In Which I Appreciate An Old Bike

Dec. 27, 2022--Parked at Waldo's Rock Park, east end of Marion, Iowa. The Fancy Beast, the perfect bike for today's ride.

If the Fancy Beast were human, I think it would be getting its driver’s license about now. I’m not 100 percent sure of it’s age, because my oldest son acquired it as a perk of an internship at Microsoft in Seattle when he was in college at Iowa State University. But I think he graduated from high school around 2003, which means the internship maybe was in the summer of 2006, which would make the Fancy Beast, my Raleigh mountain bike, about 16 years old.

Well, whatever. It has been bitterly cold lately in Iowa, so my biking has been rather limited. Today, however, the temperature flirted with 20 Fahrenheit, and the wind chill actually made it into positive numbers above zero.

In short, it was cold, but not the impossible 30-below wind chills we had just before Christmas.

Me during photo stop at Waldo's Rock Park, selfie made with phone. The appropriate look for an Iowa biker today.

The city where I live is not great at snow removal. It tries, but somehow Cedar Rapids seems consistently less effective than its associated smaller towns—we live between Marion and Hiawatha in a northern peninsula of Cedar Rapids, and many times in a snowy winter, a quick jaunt east to Marion or west to Hiawatha will confirm that street snow removal is possible to do more efficiently. Well, to be fair, CR is a much bigger city and sprawls a lot, too—many, many more miles of a greater variety of streets cannot simplify snow plowing.

Anyway, while it was warmer today, I faced the question of whether it was wise to ride on slick streets. I decided to stick to the C Avenue sidewalk and head south to the Lindale Trail. If it had not been plowed, well, it would be a sign for me to make it a very short ride. I didn’t feel like attempting the snow-covered side streets.

Heading home on Grant Wood Trail in Marion--snow is blowing across the trail. It was a south wind, a warmer day than others recently, but still cold enough and windy enough that some snow was on the move.

The passage along C was indeed a bit dicey, but the sidewalk had been cleared enough that I was able to shift down, ride slowly and make it up the C Avenue hill. When I got to Walgreens, I was in for a slightly nasty surprise as the store hasn’t cleared the latest snowfall from its sidewalks at all.

But the parking lot was passable, and I took it. The short street leading from it to the trail was a snowy mess, but I only had to cross it and start riding on the trail.

Where I was in for a pleasant surprise. During a short ride before Christmas, a dusting of snow had not been cleared on the Cedar Rapids part of the Lindale Trail, although Marion had cleared its portion of the trial.

Today, well, clearly the trail had been plowed. There was still snow on it, but the kind of intermittent snow cover one has on a sidewalk after a snowblower is used. On The Fancy Beast, it was a bit of a slow ride, but not really a dicey one—I pretty much could pick out pavement and only had to cross a thin layer of snow now and then. Easy-peasy if a bit slowsy.

Low afternoon sun seen over Lininger Park as I ride back south from Boyson Road.

Bike trail at Lininger Park.

Approaching Lininger Park.

Stubble of corn field seen from Grant Wood Trail.

I had started my ride at about 2 p.m. My wife, a daughter and three grandsons were going shopping to a book store, and I decided to ride my bike while they shopped.

It was a cold ride and my feet were not particularly happy with my life decision. But I wrapped a scarf around my face and had my full winter layers on, so despite some chilled toes I was not unduly uncomfortable.

And the sunshine, while not warm, was refreshing to be out in. I didn’t fly along the trail, more like a slow slog, but I just kept heading east. I didn’t have a goal in mind—I figured when I got to city’s edge, the trail would be uncleared (the county doesn’t remove snow from bike trails—and I don’t really mean that to be a complaint, I don’t really expect them to, it’s just a reality that a city park department can deploy more resources in a smaller area than a county, with both a smaller set of park employees and many more miles of trail, can).

Anyway, I got to Highway 13, where one side of the underpass is labeled “Linn County” and the other side “City of Marion.” I figured it would be the turn-around point, but I was in for another pleasant surprise. The park department of Marion Iowa has plowed the Grant Wood Trail (where does the Lindale Trail become the Grant Wood Trail? Honestly, I don’t know, but at the east edge of Marion, you’re clearly on the Grant Wood Trail) all the way to Waldo’s Rock Park.

Where the city plowing ends on Grant Wood Trail--bike at turnoff to Waldo's Rock Park.

Basically the same view as above, different camera, slightly different angle, longer lens.

Looking across frozen pond at Waldo's Rock Park.

I paused to make some images there and then headed back west. I turned down to the Boyson Trail and rode the new creek side trail up to Boyson Road. It was getting past 3:30 in the afternoon, and at this time of year it’s growing dim. And I figured once the sun started to touch the horizon, the air wouldn’t feel very warm. So instead of continuing all the way past Linn-Mar High School to Tower Terrace Road, today I turned back and rode home.

It was a farther refreshing ride. Even if it was very slow—going slower than usual on my slowest bike—the only bad part was when I got back to the street in Cedar Rapids at the end of the Lindale Trail. There was a bit of soft dirty road snow covering a layer of slick, compact white sow—perfect slipping conditions and I did indeed slip.

Hawk that I had seen sitting in tree launched into flight. On new creek trail in Marion Iowa (what is this trail actually named?).

Hawk in flight.

Where I first saw the hawk, moments before it jumped into the air and flew directly over me.

Group of deer in field beside trail in Marion.

This is one of the tree above, seen a few minutes before beside the bike trail.

Ducks in creek along Boyson Trail--ponds all frozen, but some running water is still open.

But, I was on The Fancy Beast. Going slow. I’m lower on that bike anyway. The slip was inconsequential, I simply had to put my foot down and skid to a slow stop. Getting going again took awhile as I was still in bad conditions, but I was stubborn and rode rather than walked the bike to the Walgreens parking lot, where conditions improved.

I thought, looking at the bike computer, that it was a 14-mle ride. But once at home, when I checked the connected app on my phone, it turned out it was a 13.97 mile ride. Whatever. Maybe tomorrow, when it’s supposed to get well above freezing, I may repeat the route and ride a bit more and pick up that missing 0.03 miles. So far for December, 72.91 miles, with 2,720.32 for the year.

I am not going to make it to 3,000. But I should easily top 2,800 miles for the year, and that’s not bad. Thank you, Jon and Matt, son and son-in-law, previous owners of The Fancy Beast, who allowed this old man to take custody of this sturdy little bike. I appreciated it today.

Fat tire biker seen on Boyson Trail, a bit fancier than the Fancy Beast. I only saw a few walkers and this biker, but the people I met on the trail seemed to all be in good moods. It's nice to be out in the winter world again.