In Which I Tour a Lake Thrice in Two Days

Late afternoon sun at Cedar Lake, Sept. 3, 2019, around 5:30 p.m.

Cedar Lake—it’s not the prettiest body of water. It’s stuck next to rail tracks near a giant grain mill in a downscale part of town.

But it has its charms. If you want to view a sunset in Cedar Rapids, it’s one of your go-to places. It’s a good place to watch birds—geese and ducks. One cold icy spring day, I even encountered an eagle there.

I like Cedar Lake, and look forward to the not too distant future when it’s part of the big “Connect CR” project.

And I had the opportunity to enjoy Cedar Lake three times in the past two days. On Labor Day, I rode in the Linn County Mayors’ Bike Ride, sponsored by the Linn County Trails Association (a group that my wife recently renewed my membership in as a birthday present).

Monday was warm and muggy, but thankfully cloudy, too, which kept it from getting hot. The air was still, and a breeze would have been nice, but it was a still a pleasant enough day for an easy ride, which the Mayors’ Bike Ride, at 8 miles, is. My sister and I rode by the lake on the way to the ride, and circled more of it later in the morning as part of the ride.

My sister's trike gets inspected before the Mayors' Ride at Ellis Park.

During the Mayors' Bike Ride, trail by Cedar Lake.

I mildly regret not making more images at the lake Monday—the still air made it unusually calm, and Cedar Lake looked like a giant mirror, which is not its usual appearance.

Well, Monday was a nice ride. The crowd was maybe a bit smaller than in the past. I did run into Laura and Mike, biking pals from my neighborhood, but didn’t see other MMU Mustangs at the ride. At least I wore my colors. Some more images of the ride and after the ride:

Heading home after Mayors' Bike Ride--liking the new bike infrastructure by the courthouse. Barriers between cars and bikes, and new drains that are bike friendly And a kybo just to make us think of RAGBRAI.

Near end of ride, passing by Cedar River.

Photo with my sister at the end of the ride.

Biking along Third Avenue during Mayors' Ride.

Today was another warm, muggy day. The weather is expected to cool after today, which will be nice. Even today, however, was merely warm and a bit sticky—not really summer hot. So even if it was a little uncomfortable, I still enjoyed the ride down by the lake.

And—drum roll, please—CRANES! Three huge white birds were hanging out near the north end of the lake, fishing and fussing at each other and posing for photos.

Well, I hope you get a chance to check out the lake and see some birds there. It’s not Iowa’s premiere body of water, but it does have its charms, and I am often thankful that this urban pond does have a very useful bicycle trail around it.

Cranes on Cedar Lake, Sept. 3, 2019.