CR Biker: In Which the Sun Shines on a Long, Perfect Ride

The farthest point south on this ride--Sutliff Bridge in Johnson County. The bridge does not carry road traffic anymore, it's a historic site run by the county. And by the time we arrived, it was clear today's ride would be a long one.

Iowa was in a sweet mood on this July day. We had a stormy, damp day yesterday, but today was the kind of summer day that, if you could bottle it, you would want to keep it. It was sunny, but there were some pretty clouds to break up the blue sky. It was warm, but neither hot nor super humid. There was a breeze, but just enough to cool a bicycle rider without making for difficult head or cross winds.

In short, it was grand.

My sister and I have not seriously planned this not-RAGBRAI week, other than agreeing we would ride many miles in honor of the RAGBRAI that isn’t. Our plans are rather loose. But we always talked about two long rides—one south to Solon, one north far beyond Urbana.

Today, because I had a time limit, a late afternoon appointment, we opted for the southern ride. The day added up to more than 70 miles.

Cedar Lake, a pretty morning, mostly sunny sky. My sister (below) checks her phone right after I make the image above.

And there were many great RAGBRAI-like experiences:

Lunch at Big Grove Brewery mimicked a RAGBRAI feed in substance and style. I had a local craft beer with a French dip, and it was grand. My sister ordered and shared deviled eggs as an appetizer. We don’t have a lot of deviled eggs on RAGBRAI, but eggs, either scrambled or hard boiled, are frequent RAGBRAI food items.

Afternoon snack was an ice cream stop at Dan and Debbie’s Dairy in Ely. Definitely a RAGBRI type thing.

The ride to the Sutliff Bridge. The bulk of today’s ride, as all not-RAGBRAI rides have been, was on trails in the Cedar Rapids area. But we got to Solon too early for lunch, and my sister suggested pushing on to the Sutliff Bridge, a historic bridge over the Cedar River in Johnson County.

The ride from Solon to there was over 7 miles of county highway—and a reminder of what the geography of Iowa is like. Out-of-staters beware: Don’t come to RAGBRAI expecting to ride on the flat Great Plains of North America. Iowa is just east of that region and the land between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers rises and falls like a wrinkled sheet. We have no mountains, but the land dips into river valleys and rolls over numerous hills.

Hoover Trail, biking south of Ely on a gorgeous morning.

Just a bit north of Solon--the trail has crossed and parallels the county highway to the left. There is a bit of a rise in this area, seen below.

I know I use granny gear way more than younger, faster riders, but I think any rider would have found granny gear on this ride to Sutliff Bridge. My sister and I definitely worked for our lunch in Solon.

My sister on the county road out of Solon. She was the navigator because I had not biked to the Sutliff Bridge before.

The second road--more traffic, but also more of a shoulder for bikes. Both roads were fairly hilly--as my sister noted, it was more of a RAGBRAI ride.

Above and below, crossing the Cedar River on a new bridge east of the Sutliff Bridge.

View of Cedar River from county road bridge.

The bridge, when we got there, was worth seeing. It was fun to ride over it, too. I had never biked there before, and was glad to have a guide.

Views of the Sutliff Bridge.

Today, I rode the road bike, and my sister, while she would have ridden faster without me, was nonetheless pleased at our pace. I was not sure which bike to use for the other long ride—the trek north—because much of that trail is unpaved and the mountain or hybrid bike would be nice for those miles.

But it’s not a bad trail. And today’s ride pretty much sold me on the idea of using the road bike for these long rides.

Heading back to Solon from bridge. Iowa countryside view.

Old barn seen near Solon on the way back (detail below).

After lunch, heading back to bike trail heading north. This park on the edge of Solon is where we joined the trail.

Product placement, images of lunch at Big Grove (and ice cream snack at Dan and Debbie's).

So, there was a lot to like about today’s ride. Hence the song of the day:

That was sung along the Hoover Trail north of Ely in the morning. My sister seemed amused, and this was the first of the not-RAGBRAI music videos she was present to view the making of.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks pretty good. This week is a bit like RAGBRAI—it is hard to believe that it’s only Wednesday, it feels like the week is longer, and the leg pain is starting to be replaced with a sense that I can do this, that long rides are a thing. Onward!