. I suggested to Ben that we go on a bike adventure, since he was home and, with Jon’s bike now working, we had two men’s bikes at our disposal. He agreed, and ventured up Devonshire to learn how the controls on Jon’s bike work.

Why did I chose to let him ride Jon’s bike? I could have ridden it, and he could have ridden my bike—from a speed point of view, putting the younger, stronger person on the bigger, slower hybrid bike would make sense. But, while I don’t mind using Jon’s bike, I want to use it gently. So I offered Ben the bike because his lesser mass would not be as hard on the bike. Plus, I need practice miles on Francis anyway.


I texted my sister Cate, who is also in prep for RAGBRAI, and she was available, so off we went, meeting her about noon at the Boyson Road trail head. Our original goal was to go to the rail station in Center Point, a place further north than Ben had ever been on the trail.

Cate, Ben and I at the Boyson Trail head after the ride.

Once there, we stopped to water up and eat some snacks. I am even more in debt to Cate, as she shared a chocolate caffeine shot and some nuts, which I’m sure made my granola bar and fun fruits more effective. We decided to continue north, at least to Urbana, with the thought that once there, we might head to Brandon.

Well, the trail north of Center Point proved very tricky. Recent rains have been very hard on its limestone surface, with at least one awesome trench at a road crossing, and many soft, sandy spots. By the time we got to Urbana, we were just glad Ben had no mishaps with the narrow tires of Jon’s road bike, and decided it was good enough, we would head back.

The round trip to Urbana was over 40 miles. That, plus the round trip to my house and the round trip Amelia and I had done earlier added up to the 50 miles.

It was a fun ride, through the heat of the afternoon, which made it good RAGBRAI training. However, it was a bit rough on me—my legs were definitely worn. It was Ben’s longest ride so far. When we got back to the rail depot in Center Point, I did offer to trade him bikes, but he just laughed and got back on Jon’s. Imagine.

The ride, while by far my longest yet, was far sort of even the shortest RAGBRAI day—although at 50 miles, it’s at least in the range of a RAGBRAI day. So why am I even able to do RAGBRAI? Well, for one thing, the rhythm of RAGBRAI is: Ride 15 miles, stop and eat pie and walk for a mile; then ride 15 miles, stop and eat a pork chop; repeat until 60 miles are done.  If they had served pie in the rail depot, it would have been a different sort of ride.

I’ll eat more on RAGBRAI, and also consume electrolyte drink along with water. On my future long practice rides this week, I plan to do the same thing—take more food and take some drink mix.

Despite being sore, this morning on the way to the gym I did a figure 8 in the neighborhood, climbing the Brentwood Drive hill twice, once headed north, once south. So, despite the soreness yesterday, and losing the rear light on my bike north of Center Point, I think I'm doing OK in RAGBRAI prep.

And Ben, next time, remember. I’m not kidding. I am totally willing to trade bikes.

This photo and one below--samples of trail conditions north of Center Point.

Quaint bridge over trail north of Center Point.

The trail goes under I-380 in a narrow, dark tunnel. The north entrance is above, as we head south. The photo below does not do it justice--to the human eye it is much, much darker in there.

A New Rack In Town

My bike Monday in relocated rack at MMU.  Looks happy, no?

To avoid repeated bombings by pigeons, MMU facilities relocated the bike rack that I use at Warde Hall.  It was directly against the building, sadly, under some nests of big birds that Mitt Romney has not threatened to fire.

Although I didn’t ride today (for the first time in many days) due to rain in the forecast, here is what my bike looked like Monday in the new rack location, in a garden next to the back walk.

I think the bike looks pretty happy here.  And I don’t mind if it gets almost buried in ash leaves.  They beat heck out of pigeon poo any day!

32 Miles On a Warm Iowa Afternoon

Jon and I (reverse the order) on the lion bridge in downtown CR.

I have some work to do to get ready for RAGBRAI.  Commuting 10 miles a day isn’t enough, as Jon helped me prove on a slightly longer ride we took Tuesday.

Jon and his wife Nalena are visiting for a week before a 2-year stint in the Peace Corps takes them to Paraguay.  He brought his bike out, and we took a 3-hour ride together.

He has a functioning bike  computer, and in that time we rode a bit over 32 miles.  Given that we stopped several times, that’s not too bad.

One of our stops was not planned.  A family of geese briefly blocked the trail near the Cedar River.  Geese are not happy birds--they are angry birds.

On the way back, aided a bit by wind, I supposed, I really pumped it—and really regretted it later when my sleep was interrupted by cramps in what seemed like every single muscle of both legs.

The spell of intense pain was brief, and I did get back to sleep, and am not too sore today.  But if 32 miles can do that to me, I do have to put in lots and lots of practice miles before the Big Ride.

Still, that’s been my plan all along.

Jon had not been on the trail through Cedar Rapids before, and he was pleasantly surprised.  It’s an interesting route, with stretches of wooded country, a short jaunt through a giant grain processing plant, the transit of downtown Cedar Rapids—a weird and entertaining mix of Iowa city and countryside.  We didn’t extend the ride to Ely because road construction blocks the trail at the south end of town, but that’s OK—it was time for us to turn back anyway to attend a family gathering.

Just as I sat down to eat, my cell rang.  My sister Cate had been in a bike accident.  Nothing serious—she banged up one knee and bent her front wheel but was otherwise unharmed.  Memo to Cate, if you tested your helmet, toss it and buy a new one.  Anyway, Cate’s scrape was a reminder of how quickly an accident can happen on a bike.

Well, I was happy to rescue her—double bonus because she ended up having to be picked up at our house by Paulette, so both got to say hello to Jon and Nalena.

All in all, it was an interesting and lesson-filled biking Tuesday.  What were the takeaway lessons?  I need to practice more.  Always with my helmet on.

Below, on the ride back, Jon in my mirror.  He could easily out distance me but was following since I was the native guide.  Given the street, it was a dicey photo to take, but luckily I didn't do a "Cate."