In Which I Climb Two Mountains in One Day

My bike parked on top of Mount Trashmore June 12, a hot, dry summer day in Iowa.

Sorry, bike pals, it has been a while. A lot is going on this summer that that has reduced my usual habit of longer summer rides. Last week, I flew out to Massachusetts and then drove back over three days, helping a son move to Des Moines.

But two weeks ago, or so, on June 12, I did get one longer ride in. It was 21 and a half miles, on my mountain bike, which is pretty significant for an old man like me.

Since that ride, not so long ago, the weather has shifted completely. Our hot dry summer, where the heat and dryness of late July arrived in early June, shifted—and suddenly the usual wetness of early June has rolled in to finish the month. When it rains, it pours, in this odd year.

This was to be a ride on two mountains. I headed to campus and rode up the MMU’s central campus—I was after a jump drive I had left in my office. Mountain number one was just my normal ride to campus.

My bike, above and below, parked at MMU.

I was after something a bit more challenging. So I headed down to Cedar Lake, and circled it.

Then I headed down to the Cedar River, crossed it and went over to Mount Trashmore. I checked in at the new building—the check-in system has changed since I was here in previous years, and I used a kiosk to enter my information. I agreed that if I fell off the mountain, it was all on me, and then I headed up the gravel road that leads to the top of Mount Trashmore.

My front derailleur on the mountain bike has not been working well—not shifting at all, actually—but before this ride I cleaned and lubed it, and it started shifting between gears 3 and 2. I would not be able to get into granny year, but I assumed gear 2 in front and 1 in back would give me enough of an edge to climb this hill.

I was hot and sunny and I was wrong. Halfway up the hill, I started to feel very wonky and decided to stop at the next bench—sadly, not in shade, but it was a least breezy and the break was important to take. While on break, I put the control on gear one and pulled on the derailleur, which did the trick. The rest of the ride to the top was still too warm, but at least was in granny year.

I may ride up hills very slowly, I may stop and rest halfway, but I do ride up hills. I do not walk them. Not even Mount Trashnmore.

I rode to the summit, which is a bit beyond the outlook, and then returned to the outlook, where I rested a while and at a snack. The descent, I knew, would be the most interesting part of the ride.

Dry grass on hillside while I rest on way up Mount Trashmore.

Downtown Cedar Rapids seen from top of Mount Trashmore.

Watching rider head down the trail.

Mount Mercy University campus seen from Mount Trashmore.

Looking south towards Kirkwood Community College. I suppose you can see all 3 college campuses in Cedar Rapids--Kirkwood, MMU and Coe--from Mount Trashmore, but I don't know Coe well enough to recognize it at this distance.

Seeing a hawk fly by while resting on way up Mount Trashmore.

I could, of course, just coast down the hill on the road that leads up. But there is a special mountain bike trail route, which leads just down, but along a dirt track with some humps and sharp turns, just so an old man can experience the nearness of mortality and test his cardio vascular system.

I had stopped at MMU partly to tighten my loose rear brake, and I’m glad I did. I’m not much of a mountain biker, and the ride down did have what was for me some harrowing turns. I tried to brake before the turns and just ride through it—and even so I did slip sideways a few times. But I never spilled, never got off the trail and never hurt myself, so I guess we’ll call it a win.

Trashmore Trail--the mountain bike route down the hill.

Bike at the top of the trial, reading for me to ride down, but am I ready?

Overlook near the top of Mount Trashmore, where I stopped and snacked.

This and next two images, flowers in a garden at the bottom of the trail. I made it.

 

 

Besides the day that I climbed the two mountains, I took a later ride around Cedar Lake, where I met two Coe College students who are part of a biodiversity project. She encouraged me to submit some of my images, so I did, although my pictures were of pretty common sights so I doubt I added any new species to the project.

Flowers seen on ride.

Catalpa  in bloom, here an below.

Geese near trail south of river. Geese are dangerous.

Sunshine at Cedar Lake.

Seen on the ride back home after Mount Trahsmore, signs atop the levee route (I took the lower route to Mount Trashmore).

Milkweed by lake.

Family swimming on the lake.

Flowers by Cedar Lake.

Coe student makes image of a fish for bio diversity lake project.

Still, trying to be a helpful part of the crowd trying to help this worthwhile project.

I also took a quick evening ride to Lowe Park, in which I broke the pedals on my hybrid bike.

So, for now, I’m reduced to one bike. I can swap the pedals with the road bike. In the meantime, I had my week-long break from biking due to moving.

This week is already shaping up as another busy one. Summer 2021, with my family fully inoculated, seems to be full of making up for lost time—which I enjoy a lot. But I hope there are some more biking adventures to be had soon, especially since the early heat has broken.

Bike at Lowe Park at sunset, on ride where I broke the right pedal.