In Which Not-RAGBRAI Part 2 Has Great Weather

Team Joe on Aug. 31 in Solon, Iowa, mid point of our longest not-RAGBRAI ride this year. My delayed twin Brigid, sister Cate, brother-in-law Eldon and me. Used my camera's timer to make image.

Many days in August, 2024, were very, very hot in Iowa. Despite actual temperatures in the 90s, there were far too many times that humidity made the heat index top 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, I should not complain. We’re not in Phoenix, with 100 days of 100-degree heat.

Team Joe had planned for the second half of its Not-RAGBRAI ride to take place over Labor Day Weekend. Would we be braving the hot breath of this very warm summer?

Well, the summer gods relented. The dragon of August was, apparently, ready for a rest. As our first ride on Aug. 30 neared, the weather shifted and the hot summer suddenly seemed to give way to early fall. Part of that shift from hot to cooler was morning rain on my birthday, so I drove to campus.

Which was OK, in a way, half of Team Joe was driving over from Des Moines in the afternoon, and we planned relatively quick first ride. By about 4, the sky was partly cloudy by the afternoon was cool and pretty. My sister in town rode her recumbent trike to my house where the rest of Team Joe arrived from Des Moines and got their trikes ready to ride.

In Team Joe, I’m the lone biker. Here I am, newly 66, still rolling on two wheels.

Ride one of not-RAGBRAI part two went well. We headed east on the Grant Wood Trail, circled Waldo’s Rock and headed out to the new bridge, turning around there. The Friday ride was 20.61 mile. And it was my birthday.

Aug. 30--Cloudy birthday sky on our ride--pond at Waldo's Rock Park.

The birthday snake, Waldo's Rock Park. It clearly liked the warm pavement on a cool afternoon, but was not as happy with the attention of hairless apes--it was in full threat, intimidation mode, partly muted by the fact that it was about 4 inches long.

Team Joe includes two of my sisters and a brother-in-law. My youngest sister is exactly 4 years younger than me—she was born on my fourth birthday. Following the Friday ride, as a joint birthday celebration, the team and additional family members went out to a nice dinner at a local Indian restaurant, and then had a great fruit cobbler my wife made as desert. More than 20 miles and a very fine meal—it was a good way to celebrate turning 66 (or 62, in the case of my sister).

Saturday’s ride was the longest one we planned. We rode south on the Cedar River Trail, going down to Solon and eating lunch there. The day was warmer, and we felt it. Thus on the way back to Cedar Rapids, we made the obligatory ice cream stop in Ely and then headed back to town, deciding to take an alternate route up Third Avenue rather than continuing on the bike trail. My local sister (not the delayed twin, my other biker sister) showed me a back way by Coe College that ends up at the end of the CEMAR Trail.

But as we neared the ride’s end, I faded a bit and had to rest. Getting old: I do recommend it, given the only alternative, but it has its challenges. Well, after a break, I was able to ride slowly home. A classic RAGBRAI meal, spaghetti, was the plan for the night. Saturday’s ride was 50.06 miles.

Another Team Joe image at park in Solon.

It had cooled down again Sunday. My youngest sister and brother-in-law went out to breakfast with my wife and I, and then we just relaxed for a while—the other sister was busy Sunday morning and came over in the afternoon. Our final ride was along the Boyson Trail and then out to Lowe Park. We walked around the nice garden at the Lowe Park art building, and then took a break at the playground area.

It was not our longest ride, but with the pauses in the park, it was great for a biker who carries a camera and enjoys making images:

Flowers and pretty fall sky at Lowe Park.

One bicycle, three tricycles parked at playground, Lowe Park.

Lowe Park flower.

I have not seen many Monarch butterflies this summer, so at playground in Lowe Park, it was great to see four fat cats on one Milkweed plant. They looked about ready for the transition to butterfly, and I hope they make it on the migration to Mexico and make many babies.

Four on one plant.

My wife and I had a trip to Des Moines planned for Monday, so the Sunday ride was the final one for Team Joe on our not-RAGBRAI adventure this year. We rolled 19.05 miles that day, and over the three days our rides added up to 91.72 miles. I wrote earlier about the first half of our not-RAGBRAI ride in Des Moines, and our total team distance for the two halves of the event were 143.08 miles.

I enjoyed the team rides. My individual rides since then have been very nice, too—with the beautiful weather sticking around for a while. On a recent Saturday, I had a nice morning ride out Waldo’s Rock, and then in the afternoon headed to a park on the tandem bike with an 8-year-old grandson.

Warmer weather is coming. Summer 2024 isn’t totally done with us now, although I think we could be past the most intense heat. I rode 402 miles in August. So far this year, it has been 2,265.27 miles. Images from other recent rides:

Sept. 7 solo ride to Waldo's Rock with mountain bike--riding grass trail through prairie plant area.

Sept. 7, Waldo's Rock park.

It's been weeks of pretty skies as slightly cooler weather sets in. Pretty early fall light Sept. 6 on bike ride home, corner of C Avenue and Blairs Ferry Road.

Morning of Sept. 6, C Avenue Pond seen on bike ride to work.

As I unlock bike Aug. 28 for bike ride home, I'm being inspected from not far away. The squirrels at Mount Mercy think they own the campus, except when the hawks are in the sky.