In Which Summer Concludes With 30 Quick Miles

Clouds over Cedar Lake this afternoon.

Cloudy, humid, warm and quick—that was my bicycle ride today.

Today is the unofficial end of summer, for me. Next week there is a “coming back” picnic on Wednesday and a full-day retreat on Thursday, so even though classes have not yet started, the academic year is gearing up. I’ll be busy Monday and Tuesday prepping for the fall.

I’m not putting away the bicycles, of course. During the academic year, I’ll ride a bicycle to campus most days—this blog refers to my daily two-wheel journey.

But today was the final long ride of my summer even though summer is neither astrologically nor meteorologically over.

The day began with church and some playtime with a young grandson. Then came nap time. Naptime is almost as holy on Sunday as church time. By the time I wheeled my road bike out of the garage it was around 3 in the afternoon. It had been sunny midday, but was turning cloudy, with the clouds looking a bit ominous. But I checked the radar before I left, and it was clean, so I decided to forge ahead.

I headed north on the Cedar River Trail. I planned to circle the city park loop in Robins, and then take stock.

View from bridge in Robins. Despite rain last night, streams are still running low, but everything has greened up.

The clouds seemed to be growing greyer, so on the bridge coming from the city park in Robins I paused again to check the radar. And decided it was OK to do the ride to Lafayette. I rode out there and rested a few minutes. It was a very humid 80s, and felt warm After some dizzy spells this summer, I want to take care. I had been going rather quickly, for this old, slow biker, and wanted my body to be able to rest.

So, I sat and drank and felt like I was melting. The humid air was still, and honestly, I think it felt a bit more comfortable when I was biking.

I headed back south, taking the Cedar River Trail. I was going to go home after a while, but wanted a bit more of a ride, so I decided to head down to Cedar Lake. The day continued cloudy, but no rain fell.

There was a large pelican on the lake, and it was a fine sight. Along today’s ride, I saw numerous cardinals, a goldfinch, many butterflies—despite the warm humidity, it was a pretty ride.

Birds on Cedar Lake.

I rode surprisingly fast. I finished a 30-mile ride in less than three hours. At that pace, I should have been able to ride a day of RAGBRAI in six hours. That logic is a bit faulty, because the trail miles were flat, the day, while warm and muggy, was cooler than RAGBRAI—and I was riding “all out,” not attempting to save any energy for more distance.

Still, the pace was hopeful. On this final ride of summer, the training for next year’s summer bicycle rides went well.