In Which We Wonder At Chilled Mile Markers

Ben near the turnaround point of our chilly afternoon ride. He has borrowed his brother's bike, my sweatshirt and one of my old helmetts.

Almost 13 miles from ... where? These distance counters have been added to the trail fairly recently, I thin.k.

I drove to work Monday and Tuesday, due to snow. Today, I didn’t have to go to work, but by afternoon the outside sunshine was too tempting, and my son Ben and I decided to go for a bike ride.

Originally, I planned to cruise the network of trailing in our neighborhood—to head down Lindale Trail to Boyson Road Trail. But, then I recalled that we had left Ben’s bike at Katy’s house. That meant we would have to borrow Jon’s bike—not a big deal since it’s probably due for a ride—but I wasn’t sure what condition the trail would be in or how much snow would be on it.

So, we decided to head west to the Cedar River Trail instead.

It was a sunny, pleasant, but cool afternoon. We had a few dicey, icy spots to get through on residential streets that clearly had not been cleared after the snow. It made we wonder about the trail—but the trail had been cleared and was easier to cycle on than some of the streets we used to get there.

There was a bit of a wind, and the temperature was in the 20s. The more we rode, the more we cooled off. By the time we got to Cedar Lake, it wasn’t hard to come to a mutual agreement to turn around.

Along the way, we noticed frequent distance markers along the Cedar River Trail. We weren’t sure where they were numbered from, but since the numbers decreased as we headed south, I assume it’s from the south end of the trail where it meets the Hoover Trail.

We saw one other biker on the trail this afternoon. It was chilly, but on these sunny afternoons it’s not a bad place to be. So come on, Cedar Rapids! If they’re going to clear snow from this trail, the least we can do is put on our two pairs of socks, squeeze our helmets over our hoods and take to the trail.

And hope they clear the streets that lead us there.