In Which We See Snowy Trails

A lone bike parked at Lundy on the Mount Mercy University campus. I had distributed papers in the afternoon Jan. 17 and saw this bike, unused in the winter. At least my winter bike was nice and dry in my garage--until today, when I finally rode it again.

January has not exactly been a biker’s paradise in Iowa. I did commute for a few days near the start of the month, but then Arctic air and snow moved in and stayed for the long haul.

Cold, I can typically dress for, but I draw the line somewhere around zero degrees—and there have been plenty of mornings below the line. And even if it is warmer than zero, I’m wary of riding on ice and snow.

But yesterday was such a pretty day that I felt bad having driven to work. I didn’t honestly have time to bike in the morning—I was giving an exam and needed to polish and print it before class—but it was sunny and pretty and even a bit above freezing.

Jan. 19, 2018, Lindale Trail about 9 a.m. It's cool, but not super cold. Despite ice and snow on trail, I was fine riding slowly on my mountain bike.

So today, I rode my mountain bike to the gym in the morning. I decided to add a little distance and take the Lindale Trail. That trail is largely snow covered, but I just rode very slowly, and on the wide-tyred mountain bike, I didn’t slip at all. Later, I rode to campus and took the longer trail route. Most streets were OK, but several were snowy in parts. However, but the winter beater bike served me well. It was nice to get down to Cedar Lake after a long biking hiatus.

All in all, I estimate I rode around 15 miles today. I could have used “Map My Ride” and been more accurate, but I didn’t bother. Distance wasn’t really the point. The real bonus was simply getting back on the bike again.

Approaching Cedar Lake on the Cedar River Trail about 11:30 in the morning. I will like it in a few months when green returns, but there is a quiet beauty to winter, too. And there were several fat-tire bikes on the trail this morning, besides crazy old me on my mountain bike.