In Which Winter Rides Continue In Snow

Jan. 15--Above and below--Birds fly over Cedar Lake on a grey winter afternoon. Taking a longer route to campus to enjoy them.

January is back, baby. I’ve missed a few days of riding as a result—once for a cold rain. I won’t ride in rain when it’s warm, given the choice, but certainly not when it’s in the low 40s.

And then winter, on vaca apparently, decided to return. Late Wednesday this week, the forecast was for light freezing rain changing into snow, and we sort of got that weather. But we were lucky, the change to snow happened early enough that we didn’t get seriously iced. Instead we got about an inch of snow—wet, heavy, dense snow.

School at my university was delayed two hours as a result on Thursday, and when I did got to campus, I drove rather than rode.

But Cedar Rapids was better about clearing this snow from streets than the previous one. Maybe it helps that on Thursday after the snow it was warm enough that road salt was fully effective. Anyway, despite  some patches of snow and ice here and there (Amaco, can’t you afford some snow removal on the sidewalk?), the commute to campus was rideable with a mountain bike on Friday.

I’ve been enjoying the winter riding that I’ve had. Snow is again in the forecast tonight, so it remains to be seen whether I bike much this coming week. Last Sunday, I meandered a bit on my way to campus and rode the Cedar River Trail down to Cedar Lake, one of the spots I enjoy on my local bike rides.

I continue to be ahead for 2023—may that be the trend. I’ve ridden 126.62 miles. My computer has stopped talking to my phone, which means I’ll be recording miles to the tenth rather than hundredth place until or unless the phone app recognizes the computer again.

Jan. 14--My sister and I inspect some of the new bike trails in the neighborhood. It was cold, but we were dressed well. We're at the end of the new trail that leads from the Boyson Trail north to Tower Terrace Road. She had not ridden there yet, nor under Blair's Ferry, and we rode both routes.

Minor technical problems. Whatever. The world is still a beautiful place, worthy of seeing from a bicycle. And today, I stopped at my neighborhood bike shop and finally got a tube so I can fix Francis, my hybrid bike.

But most of my January miles will be on the crusty, rusty old mountain bike. And yet, miles are mile and a ride is a ride and I’m grateful for any distance I achieve in the dead of an Iowa winter.