In Which a Cool Day Greets a New Trail

During my first trike ride on new section of CeMar Trail--headed south to Cedar Rapids from Marion.

It was a bit damp this morning, windy and cool. My phone’s weather app showed showers rumbling through midday, and that slightly changed my plans.

Today was a special day in Cedar Rapids—the CeMar Trail which links the heart of the city with its neighbor Marion was complete. The city of Marion has constructed the final leg of the trail, which was officially opened today.

I had planned to trike or bike to the ceremony and immediately experience the new trail after it opened. But there was that pesky rain forecast. Plus, my wife was willing to come to the event but not interested in riding a bike to it. So, we decided to drive to the street by Mount Calvary Cemetery, where the ceremonial ribbon cutting was planned.

New trail section is not flat, but not hilly, either.

As it turned out, I could have ridden. But I don’t mind not riding, for the experience was more pleasant with the company of my wife. Anyway, it was a pretty typical ceremony of its type, with both city’s mayors and city managers speaking, and ridiculously huge scissors then used to cut a handheld ribbon.

I’ve been looking forward to this trail opening. I often ride to central Cedar Rapids. My home in Northeast Cedar Rapids, however, wasn’t conveniently located by any trail that leads to where I want to go. The opening of this trail dramatically changes that and provides me with a new route whenever I want to ride to the middle of Cedar Rapids.

While it benefits me personally, I think it’s a nice feature for both cities, too. I think Nick AbouAssaly, mayor of Marion, pointed out a key reality.

“Good jobs and good, affordable, low-cost living are not enough,” he said. “We need more, we need to invest in the curb appeal of our communities.”

Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly

Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz

Marion City Manager Ryan Waller

Does the new trail have “curb appeal?” After the ceremony, my wife and I drove home. I ate a sandwich as she headed off to the gym, and then I got on my trike to ride to the new trail.

It was about 1:30 in the afternoon when I set out. My weather app called for rain around 2:30, so I was gambling a bit. As it turned out, while it got a bit damp and I felt a few drops, the rain never materialized, which I appreciate. Anyway, it was slightly confusing approaching the new trail by riding the Boyson Trail and the Krumholtz trails—the signs warning that the trail was closed are still in place.

They were not accurate. When I approached the end of the Krumholtz Trail, the barrier was down, the trail open. I suspect it may be intermittently closed still—it looked to me like there is some finishing landscaping as yet undone—but today the way was clear. I reached the T intersection where the Krumholtz Trail runs into the CeMar Trail, and I turned right, south, towards Cedar Rapids.

This couple were the first trail users I saw after the ribbon cutting. And below, bikers start to roll on the trail.

The trail runs under Highway 100 and winds and meanders a bit along Indian Creek. It’s not a very direct trail, but it’s also not long and is located in a very pretty creek valley, the beauty only somewhat muted by the many “No Trespassing, Violators will be Prosecuted” signs plastered along the trail by nearby landowners to cheerily greet trail users.

Well, landowners, there’s nothing along the trail to draw a biker or triker away from their route, so I doubt strangers tramping through your fallow bottomlands will be much of an issue, but thanks for the reminder of the covetous nature of the bipedal apes who delude themselves that they own parts of this shared planet.

Anyway, whatever. That minor discordant note didn’t significantly reduce my good spirits. I like and have frequently ridden the parts of this trail that had been previously open, but this final stretch is full of “curb appeal.”

It was cool, windy and a little damp. It was still a nice ride. I saw many walkers and bikers as I rolled around the curves and up and down the rises in this short trail stretch, and I encourage you, if you’re in this area, to give it a try. It’s very much worth it.

My trike ride totalled 11.2 miles. The new trail was just a portion of it—I paid attention to my bike app, and when I was returning home I checked my totals—I had ridden 5.99 miles before starting the return on the new trail segment. When I got to the end where the previous trail is, I was at 7.32 miles—so the whole new trail was only 1.53 miles. Not a huge distance for a trail segment that will have such a big impact on my riding and on the community where I live.

In Which ‘Awful’ Bike Lanes Fortunately Expand

Sept. 29--Rode my trike up to Lafayette, about 10 miles from home, 7 miles from Boyson Road trailhead. I'm returning from a short stroll--I've been trying to walk more lately. I walked north of Lafayette and am returning there--you can see my trike Sommer Livin parked there. Look, it's Iowa, and there are riders on bicycles. Who knew?

This is a big week for bicycle and tricycle riders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A major leg of the CeMar Trail, linking central Cedar Rapids to the main trail in Marion, Iowa, is set to open with a ceremony at noon, Friday.

There is a 60 percent chance of rain that day, so I’m a bit conflicted about whether I’ll ride the new trail segment on its opening day. If I still had a working bad weather mountain bike, I’m pretty sure I would ride unless it really pours—and, honestly, I’m still likely to chance it.

Just not on my new, expensive recumbent trike nor my sleek road bike. The beater bike, these days, is Clarence, my hybrid bike.

Anyway, this new milestone comes as bike trails are expanding here. A new bridge—called the Alliant Energy LightLine and part of a larger project called ConnectCR—across the Cedar River is taking shape, and last week, my sister and I rode our recumbent trikes down to take a look.

A tower at the south end of the bridge, which is to be lit and is a key feature of the bridge, has been put in place. The tower is designed to be a reminder of the historic Sinclair meatpacking plant that was an important part of local history, bringing many Czech immigrants to town. The bridge will connect two prominent local neighborhoods associated with the city’s Czech heritage, NewBo and Czech Village.

Workers on new bridge at base of new tower seen Oct. 22.

New tower comes into view Oct. 22 as my sister and I ride trikes on trail.

My sister and I had a beautiful day for our ride. The route there was complicated by road construction, which seems a theme of riding in Cedar Rapids this fall, but it was still nice to see the under-construction bridge, built on the foundation of a rail bridge swept away in a 2008 flood, taking shape.

That’s all well and good, but clearly there isn’t universal support for biking infrastructure. In my Congressional District, the Republican candidate is Joe Mitchell, and he made some biking headlines of his own recently.

President Trump came to the Sioux City airport Oct. 22 to, I assume, help sink the chances of most GOP candidates, and Mitchell was among the candidates reaching for an electoral anchor to pull himself down. He presented Trump with a fake “man of the century” award and then spoke about biking. Trump’s government is changing transportation funding, eliminating money for bike lanes that the previous administration had included.

“Thank God you’re getting rid of those awful bike lanes,” Mitchell was quoted by the Des Moines Register as saying in his remarks.

“We don’t ride bicycles in Iowa, we ride Harley Davidsons,” Mitchell also said.

Somehow, bikers and bicycles are being lumped with other priorities as liberal, tree-hugging DEI nonsense. It’s another wrong-headed policy of the confederacy of dunces who are in power now, but it does tap into a common and deep resentment many Iowans feel about bikers.

Mitchell has been widely mocked for his comments—with many pointing out that one of the largest organized cross-state bicycle rides, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) happens here each July. Yet, while I love and have ridden RAGBRAI, it does have a mixed reputation and can represent a huge inconvenience for non-biking Iowans.

Sunset at Waldo's Rock. Trail around the pond very popular with people who fish and walk (and ride bikes, as many Iowans do). Rode my trike there Oct. 7.

I think it’s important, for the sake of public dollars going there, to note why bike lanes and bike trails benefit all Iowans, those who chose to pedal and those who don’t. Here are several reasons why I would argue that “those awful bike lanes” and bike trails are a good deal for all.

First, I write about bike lanes. While many motorists resent bikers, riding them (or motorcycles) is a free choice people are allowed to make. If bikes will be out there—and, because of many committed riders like me, they will—bike lanes relieve traffic congestion that slow-moving person-powered vehicles can cause. Drivers who get frustrated by bikes would do well to consider that having a separate lane for them makes the presence of bikes less of a hassle for everyone.

A bike lane makes the road safer and more convenient for the bike rider, sure, but also for the auto driver who can more easily pass a rider who is not using the same space anymore.

And bike trails help serve to remove bikes from the auto trafficway completely.

So we segue to trails. Why should my tax dollars fund them? Well, you could ask the same about any recreational infrastructure. Why should my tax dollars fund playgrounds when I’m a 68-year-old man and I don’t often frolic in such facilities? (I sometimes do, I have young grandchildren who I like to play with, but that’s another story). It’s partly an overall quality of life issue—parks and playgrounds clearly make a community better, more livable, more likely to be popular with the people. Parks in Cedar Rapids include baseball diamonds where I don’t play, tennis courts I never use, golf courses that require equipment I don’t own, swimming pools I don’t dip in—and I say that’s all OK. A park doesn’t have to benefit me directly to benefit me, and I understand that.

Children should have parks to play in—it’s what a community provides to aid a healthy society. Parks also serve the general good by promoting exercise and thus reducing healthcare costs.

Some views of nature seen on bike trail Sept. 29. Iowa snakes are usually not our enemies--most of them do not harm humans nor human stuff. If an Iowa gardener had written Genesis, Satan would be a deer or rabbit.

Here and below, more nature seen on Sept. 29 ride. In late September, trails were a good place to catch a view of migrating Monarch butterflies.

Bike trails, too, are not exclusively or even mostly for bikers. In Cedar Rapids, virtually all trails are linear parks used by walkers, joggers, skateboarders, etc. They include trees and flowers and wildlife habitat. In this modern, insular era, infrastructure that invites us outside to touch and see and otherwise experience nature is important for our collective wellbeing. It’s good for the soul, all of our souls, bikers and nonbikers.

True, the trails also provide me, as a biker and triker, with a more convenient, comfortable place to ride. But I encounter many dog walkers and runners and strollers—mother and fathers pushing baby carriages. A “bike” trail benefits us all. And those who choose not to use parks do benefit from a more attractive community that’s amenable for others to spend time outside in.

I don’t own a Harley. But Joe Mitchell is wrong. Nobody has to choose between riding a Harley and riding a bicycle. I’m sure some people do both (just not simultaneously). And some of those Harley riders will park at a trail head and go for a stroll now and then—on advice of their doctors who want them to walk more.

Oct. 14--A line of turkeys are crossing the Krumholtz Trail during my ride.

Seen on Oct. 7 ride on Grant Wood Trail in Marion in park by old railroad caboose. Monarch (and bee) enjoying Asters.

A common sight on bike rides in Iowa in fall. Deer by the Lindale Trail. They are used to humans and not very wary. I made this image on a ride Oct. 14.

Plenty of Iowans ride bikes, Joe Mitchell. You may score some political points among resentful non-bikers with a churlish remark about “awful” bike lanes. That doesn’t make you right, just far right-wing.

Anyway, unless it’s raining cats and dogs, I’ll probably be there Friday when the new leg of the CeMar Trail opens. On wheels. As an Iowan.

As of October 25, I’ve ridden 207.16 miles on bike and trike this month. My year-to-date is 2,541.55 miles. Lately, because I need some brake repair on Sommer Livin, my trike, I’ve been rolling on two wheels, and my longest October ride so far was 20.19 miles on a bicycle Oct. 20.

In Which I Pay Two Lakes a Fall Visit

Sept. 24--Cedar Lake reflects cloudy, cool September sky.

September has been a mixed month for riding a bike or trike in Iowa. The month started very summer hot, but several weeks in the switch was thrown. It’s still not all that cool for fall, which officially began last Monday, but it’s no longer summer hot.

And it’s been very wet. It seems like rain has been an almost nightly visitor to this corner of the planet. In fact, early this week we got 4.5 inches of rain in 24 hours—rain that fell on saturated ground which could not absorb it, so suddenly Dry Creek, a small waterway behind my property, became briefly a raging river. The bike trail I ride on most often—the Boyson Trail—runs along Indian Creek and Dry Creek, and was flooded Monday. It has been closed for most of the week, and the paved sections of the trail opened for the first time today (I’m writing this Sept. 25, 2026).

Sept. 20--Looking down from Lindale Trail bridge at flooded Boyson Trail.

My riding has thus been a bit disjointed this month. In August, it was summer business and travel that limited my rides. The limit in September was usually simpler—rain.

With the fall equinox having been Monday of this week, the nature of my rides is shifting. I’m wearing long pants and socks a lot more, these days. I charged up the main rear light on my trike, the battery of which had lost power due to more use as dense clouds and earlier twilights cause more need for running with lights during rides. More of my recent rides have ended in twilight as the fall sun falls below the horizon earlier.

Sept. 15--New season, new look. Long pants, leg bands, socks. September trike rides.

There have also been some other common experiences during my September rides. Monarchs are migrating this month from the center of North America, headed for their winter refuges in Mexico. It’s been fun to see them—Noelridge Park and Cedar Lake, in particular, have been good places to catch sight of these stately insects during my rides.

And the mating season for White Tail Deer is approaching—I don’t if that’s why they’ve been a little weird lately. Not weird in a scary way, just more visible and distracted and not that concerned with hairless apes passing them by. Somehow, urban deer seem to know that it’s not hunting season now—and even if it were, nobody is gunning for them in the middle of a city bike trail.

Sept. 9--Deer on Lindale Trail.

Sept. 22--Bucks moving through Oak Shade Cemetery.

Anyway, this month has featured more walking for me, too—a hobby driven by health advice from my cardiologist as well as my competitive instincts. My brother-in-law Eldon from Des Moines suggested that he, my youngest sister who is also his spouse, my wife and I report our steps and distance walked via Facebook Messenger each day. The steps challenge has been a good motivator for me.

Nobody in our group can touch Audrey, my wife, who is an avid walker—but I’ve been walking more than a mile pretty much every day, even if some days that walking is indoors due to the unexpected monsoon season we’ve had.

Sept. 18--I have parked my trike and walked around Cedar Lake. Nearing the trike after my slow circuit.

Sept. 18--Walking around Cedar Lake after riding trike there. I like how the lake sparkles in the background.

Anyway, dear reader, you may be tapping your foot and wondering. Isn’t this a biking blog? Why do I care about the step challenge? Well, it’s had an impact on my bike and trike journeys. Now, I will often choose a location for a ride based on the existence of a place to ramble on foot for a time. I’ve walked around Cedar Lake after riding there, for instance.

And just yesterday, to have a new place to walk, I decided the day’s trike ride would take me to the Prairie Park Fishery. It’s a pleasant city park next to the Cedar River—it’s an old quarry site, which features a pretty, small lake and a walking trail that surrounds it. The lake, the old quarry pit, is also just a few yards from the river on its south side, so the trail goes pleasantly between the two bodies of water.

Sept. 24--Monarch fueling up for flight to Mexico, seen during walk around the lake at the Prairie Park Fishery.

I first rode down to Cedar Lake and circled it, pausing to make some images there. I went for a short walk on the fishing levee, but mostly this circuit of Cedar Lake was via trike. Then, I continued on the Cedar River Trail through downtown Cedar Rapids. My plan was to ride to near the Lion Bridge, where, instead of crossing the river, I would veer north through the New Bo neighborhood to reach Otis Road, which would take me to the fishery.

It didn’t work out that way. There is a lot of street construction in downtown Cedar Rapids, and the normal route that goes beside the Federal Courthouse was not available.

I don’t like to do much street riding on my trike—if a ride involves streets, I’ll usually choose a bicycle. Still, I was familiar with an alternate street route that would lead to Otis Road, and the streets weren’t busy, so I decided to go ahead and take that route.

When I reached Otis Road, I felt it was very lucky that I could even get to the Prairie Park Fishery. Otis Road runs directly adjacent to the Cedar River, and if the river overspills its banks, that street is one of the first to be closed by the high water. Well, what with the local creek flooding this week, the river was running high, although, happily, not quite high enough to cover the road.

Sept. 24--Riding to Prairie Park Fishery along Otis Road. Note how Cedar River is close to level of road.

The cloudy, cool day warmed just a bit as I neared the fishery. I circled the lake there on my trike, then parked, locked the trike, ate a small snack, and went for the hike. The sun had been flashing through the clouds, but the sky again closed in and it cooled as I ambled—I didn’t mind, it was nice to have it pleasantly chilly for the walk. “Chilly” might even be over stating it, a bit. It was in the 60s and humid.

Anyway, I spotted a Monarch and made some images of it and some other things as I walked. For photo purposes, a bit of a walk is a nice change from riding a trike or bike. It’s much easier to use a camera when on foot.

I’m getting up there in age, and trotting for almost two miles on top of what was already a 12-mile trike ride did concern me a little. What would my knees make of this adventure? Well, they were fine while I was moving, although when I stopped at the end of the hike to change from walking shoes to triking sandals, they lodged their painful complaints. Still, the ride back home was OK—I knew I didn’t have any strenuous hills on my planned route, and I just took the pace nice and easy. Again, when I got into motion, my knees complained less, which was nice of them.

Well, while September has been a bit mixed. Yet, when I have been able to ride, the rides have been extremely nice. Fall in Iowa is not usually this damp, and it is normally one of the best seasons to roll across this tiny patch of the planet. As of Sept. 25, I’ve rolled 2,298.33 miles in 2026, which 163.23 of those miles being in the ninth month of the year. The longest September ride was the sojourn to reach the Prairie Park Fishery, clocking in at 23.84 miles. No 40-mile rides yet this month, but if we get a fully dry day, maybe there will be such a ride through the pleasant fall air.

In Which Fleet-Footed Singers Serenade

Heron wades in slough next to Cedar Lake on Aug. 31, final day of August.

Here it is, the final day of August, 2026. It got hot this afternoon, the start of a hot week here in Iowa. Well, it’s not unusual for September to feel summer warm, although a few hints of fall chill would not be amiss.

In past years, I’ve ridden my birthday on or near my Aug. 30 birthday—in one day riding the number of miles that equals the age I reach. Recently, I’ve amended that practice as I age—now, I generally give myself a weekend to reach my birthday ride. And this year, family had a hand in plans, too. I have a sister who was born on my 4th birthday, so as I turned 68 Aug. 30, she turned 64. She, her husband and another of my sisters, plus me, form “Team Joe,” which has ridden RAGBRAI in pre-pandemic years.

Anyway, the team decided to get together and share miles—if the team rode 17 miles, that would equal 68. Or if we rode 34, the cumulative miles would cover both my sister and me.

As for me, I was still thinking I’d like to ride my full birthday miles as an individual.

Aug. 28--Goldfinch eating Thistle seeds by Grant Wood Trail, seen on the first and longest of the birthday rides.

Friday Aug. 28 ride, team takes a break on bridge as we near home.

Aug. 27--I ride out to see my parents' marker at Oak Shade Cemetery. Team Joe will visit the next day.

 

Anyway, the team quickly exceeded its goal. Team Joe is—since I was given Sommer Lovin, my trike, by my wife and kids—a trike team. On Friday, we rode our 12 wheels over to see my parent’s tombstone, recently installed at Oak Shade Cemetery. Then we rode to Lowe Park, rolled across the trail there, and then headed down the Grant Wood Trail to Waldo’s Rock Park.

After a break, we continued east past the new bridge to the trailhead just beyond the end of the paved trail.

When we got there, there was a van from Cornell College in Mount Vernon. And young adults in shorts were milling about, some skipping or toe walking about. It was the cross-country team, according to many of their shirts.

The older of my two younger sisters, the one who doesn’t share my birthday, looked at the cross-country team and yelled out: “Hey Cornell. It’s Brigid’s and Joe’s birthday this weekend—how about a song?”

The young adults laughed, gathered in a cluster, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Brigid and I. It was silly, spontaneous and serene.

It was the unexpected highlight of a very fun weekend. We enjoyed the 33.97 miles, longer than we had planned, on Friday. Saturday, we intended an early ride, but rain delayed us and we didn’t start until mid-afternoon. That day, we rode down to Cedar Lake and then up to the Boyson Road trailhead on the Cedar River Trail.

 

Aug. 16--New trail that will extend Cemar Trail to meet trails in Marion is nearing completion.

With 16.33 miles on Saturday, we had reached 50 miles. The team was done, with my sister and her husband from Des Moines returning home Sunday. It rained again Sunday, so I didn’t ride that day—but my wife suggested, and I agreed, that since Monday was the final day of August, I could count miles on that day, too.

I attended (a damp due to rain) ball game Sunday afternoon, and saw a friend I usually ride with about once a week. He and I agreed to meet Monday morning for a ride.

So this morning, I got my trike out, but noticed the seat was wobbly. It has a large bolt to hold the seat to the frame, and it had come loose. I tried to tighten it, without success, but had it in place (not well secured) and rode up to meet the friend. I had removed my flags from my trike, so our first stop on the joint ride was to pick those flags up at my driveway. I had explained why I was late for the ride. My companion took a look at the trike, and figured out the bolt was not seated in the threaded part of the seat bracket. He used a hex wrench (which he had given to me on a recent previous ride because it fit the nuts holding on my front wheels) to get it snugly tight.

So my birthday rides were warm, but pleasant and filled with unexpected adventures, from spontaneous and fleet-footed college choirs to spontaneous trike maintenance work from a volunteer mechanic.

The friend and I rode today down the Cedar River Trail to view the construction site of the Connect CR project bridge. We chatted as we rode. When we got to the Bridge of Lions, I asked him if he had ever seen the clock in the tower in front of the Czech and Slovak Museum ring the hour. It plans some orchestral Czech music and doors on the tower open and figures move by the openings.

He had not seen nor heard it, and it was approaching 11 a.m., so we triked (in my case) or biked (in his case) down to the bridge and made it back to the clock in time for the hour to ring. A cluster of tourists with European sounding accents were there too. We enjoyed the ringing, then rode on a short new trail that leads to a city park next to the agricultural plant that my companion had retired from, and then headed home.

In the end, I exceeded my 18-mile Monday goal, riding 20.36 miles. For the birthday rides Friday, Saturday and Monday, I totaled 70.66 miles, so I reached 68 with more than 2 miles to spare. For the year, I’m at 2,135.1. My August miles totaled 253.98, up a bit from July. August was a good riding month and I had plenty of fun and surprises on my birthday rides.

 

Assorted nature images from August rides:

Aug. 24--Eastern Milksnake seen on Krumboltz Trail.

Aug. 23--Walnut taking on fall look along Creek Trail in Marion.

Doe not bothered by trike rider, along Lindale Trail Aug. 23.

Flowers in Prairie area at Waldo's Rock Park, Aug. 22.

Butterfly visits flower at Lowe Park Aug. 19.

Male Monarch Butterfly visits Milkweed flower at Cedar Lake Aug. 16.

Aug. 15--Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle beside Lindale Trail.

Aug. 25--Skipper on Thistle by Boyson Trail.

In Which Iowa Bambi Just Doesn’t Care

July 13--During a warm summer trike ride on the Boyson Trail, I come across an unusual group of deer by the Frisbee golf course. Most groups of deer are either does or family groups--several does and fawns. It's not unusual to see a buck and sometimes a buck in a group of does--but this seemed to be a large gathering of mostly bucks. I have no idea why they were together.

Remember the movie Bambi? That old Disney classic helped establish one of the most important rules of character survival: Don’t be the hero’s parent in the opening scene of an animated kid’s Disney movie (I think the second rule is don’t wear a red shirt in the original Start Trek series).

The Great King of the Forest, otherwise known as Bambi’s absent deadbeat dad, solemnly warned Bambi: “It is Man. He is here again. There are many this time. We must go deep into the forest. Hurry! Follow me!”

Well, Bambi and his mom didn’t live along the Lindale Trail in Cedar Rapids. The deer there have learned that man on the trail on bicycle or tricycle means almost nothing.

July 21--Fawn in fenced area--a retention pond behind a Walgreens near the Lindale Trail. The low fence clearly is not a barrier to deer. Start of a bunch of Bambi images.

July 21--Mom eyes trike rider making images. But doesn't seem worried.

July 21--Fawn again. Not sure if it's the same--there were two fawns and two does in the enclosure.

July 19--Fawn by Lindale Trail. It's in a bit of a hurry, but note that it's not fleeing in terror, it's trotting towards the photographer. It did turn and head into the woods, but came for a closer look first.

July 12--Deer by Boyson Trail lets me get very close. I paused for a while, and she moved on. When someone walking a dog came from the other direction. Dogs are worth avoiding. Hairless apes, not so much.

Anyway, it’s late July in a very, very hot Iowa summer. The riders of RAGBRAI were lucky as last week was a respite from the recent pattern, but now a new heat dome has settled over this part of North America. The heat index Monday is slated to be well into triple digits—even though the actual temperature will “only” be in the 90s.

I’m not quite crazy enough to ride in that kind of heat. I did bike yesterday, the first of the warm days in the latest heat wave, but it wasn’t as bad then. I had volunteered at the Cedar Rapids Chain Reaction Bike Hub. It was a pleasant ride there in the morning, but a very uncomfortable, hot journey home in the afternoon. And it was mild compared to what it was today and will be Monday.

Don’t worry, Lindale Bambi. You may see a stray biker imitating a mad dog or Englishman Monday, but it won’t be this one.

July 7--Not sure why I was biking this warm summer evening in early July, but I was. Summer sun going down at Lowe Park on one of those days that was not too hot to ride.

July 19--On my trike on Lindale Trail. Short ride this day due to smoke from Canadian fires.

Anyway, my miles haven’t been all that impressive lately. No 40-mile rides in July, for example. So far this year, I peaked in March, which is not what I expected. I rode 265.91 miles in June, and as of July 26 I have rolled 212.48 this month.

I don’t aspire to break March’s 377.78 miles this month. Yet, I think being cautious about the weather is OK for a biker who will turn 68 in August. And I've rolled just over 1,868 miles so far this year on trike and bike.

Maybe the miles will pick up in fall. It remains to be seen. But even if the rides have not been super long, I have very enjoyed my June and July rides. When it’s not violently storming nor hellishly hot, Iowa in summer is a pleasant place to roll, to see the grass and flowers, and deer.

Who just don’t care. Man is in the woods. Meh. Some non-deer images from recent rides:

July 1--Grass along Creek Trail in Marion has summer look.

June 19--Summer clouds at Cedar Lake.

June 12--Riding on Cedar Valley Nature Trail near Robins, fine summer day.

June 8--Late day summer sun at Lowe Park.

June 19--South of Cedar River on Cedar River Trail--site of new bridge near Mount Trashmore. When the weather improves, I'll have to check on this project again.

July 25--I bike down to the Chain Reaction Bike Hub, a non-profit bike shop in Cedar Rapids that recycles and fixes up bikes to provide an inexpensive option to aspiring bikers. I volunteered for a shift there--and noted this container near a tool bench. Seems like a good band name, to me.