In Which We Bid Summer 2021 Adieu

On a bridge in Robins along the side trail to the city park. My road bike on a warm weekend day.

The weather took a dramatic turn today, with storms rumbling across Iowa and warm summer air suddenly replaced with a foreshadowing of fall.

It seems fitting that I rode my bike a bit on Sunday to celebrate the end of the warm season. I did not have time for a long ride, but headed out late morning and got over 16 miles in by the time I got to campus. I first went a little north on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail to Robins, and then came back on the Cedar River Trail to circle Cedar Lake.

The day was sunny and warm, a humid Iowa summer day, although not terribly hot. We are getting on in September—an unusually warm September in these parts, but nonetheless, September is not July.

I enjoyed many natural sights along the ride, many of which eluded my camera—a bluejay squawking and moving among the trees, a hawk quickly circling overhead but moving on before I could unzip my camera bag.

Still, there were pretty flowers, fall seeds and plenty of pollinators by Cedar Lake, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Butterfly on flowers near Cedar Lake.

September brings pretty seed pods to edge of Cedar Lake.

Monarch rests in woods by Cedar Lake. Seen a lot of these lately--as summer ends, I think they're acting on instinct to fly to Mexico.

It was a fitting end to rolling through summer. Monday, which started warm, is suddenly cool now. In the morning, I’ll need a sweatshirt. Possibly a jacket by Wednesday. The low tonight will be in the 50s, and we should see 40s Wednesday morning.

Fall! The only reason it’s not one of my favorite biking seasons is due to a pesky thing called work. But what rides I’ll manage to squeeze in, I’m likely to enjoy a lot.

So, goodbye to you, summer. I’m hoping to be rolling around the planet when our sojourn around the star Sol again brings you back to Iowa. And hello autumn, and to biking in layers.