In Which We Tour the Lakes on a Damp Day

Looking out my front door at 7 a.m. I don't know the wet biker, but glad it was not me.

My sister who is riding with me this week calls the event “ARTNR,” A Ride That’s Not RAGBRAI. This was day 3.

And water was the theme of the day. The plan was for this to be a pretty substantial day, possibly in the 50- to 60-mile range, and it very nearly did not happen.

We had agreed to meet about 7:15 this morning, but rain was falling. I called my sister, who checked her weather app, and said the rain would not last long.

I left home about 7:30, deciding to ride The Fancy Beast due to the wet pavement.

As I rode to my sister’s house, the morning song came to me. You’re welcome:

We met and started south on the Cedar River Trail. It sprinkled and then began to rain, and we briefly took shelter under a drug store awning until the rain let up a bit.

Riding north up Devonshire as I start my ride--clouds, sprinkles and wet pavement.

Interesting clouds seen as I ride towards my sister's house in the morning.

Under Collins Road, a message.

My sister leads the way south on the Cedar River Trail as we bike to Cedar Lake.

Another look as we ride to the lake on the trail.

But by the time we got to Cedar Lake, the sky was actually getting blue here and there.

Clouds allow some light through at Cedar Lake.

Sister on trike at Cedar Lake.

Another view as we ride around Cedar Lake.

South end of Cedar Lake, the sky about as nice as it got today.

Riding at Cedar Lake

Bridge that crosses narrow waterway that joins northern Cedar Lake with the smaller southern part. South sky getting cloudy.

Short stop on bridge to make image of pelicans on south lake. I told my sister that bit of rest was our pelican brief.

That’s the way it went this morning—checking our phones during breaks, sometime seeing the sky cloud up and then at others clear off. My weather app predicted rain midday, and after we rode around the Prairie Park Fisher and Cedar Lake, I was ready to call it a ride.

Mostly it was because I didn’t want to get rained on. Party it was because many miles on The Fancy Beast can get tiring. The bike is great for riding on not pavement, but does take a bit more to make it move on pavement.

Cloudy sunshine. We've ridden through downtown heading towards the Prairie Park Fishery, this is the short levee trail that leads to a back street that gets you to Otis Road, where the fishery is.

Street work seen on Cedar River Trail on the ride back to Cedar Lake.

Construction work complicates our route home from Noelridge Park.

Well, it’s was not exactly a “driving” day, a day of no riding that each of us has once or twice on a regular RAGBRAI. It’s more like the old days when we used to change drivers in the meet town—it was a half day ride.

Long rides are planned for Wednesday and Thursday, weather willing.

On Otis Road by Cedar River. My sister Cate made this image of CR Biker. She said mud splatters on my back made it look like someone perhaps had ridden me over.