The Camera Store Ride

Can't post a link to it--the newspaper site was not updated this week--but here is a picture of a story that the Mount Mercy Times at MMU ran this week about bike trails in Cedar Rapids.

The story focused on trails used by students and how to visit them from campus. I was a "hidden" source for the story, in that I suggested a map and helped the design editor plan routes for that map.

She didn't actually use my routes verbatim, however. For instance, the paper suggests riding north on C Avenue to get to the Boyson Trail in Marion.

Naw. When I head north from MMU, I spend over half my time on E Avenue. Despite the fact that Kenwood School is there, it's much better for biking than the busier C Avenue.

Anyway, I had to take a newspaper camera into the shop today, which meant taking 43rd Street to C and riding just one harrowing block on that avenue before a right turn into a quiet alley leading to a back parking lot of a business complex. There is a fence between that complex and the mall area where Kohls and Barnes and Noble are located, but also a deliberate hole in that fence, for access to the mall area. Rode slowly through this (mushy ground) then east through Mall parking lot, a 4-way stop and by HyVee and Lindale Mall to PhotoPro.

The route home from the photo shop involved the access road that goes by KMart, a jaunt through a steakhouse parking lot and then north on Northland to Blair's Ferry, where I ride on the sidewalk.

All in all, a cool ride, but still. a ride. Glad to be back on the bike again!

A Short Week for Riding

Between cold, rain and snow, this is almost a "lost week." I rode my bike Sunday, but have been driving the Beetle ever since.

Well, at least things are looking better for at least tomorrow. As gas prices rise, it will feel even better to by on my bike.

Today, Ash Wednesday, it's the start of Lent. Audrey and I talked last night about what we would do, and mostly it was working on eating habits. Today, Fr. Vu talked about additional ways to give alms or fast that aren't traditional--such as fasting from Facebook.

I'm not going to give up my blogs completely for Lent, but I think he has a point. As far as biking is concerned, Lent is a time not just to give up things, but to go to the desert by doing more.

I'm hoping my Lent includes more biking. May the weather cooperate!

Sunshine Sunday, Followed By Cloudy Days

Snow, snow, snow, show!

It won't be long before we're done with snow!

Snow--I long to see the melting of the snow.

OK--that was 3 re-written lines from a song from "White Christmas." In that movie, Bing and Danny wanted snow so that they could help the hero General and bed the ladies. Worthy goals.

Me, I'm very ready to be over snow, but I know, being an Iowan, that it's only March, and the northern hemisphere won't swing to old Sol any faster, no matter what my impatience. So, we'll just wait it out, flowers are starting to come up in the MMU Grotto and snow will soon be first a memory and then a magical phenom to be awaited as a sign of approaching Christmas.

The rain and snow has kept me off the bike and in the Beetle for two days. A better man than I might have ridden yesterday, but it did snow and get a bit wet, and I drove. Today, it was dry and tempting in the morning, but rain is expected this afternoon.

Well, at least Sunday, while a little cool, was still nice. Sunday was a pretty heavy work day for me, as the semester approaches its first mid-term mini climax--it's amazing how many assignments just a few students in two classes can generate. Then again, I have a group of 4 students doing an editing course as a "directed study," which makes as much work as a "regular" class.

On Sunday, when I got ready to head down to campus, I said "what the heck" and took the Cedar River Trail. Getting there takes a 20-minute detour west through Hiawatha, including a ride under Collins Road on a golf course underpass. Once there, it was a pleasant ride to Mount Mercy.

Sadly, my commute crosses the least interesting parts of the trail--the Hiawatha suburban branch, with a few snatches of nature tossed in along with an Interstate in Cedar Rapids. Going either farther north or south, the trail gets better. Still, I like even this jaunt of the trail.

Rode home on my "regular" direct route, which takes roughly half the time.

It was nice to have a Sunday ride to make up for no ride on Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday looks a bit iffy this week, so it'll be late week by the time I'm riding again.

Impatience. Can I give it up for Lent?

Weekly 2011 Bike Log Issue 2

Did not ride today due to rainy weather forecast, did not ride Monday due to late night Sunday and lack of morning time. But, I did get 3 rides in this week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday:

Tuesday: 12 miles (commute and quick trail ride)

Wednesday: 10 miles

Thursday: 10 miles

Total so far for 2011: 142 miles.

A View From A Bridge

There were clouds in the sky today, and I was wondering, in the middle of the day whether the weather would hold turn wet.

Well, luck was with me this fine late winter/early spring day. The sky turned from cloudy to a milky sunshine, and the ride home was very pleasant.

Two images from my ride home, both from the C Avenue bridge. There was plenty of traffic on C Avenue, but still, even in the city, it's nice to be outside, to not be enclosed in a glass and metal box as you go from place to place--to be able to see and hear the woodpecker in the maple tree.

The dominant color outside now is brown, and I'll enjoy it more when green starts to take over. But even the brown countryside of March can be pleasant on an unexpectedly nice afternoon.

See the CENMAR--A New CR Trail

It was much colder today, March 2, than March 1, which meant I wore long underwear for the morning commute--but I still rode my bike! With 2 pairs of socks, I wasn't too cold--luckily, the wind was from the northwest, which meant it was only a problem for brief periods on my mostly southward commute.

Anyway, yesterday, March 1, as I blogged, was a very nice day.

I texted Audrey, my wife, in the afternoon to see if she wanted to go for a walk around the MMU neighborhood, but she was meeting my daughter and grandkids for a stroll around the Bowman Woods area where we live.

I have bell choir practice in the Chapel of Mercy every Tuesday at 5, and just on a lark, at 4:30 I decided to check out the CENMAR trail. The newly opened trail terminates right across Prairie Drive from Regis Middle School, so it was easy to get to.

The photo shows the trail with late afternoon shadows crossing it; I was about as far north as I could go on the short stretch that starts near MMU--this is looking south at the north end.

The trail itself is (as a new trail should be) in excellent shape. It's a bit barren now, but grass hasn't started to come up. I hope the city will plant some trees nearby to shade it a bit--nearby utility lines means that they can't be full-sized trees, but even a few crabapples or redbuds would provide some cover. Please plant them just west of the trail, so on sunny summer afternoons there will a bit of relief.

Anyway, I had plenty of time--the whole trial, round trip, was about a 5-minute ride, and that's old-man, bum-knee, going slow minutes.

Not to complain. I'm excitetd that the city is building the CENMAR trail and happy to use even this tiny piece of it. When it's done, it may become my new commuting route, because I can get to the Boyson Trail in Marion very quickly from my house--we'll see!

For now, happy trails!

March Madness--Spring Sort Of Arrives

Sun was cool this morning--and the breeze from the south was in my face most of the way to MMU.

That wind was biting cold.

But the sun was still bright and the afternoon is really beautiful.

The picture shows some flowers just starting to emerge at Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto, MMU.

A gallery of Grotto images on this first day of March can be seen at my other blog, crgardenjoe.

Anyway, back to work, for a while. I have "bells" today so I must stay on campus, but maybe my wife will want an afternoon walk. And, even if it's twilight and cool by the time I have to leave, it's great that the first day of March was such a nice day for a bike ride!