In Which I Celebrate With 25 Miles

Two scenes from the Cedar River Trail--newly paved stretch north of J Avenue (above), view of Cedar Lake from east bank (below).

I know some bikers “ride their birthday” when they get to an advanced age—doing 60 miles when they turn 60, for example. Maybe sometime this fall I’ll ride 62 miles in honor of my 62nd birthday, but I didn’t have the time to invest in that long ride Sunday.

My birthday. I decided to check out the Cedar River Trail in Cedar Rapids. I didn’t have high hopes—but was pleasantly surprised.

The road there was a dicey. I usually use a sidewalk on Council Street to get from the neighborhood north of Boyson Road to the street I take over to Hiawatha to join the trail—but south of Boyson Road, the sidewalk was blocked by piles of storm debris.

I don’t usually ride in streets with 4 lanes and speed limits of 35 mph, but I did Sunday. The afternoon traffic was fairly light, the drivers weren’t in an ornery mood, and the transit to the westbound street was fine.

And the trail! When I got there, it was clear that city crews have been busy. There was plenty of downed trees visible, but the ones that had crossed the trail were cut and moved. I had basically no obstacle headed south from Hiawatha.

Crossing bridge over rail track between Blair's Ferry Road and Collins Road. Trail is clear, but you can see a lot of debris blew onto bridge.

End of the south ride--not far from Federal Courthouse, Cedar River Trail is closed.

North of Hiawatha parking lot, Cedar River Trail becomes Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Sister reported it's clear all the way to Center Point.

Along the way, I met a couple form the neighborhood, and exchanged pleasantries while we crossed downtown. The First Avenue crossing is kind of messed up, but that’s from a street project that has no storm connection.

As we neared the Federal Courthouse, Mike and Laura veered off towards New Bo. Mike indicated the trail might be blocked soon, and I probably should have heeded him, but I considered this birthday ride a trail inspection, so I continued behind the courthouse.

And the nature of the trail quickly changed. Branches hanging over it. Several places where one lane was open. And then, a few hundred yards east of the courthouse—total blockage.

Well, I had ridden more than 10 miles from my house on a trail that I didn’t expect to be open at all—including circling Cedar Lake, something I did not expect to be able to do, so my mood when I reached the blockage was “well, that’s too bad. But, kudos city, on clearing miles of trail to this point.” I think I would have appreciated some signage warning of the block, but then again, I think city employees have many, many higher priorities than marking temporary trail detours.

Trail is open, but plenty of downed trees near Cedar Lake.

 

I turned north. My goal was to reach over 20 miles on this afternoon ride, and I was going to have no trouble reaching that.

When I got to my turnoff at Hiawatha, however, I decided to continue north. And just north of Boyson Road, a familiar looking trike was headed south. Hmm, I thought, that trike has a flag that looks like my sister’s flag. That triker has a yellow shirt on—the same color as a “Team Joe” shirt. And when she passed me by, that triker yelled a greeting in a voice that sounded suspiciously sisterly.

All of my siblings—all of them sisters—speak in suspiciously sisterly voices. I’m not sure they trust me.

Anyway, I stopped and turned around and rode like the wind (if the wind is old, obese and slow). She’s a fast triker and her pace far outdoes your correspondent, but I did it. When she paused at Boyson Road, I was right behind her, and we amiably chatted for a few minutes. She was headed home, and I was ready to do the same, so I said I would tag along with her.

I was hoping she knew an alternative to the Council Street sidewalk. As it turned out, she had not begun her ride from her house and was not aware of how bad that sidewalk was, so the best laid plans and all that. Anyway, we ended up crossing Council, the east sidewalk was more passable.

When I got home, I discovered an old-man moment. I am a little paranoid about going outside—even if I’m just emptying the recycling bin from the kitchen, I try to grab my keys first. My fear is that I will lock myself outside. Well, on my 62nd birthday, I had left home on a more than 20-mile ride. Without keys in my pocket.

Today's bike, Clarence, the hybrid.

Like the Cedar River Trail, the Lindale Trail is now fairly clear.

Lindale Trail--signs of storm damage, bur trail is open.

The "short" Boyson Trail. Cleanup has a ways to go but is clearly in progress.

Heading east along Boyson Road into late afternoon sun.

 

Meanwhile, my wife left home on a walk. Fortunately, with keys or we both would have been locked out. I messaged her, and she said she was on the “short” Boyson trail. Which was pretty clear, but I didn’t interpret it correctly and biked off to the Lindale Trail. A sort trial that leads to the Boyson Trail, but not the short Boyson Trail. After a while, my wife noted that she was turning back on Boyson Road, and I was like a Billie Eilish lyric. Duh. So I rode to the short trail, which was in pretty poor shape still, but I made it thorugh.

So, two rides that totaled 25 miles or so—not bad, I think, on my 62nd birthday. Now, where are my keys?

The afternoon was as pleasant as an Iowa afternoon in late August can be. It was warm, but definitely not hot. The trees, those left standing, look tired and dry, we could use some rain to break this drought, although I’m sure all the tarp-using homeowners don’t mind the bout of dry weather we’re in.

I had a nice biker birthday. My breakfast and lunch were special feasts with family, which was why I didn’t spend the whole day in the saddle and aspire to riding my birthday. Later, I saw on Facebook that Mike and Laura had punctured their tyres on the ride, and luckily I didn’t get any flats.