In Which Pelicans Appear to Praise Fall Rides

Morning commute Nov. 13, 2017. Frosty, foggy Monday, and I'm just about to put the Fancy Beast (damp day bike) into granny gear for the grind up the hill. The image below is from October's fall break, when my wife and I met our son late on Friday for a quick ride at the west end of the High Trestle Trail and then went out to supper in Ames.

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017—I’m on my way to work at Mount Mercy University. Twice a month, when the student newspaper is being produced, I have to spend Sunday afternoons touching base with students and checking photos, stories and pages. This was one of those Sundays.

In the odd time shifting spirit of this blog post--saw this buck in the Dry Creek valley from the C Avenue bridge as I headed to campus Sunday afternoon. The next few images are from the morning of Nov. 8, just some pretty frosty views seen on my morning ride to campus.

But I could not bring myself to just head directly to campus. Instead, after I crossed Collins Road on F Avenue, I veered west to Noelridge Park and passed through it on my way to the Cedar River Trail. And before I arrived at campus, I did a quick loop around Cedar Lake.

Pelicans! Among the white gulls that usually are there, some bigger, awkward looking, majestic birds.

These views of Cedar Lake are all from the Nov. 12 Sunday ride to campus. Above--yes, I miss the green, but there is a stark beauty to fall, too. Below--big birds hanging with the gulls.

Fall biking is turning cool. Mornings are usually below freezing, we’ve moved from pretty early fall, to wetter, colder, darker pre-winter fall. But biking still has its charms and beaty.

I present a few views of my bike rides over the past fortnight. I will be ready for the green and flowers and sunshine and butterflies when the planet works its way to the appropriate juxtaposition with the nearest star, but in the meantime, even in this cool and sometimes dreary weather, biking still has its rewards!

Friday Nov. 10--late in the afternoon, ready to head home. Before I unlock Clarence (not all rides this fortnight have been on the winter beater bike), made this image just to show I'm not the only autumn biker at MMU.