In Which I Bid a Beast Adieu

 

April 12--The Fancy Beast on the driveway. Years ago, I named an old Schwinn mountain bike The Beast, and when a son-in-law passed this bike on to me, it became The Fancy Beast. It's being wheeled out of the garage to cross the rainbow bridge or visit the farm or whatever euphemism you prefer.

Well, life was the theme of my last post back in March. Looking back at the end of something, fortunately not life, is more the theme of this post. I was naming my newish tricycle back in March—I’m bidding a final farewell to an old bicycle this time.

Early in March, I decided to visit a nearby gym I go to several times a week. It’s not far away, and I usually cycle there. Because I have to cross some parking lots, I don’t like to ride Sommer, my trike, because I don’t ride the trike where I have to dodge cars.

So I rode a bicycle—in this case, my mountain bike, The Fancy Beast. I rode and parked and exercised, but when I came out of the gym to head home, I encountered bad news. The metal piece that attaches the rear derailleur had failed, leaving the chain loose and detached. Fortunately, the gym isn’t too far from home to walk the distance, although I’ll admit strolling while pushing a disabled bicycle is not my favorite way to hike.

The broken derailleur, above and below, on The Fancy Beast.

Anyway, it was a couple of weeks before I took the bike to a bike shop for an evaluation. Could it be repaired? Well, yes, but the derailleur wasn’t the only problem. The bicycle was long overdue for a tune up and needed a new rear tyre. What with one thing and another, the repair bill would be around $400.

That just seemed to be too much. I can afford it, but don’t want to spend that much on an old bicycle I only ride infrequently. I have Argent, my road bike, and Clarence, my hybrid bike, that I ride more—and most of my rides these days are on Sommer, the recumbent trike.

I briefly considered buying a new mountain bike, but that would cost more than twice as much as the repair job, so I had a difficult decision to make.

On the one hand, there are some trails and rides that I can’t do without a mountain bike. There are mountain bike trails off of the Boyson Trail, one of the routes I ride often. I also like the Sac and Fox Trail in Cedar Rapids—an unpaved trail that is most comfortable to ride with a mountain bike. Once a year, I ride up Mount Trashmore and then fly down on a trail that is exclusively for mountain bikes.

On the other hand, 95 percent of my riding is on other routes. Paved bike trails and bike lanes have been expanding in my area in recent years, and it was just last year that I got the trike, which, as I noted, is my main ride these days. What would it mean if I simply didn’t have a mountain bike?

I thought about it, often ruminating on the question as the slow miles rolled by on Sommer Livin. The weather has turned warm this spring, and the paved trails around here go on and on for miles.

These days, I ride a recumbent trike most often. Sommer Livin, my trike, on a ride north to Lafayette April 7.

I also consulted my wife. She’s the finance person in our partnership, handles the household budget, and I would never spend hundreds of dollars without her agreement. Anyway, we both had come to the same conclusion. This is the end of the road for that trusty mountain bike.

One reason I opted not to repair The Fancy Beast is it’s simply an old bicycle. My son first acquired it during a summer internship about 2005 or so. It was passed on to a son-in-law before I ended up inheriting it some years ago. Granted, with care a bicycle will last longer than a automobile, but still, two decades is two decades. The Fancy Beast has served me well but is past its service date.

And, I have the many other ways to roll across the planet. In the right dry weather, the modestly wide tyres on Sommer Livin should be OK for the Sac and Fox Trail. To be honest, I won’t miss the cardiac test that flying down Mount Trashmore represents—and I can still cycle to it’s summit with the hybrid bike, I just have to use the tamer road trail to head back down instead of the mountain bike trail.

Time marches on and waits for no one and no thing. I have fond feelings for The Fancy Beast, and when I made the final decision to wheel it to the bike graveyard, well, it was a bit sad.

April 12--Awaiting the next trip to the county landfill, The Fancy Beast is in the bike graveyard under the sun room.

Yet the next day I have my new trike to cycle on, and that’s OK. Farewell, Fancy Beast. I’m afraid your time has passed. Still, I will continue to roll.

The weather has turned almost summer warm. I’ve been wearing shorts and bike sandals a lot on recent rides. I rolled 377.78 miles in March. As of April 15, when I first drafted this post, I have rolled 126.79 miles in a rainy April where weather has constrained riding some. The year to date in mid April was 880.72 miles—by the time I post this I probably will have exceeded 1,000 miles.

Some images from March and April rides:

March 31--Magnolia in bloom at MMU campus, seen on March 31 trike ride.

March 9--First ride north as far as Center Point--warm day.

On the trail to Lafayette March 9.

March 10--Sure sign of early warm days in spring, snake (above on below) seen on trike ride.

March 12--Eagle seen high in tree near MMU campus.

March 23--Deer bounding across Lindale Trail.

March 27--On Cedar River Trail at site of new biking bridge across Cedar River being constructed this yer.

March 27--Eagle soars over Cedar River.

March 31--Daffodils at Mount Mercy University Campus.

In Which I See Some Bridges of Linn County

The Fancy Beast at the first bridge I find, south end of Cedar Lake. I looped eastward around the lake.

Second bridge--causeway between two halves of lake.

Other side of the same bridge, looking south at rail bridge over the same waterway.

Well, this is clearly an incomplete post—I didn’t cross the Cedar River so I clearly omitted the largest and most impressive bridges in Cedar Rapids. Nor did I ride out to Sutliff Bridge, which I hear is cool, but it’s technically in Johnson County and I don’t know how to get to it on a bicycle. Also, although I shot images of bridges, I did not have any affairs with comely, lonely Italian Iowa farm wives (kudos and my condolences if you understand that reference).

So, although in honor of Social Distance Bike Club’s bridge weekend I shot copious bridge images, they were the rather modest bridges located between New Bo, where a bike shop is, and Lafayette, where there is a bench for resting before turning towards home.

The Fancy Beast at north bridge, where creek runs into Cedar Lake. Or does lake empty into creek? I'm not sure.

View of Cedar Lake from north bridge.

Selfie of CR Biker with The Fancy Beast on Cedar Lake bridge.

I got a phone call form Goldfinch Cyclery today—The Fancy Beast, my oldest bicycle, a more than decades old Raleigh mountain bike that first belonged to my oldest son, was ridden for a time by a son-in-law and that now is in the CR Biker stable of bicycles, was repaired and awaiting pickup.

We were on a car drive to complete an adoption at the time the call came in. We were picking up a monarch caterpillar we are responsible for raising to butterfly stage from the Indian Creek Nature Center. It’s our fourth cat in four years—of the three previous, one died and two became butterflies. I am hoping that adopted child insect number four, named Bob for no particular good reason (with a caterpillar, there are no outward gender signs) will make it.

Well, that seems a bit off topic. A post too far, as it were. Unlike a bridge too far, which clearly was not a feature of today’s ride.

Anyway, the bike shop, as all seem to be these days, was buzzing, but the wait to get The Fancy Beast was not long. I donned my helmet, walked to the side street (sidewalks in New Bo are no bike zones) and launched into a ride up the Cedar River Trail.

It was my first in a few days. A minor medical problem—a not serious infection that nonetheless requires antibiotics and that prevented biking for a few days—kept me out of the saddle, but I thought I was well enough again today for a not-too-long ride.

Today was a glorious biking day. It seems like every other day, in this part of Iowa, is the day after The Big Storm, and Saturday featured a doozy that included a tornado warning, although, as far as I know, no actual twister.

Bike parked on bridge where trail crosses itself and creek. It loops before crossing bridge. Lots of traffic on trails today.

Today, the day after, it was sunny, in the 80s, warm but not too hot. The drugs I’m on increase sensitivity to sunlight and also can cause dehydration, so I made sure to slather on the sunscreen, and stop often for a sip. I was wearing a mask—I correctly guessed on a gorgeous summer Sunday, the main bike trail in my area would be popular. But the whole bridge theme helped. Heading north from New Bo, there are actually a fair number of bridges on the trail, and if you stop to make images, it’s a good chance to lift the face cloth and pour some H2O down the pie hole.

The Fancy Beast is not my favorite bicycle for the kind of day this was. This bicycle is best for some unpaved trails and for winter riding. But it was still pleasant to be on the bicycle again, and it behaved well. Many of my mile splits were over 10 mph, one over 13—not lightning speed by any measure, but I’m an old and slow bike rider, and this is easily my slowest bike. I was happy with the pace.

More traffic passes as I make image of bike at waterway bridge. I think of this as the entrance to my neighborhood--if I turn off the trail after this bridge and ride through Noelridge Park, I'm about 3 miles from home.

Paging Red Hot Chilipeppers, we're under the bridge. Cheating a bit on theme, I know. But it's a bridge and I made this image while riding the bike.

I stopped to drink and make this image, not sure why I excluded bike. Rail bridge right before trail crosses from Cedar Rapids to Hiawatha.

My goal was Lafayette. It was mid-afternoon when I got the bike, and grandchildren were coming over this evening, so I didn’t have time (or the right bicycle or the wholly healed body) for a long ride. I rode to that little village some 7 miles north of the Hiawatha trailhead, and sat and ate a bag of nuts before heading south.

As I sat eating, I think there may have been a Mike Miller sighting. He's a friend from the neighborhood that I sometimes ride with--the neighbor on my recent ride to Solon. I am not sure, but there was a Not-Joe on a bicycle flying the orange pennant of Miller Nation who rode by. (Any grey-bearded bike rider who is not me is, in the language of my family RAGBRAI biking team, a “Not-Joe,” probably even if they are named Joe. Mike fits that description, although his fitness level and speed mean that nobody would mistake him for CR Biker.)

Well, as you can see, the bridges of Linn County were, even if they aren’t all that spectacular, pleasant to see on a warm summer afternoon. One of these days I’ll use The Fancy Beast to explore the Grant Wood Trail beyond the limestone on the grass section—this is the bicycle for it. And I am glad to have it back and to again be (not counting the tandem) a 3-bike biker.

North of Hiawatha, trail switches from Cedar River Trial to Cedar Valley Nature Trail. In Robins, a small side trail leads over this bridge to a park loop, which I rode today before continuing north.

Bike at Robins bridge.

Robins bridge.

As you near Lafayette, you encounter several bridges in quick sequence. You know you're close at this bridge.

The final trail bridge on the ride north. About a mile in the distance, you can see the overpass that is the entrance to Lafayette.

Lafayette, I am here.

The Fancy Beast parked at small county rest stop in Lafayette.

Biking essentials, 2020. Water and hand sanitizer.

Stopped at Hiawatha parking lot for quick final drink before heading home. This picture is sort of a visual joke--the "bridge" leads over a ditch to go from parking lot to trail.

In Which I Climb Mount Trashmore

Looking back from top of drive on Mount Trashmore.

For the second time, I’ve been to the top of Mount Trashmore.

While I was riding RAGBRAI, my winter bike was in the shop getting a new drive train—derailleurs, cassette and chain. On a sunny, warm Saturday afternoon, I decided to take it on a ride.

And I checked online. Mt. Trashmore was open.

I had been there when the trails first opened, and decided to go back. There was a fair amount of bike traffic on the trail on this pretty summer afternoon. When I crossed the Cedar River, there was a bit of a detour to get to the landfill site, due to levee construction.

At the base of Mount Trashmore, a tent was set up. There was someone in front of me signing in, so I had a brief wait, put in my information, and then circled the gravel lot to get my bike into granny gear.

Mount. Trashmore is best experienced on a day that isn’t too hot—on the long climb, there is no shade. I think I was at the limit on this day, but not past it. I was glad of a water station at the base of the hill, because I did need the hydration. I took it easy on the climb. It’s not steep, but it does go on and on, and is on a gravel drive. I was glad to be on my mountain bike, and would not ride up the hill on a road bike. I might on a hybrid.

There is also a walking trail, although I’ve never used it.

At the top, I stopped to take a selfie, and then sat in the sheltered seats to rest for a few minutes and each some snacks.

My Saturday selfie on top of Mount Trahsmore.

There is a mountain bike trail to head down the hill—definitely a mountain bike trail. I took it. I also slipped at some turns, and found this hill to be rather scary on the way down.

It was a fun ride, and part of a weekend of fun rides. After I got home, my wife and I went on a bike ride on the Boyson trail. We rode again today to meet grandchildren at Noelridge Park.

But the main ride of the weekend was up the local mountain.

Mount Mercy, on extreme zoom, seen from Mount Trashmore.

And the other way, Kirkwood.

Bike parked, right before I leave top of Mount Trashmore.

The mountain bike trail down.

Tent to sign in at base of Mt. Trashmore.

Detour on C Avenue to avoid levee work.

Deer on Boyson Trail during late afternoon ride Saturday--camera is not on zoom at all, this deer is right by the trail.

In Which the Hawk Soars and I Fall

Looking east on Blair's Ferry. I did not ride that way, but much of the C Avenue sidewalk I rode on looked like this. Hooray for a mountain bike! My front tyre (below) on a city street near the MMU campus.

For once this week, on an icy Saturday morning, I decided to ride to work. Feb. 2 was Scholarship Day at Mount Mercy University, and I had volunteered to help with interviews.

I was to be in the U Center by 10 a.m. and left home at 9:10. Because the ride is half an hour, usually, I thought I had plenty of time. I was wrong.

It was grey and cool—but warm to an Iowan who has survived the Polar Vortex. A melt was expected today, and the snow was slushy in spots, but in the morning, the melt was just starting.

There was still lots of snow and ice—and CR Biker was riding carefully and slowly. I arrived on campus without incident, about 5 minutes before 10. There, I put the Fancy Beast mountain bike to the side in the entrance of the U Center—I doubted I would find a shoveled bike rack.

And I don’t blame anybody for that. The best road of the ride was the drive up the hill at MMU—the university’s facilities crew has been heroic in their snow removal efforts this week.

I conducted interviews with an alumna, and I enjoyed them very much. It seemed like a good group of incoming students. Then, I enjoyed lunch. It was about 1 by the time I got ready to leave campus.

First robin of spring? Dinosaur seen on my way to Cedar Lake--it was one of a group of male robins hanging out there.

Some of the streets had been covered in snow on my morning ride in, so I decided to take the longer trail route home. Just for fun, I headed towards Cedar Lake. Near the lake, a hawk was hanging out on the trail and soared into the air as I approached. I was lucky to get its image.

Three views of the hawk on the trail just north of Cedar Lake--as I first saw it (above), taking to the air (below) and zooming away (bottom),

The trail route strategy worked, the trail was in better shape than the streets, even if the route did lead to a non-consequential fall.

Trail on south side of Cedar Lake--have to watch it, but passible on a mountain bike, and most of the trail was wet, but not icy or snowy.

McCloud Run north of J Avenue on Cedar River Trail--pretty creek even in winter.

After the fall. The view from the tundra near Harding.

As my long-time bike riding pals know, some years ago CR Biker seriously messed up a knee via a fall on the ice. But I was riding a tall hybrid bike then—a much poorer choice for winter biking than the mountain bicycle I rode today. Today, I got plenty slushed, but was fine on the ride. No slips, no falls.

Until I got to Harding Middle School. If I take the trail home, one possible route is behind the school building. I rode that way—and when I got behind the building, I encountered maybe 100 yards of unplowed sidewalk buried under the snow.

Well, I was only carrying shoes in my backpack, so I was not weighed down, and the Fancy Beast, despite being a mountain bike, is fairly light. And I had on snow boots. So, I decided to hike across the tundra.

And promptly awkwardly tumbled into the wet, cold snow. There were maybe two feet on the ground there beyond the shoveled walk. The bad news was how wet and cold I suddenly was. The good news was that it was a slow speed tumble into soft snow—no old bikers were hurt in the making of this blog post.

Looking back at my tracks in deep snow behind Harding Middle School. It was quite a bit of work to carry a bike through deep snow. But as I reached the bridge and saw cleared sidewalk ahead of me (below), the sun appeared, another reason that your fallen bike correspondent did not get too cold.

The hardest part was getting purchase so I could stand up. The unplowed walk was from the building to a small bridge—beyond the bridge, for some reason, the sidewalk was cleared again (why clear the walk to the bridge and not to the school?). After crossing the bridge, I remounted and, slowly and carefully, was once more on my way.

Despite the fact that I was slightly damp, the temperature was so warm that I didn’t really chill in the remaining couple of miles to get home. Mostly, I was just glad I was able to ride just once this week. The forecast over the next 10 day is not promising—after a warm Sunday, winter is due to return late on Monday, bringing cold and chances of snow on many days.

The cold won’t be so severe that I couldn’t bundle up and bike in it—but today was stretching my limits for pavement quality. I can dress for cold, but that doesn’t eliminate snow and ice on the road.

I was happy with the Fancy Beast today--my winter mountain bike made this ride possible. Above, the bike in my driveway before I start the morning ride. Below, parked by the trail on the way home.