In Which There’s Not Much Chill Yet

Lowe Park, warm summer sun shining on fall day, Sept. 24.

Well, bikers, fall in the Northern Hemisphere is here yet it still feels like summer in Iowa.

Take today, for instance. I was taking a mid-afternoon break from paper grading, and got my road bike out. It was cloudy and in the 60s this morning, so I had on jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. I decided to change into shorts, and I’m glad I did.

As I road along the local trails—I was headed down the Lindale Trail to the Boyson Trail, thence up to the trail behind Linn-Mar High School, and finally over to Lowe Park—the clouds broke up and it became sunny. This is the second official full day of fall, but the mugginess and sunshine and warmth didn’t foreshadow cooler weather to come. By this time of the year, we’re usually seeing some crisp nights, sometimes even a hint of frost, but not so far in hot, dry 2023.

Sept. 23--Saw many grasshoppers on Grant Wood Trail, but only one of these crawlies.

Sept. 23--Fall is here, but sky looks like summer. You many not see it well, but Monarch butterfly is flitting away west in the middle of the sky. I think they're getting ready to go to Mexico.

Sept. 23--Grant Wood Trail. Summer may be in the air, but fall is showing in Sumac leaves (above and below).

Sept. 23--Turn around point of my ride. On hybrid bike due to flat on road bike (which I fixed later in the day). New extension of Grant Wood Trail visible--I can tell by tracks many are already sampling it, but I'll wait for it to be open. From the looks of things, my wait won't be all that long.

While we’re still officially in a drought, at least the “dry” was not so intense this week. A few light rains have rolled through. They had a tornado and flash-flood north of us Friday night, but just a few drops here. Still, there has been some fall damp, which we desperately need.

Although the weather feels summerlike, there are definite signs of fall everywhere. Plants are changing hue. Of course, the drought will dry up grasses and make them brown, but other plants, like milkweed, can be seen in shades of yellow rather than green. Sumac is turning red. Trees are dropping leaves.

The bike rides have been pleasant, though. Even if I would be OK with cooler fall weather, at least most of September has not featured the full hellish heat that this summer sometimes saw. The 80s and sunshine feel warm, but it’s not the upper 90s nor 100s.

Winter is coming. That’s OK with me, when it’s not too cold I’ll continue rolling. And I generally like cool fall weather for biking anyway. So, bring on the autumn. Soon, please.

So far in September, I’ve rolled about 284 miles, giving me 2,713 for the year. Schools keeps me busy and time for riding is precious, but I’m happy to have those miles.

Sept. 15--Flowers at Cedar Lake.

Another look. Have not ridden down to the lake all that much now that school is here, but went down this Friday, Sept. 15.

Seen at Cedar Lake Sept. 15--the small lake south of the trail.

Sept. 15--And some of these big birds on the main lake, too.

Sept. 15--Above and below, pretty sky at Cedar Lake in the afternoon.

Sept. 13--This week was "Mission and Ministry Week" at the university where I teach. Many nuns of the order that founded Mount Mercy are buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery, which is right next to a bike trail. There are still living nuns involved at MMU, but on a fine afternoon, I paid a peaceful visit to some previous ones. And that's my bike parked on a drive as I take a quiet stroll with the spirits of the sisters.

In Which Heavier Bikes Still Reach the Goal

The Fancy Beast mountain bike on trail late on Saturday ride, second ride that got me to my birthday ride goal.

So, I turned 65 in late August, the penultimate day of the month. It was a Wednesday, a work day, and I have a couple of more years until I retire.

Therefore, my birthday ride had to wait for the weekend. My plan was to ride all three of my bikes and have a series of rides Saturday that would add up to at least 65 miles, and thus, as is my tradition in recent years, to ride my birthday near my birthday.

Mice and men and all that. Plans change. The valve on the rear tyre of my road bike was acting a bit funky this week—spewing air when I tried to inflate it. I could get pressure up to maybe 60, but it’s a road bike and I like to run around 90, at least.

I have other tubes and could change it—but I’m gainfully employed and didn't have time this week. I thought I might swap tubes Friday afternoon. However, Family matter dictated an unexpected drive to Des Moines after work that day, so the tube swap never happened.

No matter. I still have Clarence, my hybrid bike, and The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike. I met my sister Saturday morning, rolling on the hybrid, and we headed out to the Cedar River Trail.

The plan was to go north, stop at Jams in Urbana, then head south, do lunch in Cedar Rapids and maybe check out Cedar Lake. The ride started pleasant, but the day was warming up by the time we got north of Center Point. A Labor Day weekend heat wave was just setting in, and what had been a cool morning was switching to a sweltering afternoon.

My hybrid bike, Clarence, and my sister's trike, which she named Tiger but I always think of as Pumpkin, parked at depot in Center Point as we take a breather during 50-mile ride.

We followed the plan, but on the way back to Cedar Rapids, my sister noted the ride wasn’t that fun anymore. Too hot. So we decided to cash it in after lunch at Culver’s in Hiawatha. Thanks, sis, for the ride, and for treating me to both first lunch (Jams) and second lunch (Culver's). It was the hottest part of the afternoon, about 3:30, when I arrived at home.

The ride went surprisingly well, despite the heat. On the hybrid, I was rolling, at least for the first few hours, at speeds that rival Argent, my road bike. My sister was leading, and I struggled a bit at times, but kept the pace.

We slowed down in the heat, but when I was done with the ride, I had completed just over 50 miles. A big step towards the 65-mile goal.

I rested for a while at home, visited with my wife and a grandson who was staying the night. We even did a bit of shopping, buying a replacement dehumidifier at Menard’s for a unit that conked out in the laundry room.

It was getting close to 6 when I headed out again. It was still hot, in the 90s, but at that point in the afternoon, shadows grow longer, the heat starts to abate and a ride seemed more doable. My plan was to ride mostly along the Boyson Trail and associated side trails—a shady ride to beat the heat.

The second ride on The Fancy Beast went pretty much as I had planned. I rode the mountain bike trails by the Boyson Trail and was pleasantly ruminating about the old road bike. Not counting the ancient tandem that my wife and I use now and then for very short rides, The Fancy Beast is by far my slowest bike. Yet, it has a bit of zip. It rolls surprisingly well on a downhill, and I can get it up to decent speed on a flat with favorable wind.

Utility work going on at Menard's end of trail.

A doe ambles across the Lindale Trail Sept. 2 as I'm heading home and nearing 65-mle goal.

I was rolling fast enough that I was melting a bit from the sweat, but it still felt good to be on this sturdy little go-anywhere bike. After doing the mountain trail loops, I rode down the trail to Hanna Park, going from there via streets to the trail by Menards.

I was a bit startled to see a big construction project going on at the trail by Menards. Luckily, late on a Saturday there was no work going on, and the trail was open. I rode to the bridge, and paused there to turn on my lights.

I crossed the bridges on the trail before heading home, just to be sure to get to my mile goal.

Stopping to turn on lights.

Accidental image--trying to make image seen at start of this post, and I don't aim the camera well. Still, I like this picture of some dry weeds at the edge of the trail.

It didn’t get fully dark on the ride, but was getting a little dusky. I rode up to Boyson Road via the Boyson Trail and the new side creek trail, and was watching my miles. By the time I got to Boyson, I was pretty sure I would be past 65 by the time I got home. Just to be sure, when I rode up the hill by the Milwaukee Road bride, I doubled back and crossed both bridges before turning towards home.

I was a bit tired, but I was right. I hit 65 miles before I got to C Avenue, about a half mile from home.

And I have new respect for the backup bikes. It would have been an easier day on Argent, but Clarence and The Fancy Beast carried me to my birthday goal.

Postscript: On Sunday, Sept. 3, the day after my birthday ride, I paused for a little bike maintenance. The rearview mirror on Clarence, my hybrid bike, was a little loose, which can be irritating. My wife had purchased a new mirror for me for my birthday, and I put it on. But before that, I made one more attempt to air up the tyre on Argent—and this time, for some reason, I easily got it to 90 psi.

I pumped it up, did the mirror project, and checked the air again. The tyre seems to be holding air. So, I went for a late afternoon 11-mile ride on Argent. Even if the road bike wasn’t part of the birthday ride, it was part of this hot Labor Day weekend. And on today’s ride, I passed the 2,500-mile mark for the year so far.

I paused app between rides, but kept it on for both to track full goal of the day.