In Which I Have My Own Trails

Nov. 17--Bike on campus after cold morning ride. Some flurries, but all-in-all, I could have ridden road bike.

Nov. 18--Walked my bike across the C Avenue Bridge. Rode the road bike today, not a bad move.

One reason to ride the mountain bike on Nov. 19. Parked on snow by trail bridge. Trail has been cleared, but there is a layer of the white stuff, which makes wide tyres nice.

It was cold in Iowa on Nov. 19—very cold for this time of year. It was a day that would not have been out of place in the dead of winter rather than late fall. The temperature struggled to approach 20, but the wind helped make up for that by not struggling so much to reach 40 mph.

So the wind chill flirted with zero Fahrenheit.

I had missed two days biking this week due to snow. I had commuted on wheels Thursday and Friday, however. And I am babysitting a daughters dogs, so I decided to head out on my mountain bike. My plan was to ride the Boyson Trail area, and then decide whether to continue to her house or return home and drive there.

Started my Saturday ride heading west on the new section of trail headed west from Lindale Trail. It was very cold going that way, but it proved I could ride that direction. And Blair's Ferry Road is now all open, as far as I can see--new trail project done?

Another view of bike on bridge in late afternoon, sun going down.

Although it's cold. I think mountain bike looks at home on mountain bike trail.

Heading home on Grant Wood Tail in Marion, enjoying Christmas lights at West End Diner.

Getting ready to walk bike across bridge.

Well, it was too cold to do the whole Boyson Trail complex, but I did have my mountain bike, so I indulged in the easy mountain bike trail by the main trail. It was a bit bumpy—frozen, uneven ground. Still OK to ride at slow speed on a mountain bike. And I always ride a slow speed.

I took the new creek trail out to Boyson Road. I knew that the cold wind was blowing from the west, and I was headed east, so if I continued on to my daughter’s house, I would face a very challenging ride home.

What the heck. YOLO. I went for it.

And. Wow.

That was a cold ride home. Still, I had my full winter regalia. Warm boots. Two pairs of socks, the outer one being thick winter ones. Long underwear. A t-shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a warm sweatshirt, wind-cutting jacket, mittens, a scarf, a biking cap under the jacket’s hood. All in all, my face did get very uncomfortable and I had to ride in a lower-than-usual gear as I climbed a 40-mph wind “hill,” but the ride was doable.

I took the Grant Wood trail home. The new bridges there are like the C Avenue bridge—covered in snow and ice, so I did walk across the curvy new bridge. The Milwaukee Road bridge, which is straight and shorter, I did ride slowly—although, given the choice to live my life again, I would have walked that, too.

I did see a possum on the trail in the dim light on the way home. I was expecting maybe to see deer, but none were out. Only mad dogs and Englishmen may go out in the midday sun, but only CR Biker is crazy enough to ride the trail on a super chilly day like today.

No other bikers were in sight. I felt like I owned the trails today, like they were made only for me. Delusional, I know, but if my grip on reality were strong enough, would I have been out there to begin with? My only other human contact were two dog walkers that I encountered—even when it’s cold, a dog has to be walked. Which, by the way, is one reason that I have owned one dog in my life, and am done with that phase, thanks.

I made it home, only mildly frozen. My wife, who had been out all day visiting a different daughter and helping her with a house project, had made a nice hot dinner of shrimp, french fries and green beans. It was just the ticket to warm a chilly biker.

Above and below, stopping to make images on mountain bike trail off of Boyson Trail. I didn't have to worry about blocking bike traffic on this cold day!

The rides to work Thursday and Friday were quite cold, too. To be honest, we’re just at the edge of when CR Biker would give it up—zero Fahrenheit, whether actual or in wind chill, is generally as low as I go. But the weather is to return to a more seasonable range in coming days, and I don’t regret my cold rides this week.

I rode almost 47 miles this week. There are six weeks left in the year, and I am 438.36 miles short of my 3,000-mile goal. I had been thinking I would have to aim for 100 miles a week to get it done, but that’s not the math. I will have to do more than 47, but if I managed a bit over 70 miles in each seven days I could get there.

So far this month, 113.57 miles. So far in 2022, 2,561.64 miles. With 438.36 miles left to reach my goal, it’s way too early to either claim victory or give up, but I don’t feel like I’m in a bad place.

Well, we’ll see if I make it. In my mind, I’m already a winner.

Or crazy. You be the judge.