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 Anticipate More Shade

April 13--Ride on Grant Wood Trail east of Marion. True sign of spring, Dandelion in bloom by trail.

Spring comes from the ground up in Iowa, and for weeks, the grass has been slowly turning green, insects have started to appear, the early flowers have been in bloom—and now spring is slowly rising up, as it does. Lilacs and small trees such as Redbud and Crab Apple are in bloom. Some larger trees—maples, for instance—have been fuzzy with the new season for a while, but the Oak and Walnut and Catalpa have been snoozing through early spring.

No more. Young Oak are showing tiny new leaves, and even their older, slower cousins have swollen, greenish looking buds.

April 17--Bluebell by trail near Menard's.

Snake on the trail, March 28.

April 17--Eagle glides over bike trail--I'm stopped to make images of the Bluebells beside the trail.

And as spring has slowly been taking hold, my biking is slowly getting better. I have not done any 40-mile nor even 30-mile rides yet, but riding 10 miles is no longer an ordeal for me. On Palm Sunday, I actually rode 20 miles in my most epic ride to date. My first outdoor bike ride after heart surgery was March 17, and in March I rode a grand total of 36.18 miles. April come she will—it’s the 28th so April is not quite over, and I have rolled 144 miles across my small corner of the planet.

My incision still bothers me at times. I do still get more easily winded. But as April has grown warmer and spring has entered its mid phase—well, I can tell I am stronger. I have for many years been an old, slow biker, but I was ridiculously slow in March. I feel that my speed has significantly picked up as April has gone on—not back to where I was before heart bypass surgery in January, yet it is still good to see my riding improve. And it is good to see spring, and I anticipate that shade will be coming soon as the tree canopy gains itself.

April 22--Ride down to Cedar Lake, new construction area.

April 18--Near Tower Terrace Road on Creek Trail--Beaver swims in pond.

Late afternoon sunshine near south end of Boyson Trail April 2.

April 26--On mountain bike trail off of Boyson Trail.

Bike parked near bridge, April 26 ride.

My rides have been mostly on nearby bike trails. Weather and time have not been kind to my work plans, and while I rode to campus Sunday for an art reception, I have not yet resumed regularly commuting by bicycle.

There are only 3 weeks of the semester left. And if weather cooperates, campus is well within my range now. The miles there aren’t as flat as my trail rides near home. Yet, while I don’t want to tackle any big hill yet, I’m sure the small rises between me and Mount Mercy University are doable.

Like spring, I’m warming up. I’m getting to be a stronger biker. And that’s been a nice trend.

Am I ready to ride to campus? Yes. Rode there April 27 for an art reception.

In Which Four Rides Exceed 20 Miles

March 24--Spring break has ended and classes at Mount Mercy University began this morning. When I saw the sun making this daffodil outside the library shine in the morning sun, I regretted not having a bicycle in a nearby bike rack. But that time isn't quite here yet, even if it is coming.

One week of bicycle riding plus a day. Monday of last week was the first ride that I took this year—due not to winter, but to a heart bypass operation I had in January.

Today, the next Monday, was ride four. That first ride 8 days ago was just over 2 miles, and today I cycled 8.2 miles. The ride today was notable for another reason, too—I rode from the Lindale Trail to the Boyson Trail, and returned the reverse way—to get from the Boyson Trail to the Lindale Trail, I had to climb a modest hill.

Granted, I climb a little hill on C Avenue to get from my house to the bike trail in the first place, but this trail hill feels like a more substantial, slightly steeper, climb. It is not a mountain, not a big hill at all—but still. I feel pretty good about biking 8 miles—a pretty big increase in my ride mileage—and adding an extra incline into those miles, too.

March 24--Some big utility project in Marion means the north end of the Boyson Trail is closed for now, and limestone area of the trail is quite rutted. I have not been on my mountain bike yet--my rides so far have been on the lighter road bike--but I did miss the mountain bike today. Still, most of my route today was paved, and even if the trail was rutted, I just slowed down and was careful and didn't have any problems.

I know 8 miles is a nothing ride to any serious biker but my theme for 2025 is simply to return to biking, to slowly build my stamina without injuring myself and to enjoy rolling across the planet again.

In the past, say fall of 2024, I rode a bicycle to work most days. I have not done that yet in 2025. Riding to work requires an early morning start and a commitment to bike back home when I am tired in the afternoon. Once I start, I still won’t be able to do it every day—I have cardiac rehab every Tuesday and Thursday and need to commute by vehicle on those days so I can drive to those appointments—so any bike commuting in spring semester will have to be Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

March 18--Second ride, a bit over 3 miles--my wife and I drove to a park in Robins next to a bike trail and did a bit of afternoon riding there. Still moving slowly, still a little shaky, but completed ride two.

It's also complicated by medical advice to avoid prolonged exposure to less than 40-degree air. I am not sure that guideline is really as important as it was in the weeks immediately following my surgery—but still, I’m waiting for somewhat better morning weather before I take that first ride to work.

On the other hand, the 8 miles I biked today is a bit more than a ride to and from work, by the most direct route, would take. My two-way commute via the shortest route adds up to a bit over 7 miles. And on riding to work there is the issue of climbing—there are more rises on the ride to work, no huge hill, but several places where I would need hill-climbing gear.

I’m working my way back to bike commuting. I’m not quite there yet, but I am getting close. Maybe that will be in next week’s biking report—it depends on warmer morning weather, but as March goes on, the chances of good biking weather do go up.

I hope wherever you are, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, that you are starting to enjoy spring rides. Slowly, I am, too. So, for 2025 I have just over 21 miles—not a huge number, but much bigger than zero. I feel good about being back on two wheels and I look forward to adding more miles as time goes on.

March 21--Pretty spring day on Lindale Trail, which has been my go-to place for these first rides of 2025.

In Which I Have the Biking Luck of the Irish

My road bike, out of the garage for the first time in 2025. I've just aired the tyres, and making this image is a chance to catch my breath.

Saint Patrick’s Day 2025 started early for me—I had a 7:45 a.m. appointment with my cardiologist to check my meds and confer on how my recovery from heart bypass surgery that I had Jan. 10 is going.

The news was mixed but mostly good. One of my questions was: When can I start riding a bicycle outside? I have been exercising on an indoor bike, and I ride an exercise bike at cardiac rehab sessions twice a week, so I was feeling my body is ready.

Honestly, the biggest reason they’ve kept me off outdoor bikes isn’t the bike riding itself—which clearly I can do if I take it easy—it’s the risk of an accident or fall while my breastbone knits back together. And, the lesser question of how stable my repaired chest pump is.

Well, today was the day, two months and a week after surgery I heard the magic words that I wanted to hear:

“You can ride your bike,” the cardiologist said.

With several asterisks. I am not yet fully recovered—I get short of breath if I walk more than a block or so. I have a temporary handicapped parking permit for the university where I teach, because two of the buildings I teach in are beyond easy walking range for me.

Yet, I can walk some distance, as I proved today when my wife and I took four grandchildren down to watch the SaPaDaPaSo parade in downtown Cedar Rapids. (SaPaDaPaSo is the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society’s self-titled name, it’s basically the St. Patrick’s Day parade).

One of several St. Patricks seen in the March 17 SaPaDaPaSo parade in Cedar Rapids.

It was a warm, breezy, and sunny spring day, requiring a jacket in the morning and sunscreen in the afternoon. The parade is popular, and our parking spot was six blocks from the route. Which meant I walked a mile going to and from—a mile that winded me and required me to use a slow pace, but I got the job done.

Encouraged by the morning medical meeting and my conquering of a mile on foot in early afternoon, I decided today was the day. About 4:30 p.m., I wheeled my road bike out of the garage. Airing up the tyres proved an exhausting ordeal—your correspondent has a healing heart and breastbone, and tires easily while pumping tyres. But like a mile walk, I got the job done.

Then I started out on my ride. I turned south on C Avenue, climbing the relatively mild hill that leads to the Lindale Trail—but there was a brisk south wind, so I was climbing both a hill hill and a wind hill. And getting quite winded, to be honest. So, I shifted down further than I normally would. I had not been on two wheels on an actual ride since December, and I felt a little wobbly at first, but bicycle riding is one of those skills that comes back quickly, and one of my superpowers is being able to balance while moving rather slowly, so I just inched my way up both (actual and breeze-induced) hills.

My plan was to pause and catch my breath when I reached the trail, but when I turned to go on the trail, it turned out the wind wasn’t entirely a south one—it was a south by southwest breeze, and it gave me a boost and room to relax and breath while still moving on the bicycle. I rested as planned, I just didn’t have to stop to do it.

I rode down to Lindale Avenue, about 1.3 miles from my house. There I turned around. I knew this first ride would be very short, and I had already had the long walk today, and I had been enjoined by my heart doctor to enjoy bike rides but make sure I did not tax my healing body too much.

Selfie I took before starting journey back home. Happy to be riding!

Although the breeze wasn’t quite as helpful as I headed back west, it was mostly a side breeze and the trail was mostly flat. I took it easy and enjoyed the day.

The woods beside the trail are still in their winter sleep, but spring comes from the ground up, and although the grass is mostly in its drab, brown winter hues, it did today have a touch of St. Patrick’s Day magic—a tinge of Irish green.

Well, I’m half Irish (my mother was Irish, my father Hungarian). I felt I had some Irish luck going for me today. It felt great to be riding, even if the ride was deliberately short.

The last time I rode, Dec. 10 of last year, I had a winter coat on. Today it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and although I did have a long-sleeved shirt on, no coat was required today despite the breeze.

It was a good day for a bike ride. Especially the first bike ride.

Above and below, the kind of afternoon it was. quite pretty. And below, I think you can see that the ground is just starting to hint at spring green.

In Which May Brings Bike Maintenance, Warm Rides

 

April 15--Riding The Fancy Beast on mountain bike trail by Boyson Trail. Turkey in the woods.

April 15--Ready to leave campus on the Mountain Bike. Flag from RAGBRAI last year (no, I didn't ride a mountain bike on RAGBRAI, this is just where the RABRAI flag ended up).

April 13--Took my wife's bike, my grandson's bike and my bike to Lowe Park for a ride. Grandson just recently learned to ride sans training wheels.

April 10--First bike commute to work without a jacket this season. Don't need jacket in summer-like heat now!

It was cool today, May 28, a break from a long string of warm days we've had, and there were a few sprinkles, which came as a bit of surprise to me since I went into the office today to deal with some end-of-year paperwork and I rode a bicycle because I thought the forecast was for a dry day,. However, the sky looked dicey, so I chose to use my mountain bike (my most all-weather bicycle), and I’m glad I did.

I got a bit sprinkled on—but only slightly damp, not really wet. It was maybe not quite as good as I wanted, but still good. Which has been the theme of my recent biking experiences.

For example, I’ve had the tandem bike out several times. My grandchildren keep growing, and some of them have gotten too tall to be comfortable on the Tag-A-Long seat. The tandem bike (needs a name, my other bikes have names already—it’s a 1970s era Schwinn, by decades my oldest two-wheeled steed, a deep red. Ideas?) solves the problem.

The first weekend of May, two grandsons, brothers, were staying for the weekend. I suggested to the older one, 12 going on 13, that we could go for a ride. He agreed. It was a fine afternoon, and we headed up to the Lindale Trail, first going west to Council Street, then doubling back to head through Marion on the Grant Wood Trail.

May 4--Tandem bike ride with my grandson, resting at east end of Grant Wood Trail. The trail has since been opened up.

It had not been my plan to ride that far, but the grandson was encouraging, and we just kept pedaling, ending up at the construction barrier at the east end of the trail. We hopped off to chat and take a short break, and then headed back west towards home. Our original plan was to circle Waldo’s Rock Park on the way home, but it was getting later, we were tired and so we headed straight home.

Turns out, the whole ride as 20.85 miles, which is quite a distance on that heavy old bike, although I divide the grandkid’s into “extra engines” or “luggage” on the tandem, and this day, the grandson was mostly a spare engine, which helped.

I took the 11-year-old on a shorter ride the next day—all in all, good use of the as-yet unnamed tandem.

May 3--Morning on the loading dock at Warde Hall, the building where my office is, ready to take bike inside and park by my office.

About a week later, I was with a different grandson, a 6-year-old. He’s just now getting too tall for the Tag-a-Long, and I I had to lower the rear seat on the tandem so he could reach the pedals, but that wasn’t hard to do. We set off, riding on the Boyson Trail. It was going to be a fairly short ride—this grandson is always willing to ride, but always lobbying for a ride to end soon, too.

Anyway, we were heading to the little hill that leads up from the Boyson Trail to the Lindale Trail. The old tandem only has a rear derailleur, controlled by one of those big lever controls (remember Schwinn bikes of the 1970s?). Maybe I shifted a bit too quickly or pressed the lever too hard—whatever the reason, the rear chain jumped off it’s front cog (in the middle of the bike, this tandem has two chains, front and rear) and jammed.

At least the chain didn’t break. I tried to pop it back into place, with no luck other than getting my hands super duper greasy. With the chain jammed, we could only walk the bike. Well, it was a bit of a walk, about two miles, to home from this place—but a walk-able distance. I called my wife, informed her and my daughter what had happened, and then the grandson and I started the march home.

About halfway there, we met my wife and daughter. My wife took over walking the bike, which I think was meant to be a favor, and I appreciate the thought, but honestly it made walking more difficult for me—I have aging knees that sometimes get sore, and my left knee was acting up. The bike, in effect, was a walker, something that could take some of my weight and ease the stress on the knee—without it, walking was slower and more painful. That last mile was a reminder of why, with my aging body, rolling across the planet is often much more pleasant than marching across its surface.

Coupled with the crippled tandem chain, my road bike had a flat back tyre at the end of April.

Luckily, I have Clarence and The Fancy Beast (my hybrid and my road bikes). So, as the school year heated up (the end of spring semester is always those most frantic, busy time of year), I could continue to roll.

The weather shifted. Our long-term drought has slowly abated, and May turned out to be a much wetter month than previous ones—good news for plants. In the past month, the world has shifted from an early spring of green grass and flowers but bare trees to a full regalia of shade. Many days have been summer warm, too.

May 20--Starting off on ride home, pausing to enjoy Iris in bloom behind Warde Hall.

April 20--Bike on trail behind Linn-Mar High School.

April 28--Clouds over Lindale Trail. Been dodging rain the last month or so.

April 27--Windy, but pleasant day for a bike ride, on Grand Wood Trail east of Marion.

I waited until the semester ended, but last week finally tackled some bicycle maintenance. I have a spare tube for the road bike, so changing it was not a big deal.

The tandem chain project turned out to be more of a chore. Try as I might, with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, I could not get the chain out. Partly, I was blocked by the chain cover, so I had to remove it. That was tricky and time consuming—only three bolts to remove, but they were not easy to reach.

Still, eventually, I worked the cover off and then, with better access the chain, I eventually (30 minutes or so, which is a very long time for your correspondent who does not naturally use tools) managed the chain extraction. Putting the chain cover back on proved even more problematic than taking it off, but again, I eventually was able to accomplish that task.

May 20--Getting ready to change tube on flat tyre on Argent.

Chain stuck on old red tandem. Help me, hive mind, what should this bike be named? Gemini? The Bus? Ying and Yang? Duo?

May 22--One more minor bike maintenance task--adding string of little lights my wife bought for now ride-able road bike Argent.

So it goes. I didn’t realize, until I checked, that I have not checked in on this blog in more than a month. April and May were both decent biking months, although with my recent health scare, I have not yet resumed long bike rides.

Still, summer is just starting and those longer rides are coming. And, in shorter distances, I have continued to ride. NPR recently had a story about the health benefits of bicycling, and I’m glad to do it for those, although mostly I do it because I enjoy doing it—alone on my newly repaired road bike or with a family member on the tandem.

I’ve gone from cool-weather biking to more summer norms—sunblock and bug repellent now being regular parts of my cycling routine. It has been a good April and May, and I hope you’re all enjoying rolling in your piece of the planet, too! Year-to-date as of May 28, 1,064.92. I rode 220.33 miles in April and in May so far, I have 197.28 miles.

May 20--Barrier at east end of Grant Wood Trail is down, rode a bit on new limestone trail. Didn't go far--it had rained recently. I'll be back on mountain bike on a dryer day to see the rest.

May 22--Bike ride to enjoy flowers at Lowe Park gardens. Bee there.

In Which My Brain Causes a Brief Biking Hiatus

March 24--I was released from the hospital Thursday, drove to work Friday due to a snowstorm, and rode six miles on Sunday. Back in the saddle again!

It’s turning out that 2024 will be a more new and interesting biking year than I thought. On the morning of March 20, I rode my bicycle to work, intending to bike home that night.

And I didn’t. Because I ended up in the emergency room. In the afternoon, as I detailed on one of my other blogs, I suffered a mini-stroke, what they call a TIA, and had a resulting overnight stay in the hospital. By Friday, I was able to go back to work but a morning snowstorm prevented any bike ride that day..

Well, what’s ahead on the biking road can’t always be anticipated. After my hospitalization, I’ve been told to engage in any physical activity “as tolerated,” and I can tolerate riding a bicycle. For now, my wife has informed me she doesn’t want me to do any solo 50-mile rides, and I think she has a point.

March 24--Going deliberately slow, using my mountain bike due to some snow left on trail. Put in a bit more than 6 miles on first ride in a few days.

So, we’ll see how this year shakes out. Since my last biking report, despite an unexpected hiatus, I have ridden more than 80 miles. This Easter weekend, I’ve enjoyed several rides with a 6-year-old grandson, doing two short rides with the Tag-A-Long seat. The weekend was grand, but so full of family fun that bike time was rather constrained.

I don’t feel myself, 100 percent. I’ve had a headache since the medical event, nothing serious, but irritating. I don’t know if I’m just tuning into aches and pains more, but I’m strapped to a 24-hour heart monitor, and I’ve had several “events” to report. Nothing serious, but some lightheaded moments.

Well, biking friends, when I saw my doctor’s PA post hospitalization, he was pleased that I had already been out on my bicycle. I intent to continue rolling—it would be a serious mistake to pull back too far on exercise, given my health issues.

March 27--Rode down the Lindale Trail for some extra distance on the way home. Weather getting more into spring, deer by trail keeping an eye on me.

But this past fortnight has had its share of reminders of reality and mortality. If we’re lucky, we grow old. That inevitably has an impact on our bodies and lives. And yet, if we’re also lucky, those bodies will be all the better because we choose to bicycle.

In other personal biking news, Team Joe, my RAGBRAI team, has made a big decision. We’re going to do joint rides the week of RAGBRAI, but not RAGBRAI. The route this year is very hilly and very southern Iowa, and doesn’t go through our towns. So we'll enjoy our own rides in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids areas.

I still want to train and gain miles as the weather turns to summer. How far will I go? Nobody can tell for sure, but I hope to roll many more miles. Hope to see you out there on the trail, Lord willing, the creek don’t rise and my body holds up.

In March, my miles totaled 291.63. I’m sure they would have been more than 300, but for, well, you know. Still, I have 647.31 for the year. I don’t have Spring Break in April, but school ends a couple of weeks into May, so by the time spring is rolling into summer, I’m hoping that I can have rolled more than 1,000 miles. We’ll see!

March 28--Family is coming home for Easter weekend tonight, and I have Friday off work, but I ride to Cedar Lake in the afternoon on the way home. Warm, pretty afternoon, starting to feel a bit more like myself.