In Which Fleet-Footed Singers Serenade

Heron wades in slough next to Cedar Lake on Aug. 31, final day of August.

Here it is, the final day of August, 2026. It got hot this afternoon, the start of a hot week here in Iowa. Well, it’s not unusual for September to feel summer warm, although a few hints of fall chill would not be amiss.

In past years, I’ve ridden my birthday on or near my Aug. 30 birthday—in one day riding the number of miles that equals the age I reach. Recently, I’ve amended that practice as I age—now, I generally give myself a weekend to reach my birthday ride. And this year, family had a hand in plans, too. I have a sister who was born on my 4th birthday, so as I turned 68 Aug. 30, she turned 64. She, her husband and another of my sisters, plus me, form “Team Joe,” which has ridden RAGBRAI in pre-pandemic years.

Anyway, the team decided to get together and share miles—if the team rode 17 miles, that would equal 68. Or if we rode 34, the cumulative miles would cover both my sister and me.

As for me, I was still thinking I’d like to ride my full birthday miles as an individual.

Aug. 28--Goldfinch eating Thistle seeds by Grant Wood Trail, seen on the first and longest of the birthday rides.

Friday Aug. 28 ride, team takes a break on bridge as we near home.

Aug. 27--I ride out to see my parents' marker at Oak Shade Cemetery. Team Joe will visit the next day.

 

Anyway, the team quickly exceeded its goal. Team Joe is—since I was given Sommer Lovin, my trike, by my wife and kids—a trike team. On Friday, we rode our 12 wheels over to see my parent’s tombstone, recently installed at Oak Shade Cemetery. Then we rode to Lowe Park, rolled across the trail there, and then headed down the Grant Wood Trail to Waldo’s Rock Park.

After a break, we continued east past the new bridge to the trailhead just beyond the end of the paved trail.

When we got there, there was a van from Cornell College in Mount Vernon. And young adults in shorts were milling about, some skipping or toe walking about. It was the cross-country team, according to many of their shirts.

The older of my two younger sisters, the one who doesn’t share my birthday, looked at the cross-country team and yelled out: “Hey Cornell. It’s Brigid’s and Joe’s birthday this weekend—how about a song?”

The young adults laughed, gathered in a cluster, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Brigid and I. It was silly, spontaneous and serene.

It was the unexpected highlight of a very fun weekend. We enjoyed the 33.97 miles, longer than we had planned, on Friday. Saturday, we intended an early ride, but rain delayed us and we didn’t start until mid-afternoon. That day, we rode down to Cedar Lake and then up to the Boyson Road trailhead on the Cedar River Trail.

 

Aug. 16--New trail that will extend Cemar Trail to meet trails in Marion is nearing completion.

With 16.33 miles on Saturday, we had reached 50 miles. The team was done, with my sister and her husband from Des Moines returning home Sunday. It rained again Sunday, so I didn’t ride that day—but my wife suggested, and I agreed, that since Monday was the final day of August, I could count miles on that day, too.

I attended (a damp due to rain) ball game Sunday afternoon, and saw a friend I usually ride with about once a week. He and I agreed to meet Monday morning for a ride.

So this morning, I got my trike out, but noticed the seat was wobbly. It has a large bolt to hold the seat to the frame, and it had come loose. I tried to tighten it, without success, but had it in place (not well secured) and rode up to meet the friend. I had removed my flags from my trike, so our first stop on the joint ride was to pick those flags up at my driveway. I had explained why I was late for the ride. My companion took a look at the trike, and figured out the bolt was not seated in the threaded part of the seat bracket. He used a hex wrench (which he had given to me on a recent previous ride because it fit the nuts holding on my front wheels) to get it snugly tight.

So my birthday rides were warm, but pleasant and filled with unexpected adventures, from spontaneous and fleet-footed college choirs to spontaneous trike maintenance work from a volunteer mechanic.

The friend and I rode today down the Cedar River Trail to view the construction site of the Connect CR project bridge. We chatted as we rode. When we got to the Bridge of Lions, I asked him if he had ever seen the clock in the tower in front of the Czech and Slovak Museum ring the hour. It plans some orchestral Czech music and doors on the tower open and figures move by the openings.

He had not seen nor heard it, and it was approaching 11 a.m., so we triked (in my case) or biked (in his case) down to the bridge and made it back to the clock in time for the hour to ring. A cluster of tourists with European sounding accents were there too. We enjoyed the ringing, then rode on a short new trail that leads to a city park next to the agricultural plant that my companion had retired from, and then headed home.

In the end, I exceeded my 18-mile Monday goal, riding 20.36 miles. For the birthday rides Friday, Saturday and Monday, I totaled 70.66 miles, so I reached 68 with more than 2 miles to spare. For the year, I’m at 2,135.1. My August miles totaled 253.98, up a bit from July. August was a good riding month and I had plenty of fun and surprises on my birthday rides.

 

Assorted nature images from August rides:

Aug. 24--Eastern Milksnake seen on Krumboltz Trail.

Aug. 23--Walnut taking on fall look along Creek Trail in Marion.

Doe not bothered by trike rider, along Lindale Trail Aug. 23.

Flowers in Prairie area at Waldo's Rock Park, Aug. 22.

Butterfly visits flower at Lowe Park Aug. 19.

Male Monarch Butterfly visits Milkweed flower at Cedar Lake Aug. 16.

Aug. 15--Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle beside Lindale Trail.

Aug. 25--Skipper on Thistle by Boyson Trail.

In Which Iowa Bambi Just Doesn’t Care

July 13--During a warm summer trike ride on the Boyson Trail, I come across an unusual group of deer by the Frisbee golf course. Most groups of deer are either does or family groups--several does and fawns. It's not unusual to see a buck and sometimes a buck in a group of does--but this seemed to be a large gathering of mostly bucks. I have no idea why they were together.

Remember the movie Bambi? That old Disney classic helped establish one of the most important rules of character survival: Don’t be the hero’s parent in the opening scene of an animated kid’s Disney movie (I think the second rule is don’t wear a red shirt in the original Start Trek series).

The Great King of the Forest, otherwise known as Bambi’s absent deadbeat dad, solemnly warned Bambi: “It is Man. He is here again. There are many this time. We must go deep into the forest. Hurry! Follow me!”

Well, Bambi and his mom didn’t live along the Lindale Trail in Cedar Rapids. The deer there have learned that man on the trail on bicycle or tricycle means almost nothing.

July 21--Fawn in fenced area--a retention pond behind a Walgreens near the Lindale Trail. The low fence clearly is not a barrier to deer. Start of a bunch of Bambi images.

July 21--Mom eyes trike rider making images. But doesn't seem worried.

July 21--Fawn again. Not sure if it's the same--there were two fawns and two does in the enclosure.

July 19--Fawn by Lindale Trail. It's in a bit of a hurry, but note that it's not fleeing in terror, it's trotting towards the photographer. It did turn and head into the woods, but came for a closer look first.

July 12--Deer by Boyson Trail lets me get very close. I paused for a while, and she moved on. When someone walking a dog came from the other direction. Dogs are worth avoiding. Hairless apes, not so much.

Anyway, it’s late July in a very, very hot Iowa summer. The riders of RAGBRAI were lucky as last week was a respite from the recent pattern, but now a new heat dome has settled over this part of North America. The heat index Monday is slated to be well into triple digits—even though the actual temperature will “only” be in the 90s.

I’m not quite crazy enough to ride in that kind of heat. I did bike yesterday, the first of the warm days in the latest heat wave, but it wasn’t as bad then. I had volunteered at the Cedar Rapids Chain Reaction Bike Hub. It was a pleasant ride there in the morning, but a very uncomfortable, hot journey home in the afternoon. And it was mild compared to what it was today and will be Monday.

Don’t worry, Lindale Bambi. You may see a stray biker imitating a mad dog or Englishman Monday, but it won’t be this one.

July 7--Not sure why I was biking this warm summer evening in early July, but I was. Summer sun going down at Lowe Park on one of those days that was not too hot to ride.

July 19--On my trike on Lindale Trail. Short ride this day due to smoke from Canadian fires.

Anyway, my miles haven’t been all that impressive lately. No 40-mile rides in July, for example. So far this year, I peaked in March, which is not what I expected. I rode 265.91 miles in June, and as of July 26 I have rolled 212.48 this month.

I don’t aspire to break March’s 377.78 miles this month. Yet, I think being cautious about the weather is OK for a biker who will turn 68 in August. And I've rolled just over 1,868 miles so far this year on trike and bike.

Maybe the miles will pick up in fall. It remains to be seen. But even if the rides have not been super long, I have very enjoyed my June and July rides. When it’s not violently storming nor hellishly hot, Iowa in summer is a pleasant place to roll, to see the grass and flowers, and deer.

Who just don’t care. Man is in the woods. Meh. Some non-deer images from recent rides:

July 1--Grass along Creek Trail in Marion has summer look.

June 19--Summer clouds at Cedar Lake.

June 12--Riding on Cedar Valley Nature Trail near Robins, fine summer day.

June 8--Late day summer sun at Lowe Park.

June 19--South of Cedar River on Cedar River Trail--site of new bridge near Mount Trashmore. When the weather improves, I'll have to check on this project again.

July 25--I bike down to the Chain Reaction Bike Hub, a non-profit bike shop in Cedar Rapids that recycles and fixes up bikes to provide an inexpensive option to aspiring bikers. I volunteered for a shift there--and noted this container near a tool bench. Seems like a good band name, to me.

In Which Sand Beats Sommer

I've just turned onto the "Interurban Trail," one I've never been on before. I'm not even sure I'm on a trail, but it turns out I was.

No, Sommer wasn’t another candidate in the Democratic primary for governor this year. As you may recall, Sommer Livin is my name for my tricycle—and what temporarily defeated (de-wheeled?) her was literal, gritty sand.

I finished May with almost 338 riding miles, which I consider respectable, but slightly disappointing because I rode a few more (almost 378) in March. Checking my ride records, there were a few 20 plus rides in March, including one 42-mile day. I rode more days in May, but just didn’t do rides that were that long.

Deer on Lindale Trail May 17.

Stretch of Cedar Valley Nature Trail north of Boyson Road has new paving, seen on trike ride May 14.

New art under Highway 13 on Grant Wood Trail, image made during trike ride May 13.

May 12--Snake on a trail! On side trail off of Boyson Trail, heading towards Menards area.

May 17--I see my first Monarch of the year on the Lindale Trail.

No matter, I rolled across this warming planet and enjoyed myself. Except when I couldn’t roll—as we’ll get to. It’s June here in Iowa now, and seems a very warm, summery June. My most interesting (and longest recent) ride was this Monday, June 1. I hadn’t planned to ride a particularly challenging route that day, but just wanted to enjoy a fine summer day on the first day of the new month, so I set off from home, heading south on the Cedar River Trail.

My goal was to ride to the Prairie Park Fishery. I did, and circled the lake there, and considered. Did I want to ride the Sac and Fox Trail? In the past, I usually used my mountain bike for that trail, but have permanently retired that bike. Sommer, however, has fairly wide tyres, and the weather has been dry—the Sac and Fox Trail is not paved, and I would not have tried riding it in damp conditions.

The problem wasn’t the S and F itself—the issue is where I would be once I finished the trail. The Prairie Park Fishery is at the south end of the trail. The north end is in a city park off of East Post Road south of Cottage Grove Avenue.

I’ve ridden a bicycle home on Cottage Grove Avenue before—but I don’t consider its full length to be trike rideable. I knew that further west of where I was there is a bike lane, but there’s not one that goes as far as the neighborhood where the Sac and Fox Trail ends.

Well, just last week I had ridden a bicycle to the Bever Park neighborhood on a ride with a grandson—so I knew going along Cottage Grove wasn’t my sole option. The Bever Park area features quiet side streets and a bike lane along its main drag that made triking at least worth considering, so I decided to take a chance.

I made several discoveries along the Sac and Fox ride. The main one, I am pleased to report, is that when it’s dry, Sommer can easily handle the Sac and Fox. I can put that trail back into my riding rotation even if I have to skip the side mountain bike trails that I used to ride. It takes some time to get to this trail—in the past, I often drove to the north end with my mountain bike in my van—and I won’t ride it often, but it’s a good trail on the right days. And Monday was a right day.

Another discovery was a bit amusing. I entered the trail from the south and went north. It’s about 7 miles, and midway through the ride, I passed some orange fencing rolled up on the side. Hmm. Weird. Then, I passed a road where a bridge is being replaced. The unpaved trail gave way to soft ground, and it felt like I was crossing a construction zone.

Workers and equipment were off to both the left and right, and I very much felt out of place. Sommer slowed in the soft ground, but didn’t bog down. I passed the short, odd construction segment and continued north—only to encounter a barrier across the trail. I rode around it to the other side, and it proclaimed “trail closed.” Why was it closed headed south, but open headed north? Was the rolled-up fencing an error?

Sign (above) seen after I came from that direction--above. It's closed headed south but was open riding north. And me with sign on cell phone image I posted during my ride (below).

Anyway, while Sommer is trail ready, I’m not sure the trail is meant to be ready for riding, so it will probably be some months before I again ride the Sac and Fox.

At the park at the trail’s north end, I picked up a trail map and considered my options. My vague plan was to head south on the wide sidewalk beside East Post Road until I got to a quiet street, then turn right and worm my way to the Bever Park area. I don’t really know the route, however, and I’m far more adventurous on a bicycle where my field of vision is much better than I am on my tricycle.

Hmmm. The map showed, as a dotted line, the “Interurban Trail,” which looked to be nearby and looked to reach East Post Road. Was that an option?

I passed a driveway with no mailbox or house visible, and wondered if that was the trail. Fortunately, I didn’t take that route, because a bit more along the road, I found what clearly looked to be a grass trail headed west. There was no sign to identify it, but there was clearly a path along a line of utility poles, so I turned west on the grass and started out.

The “trail” was very primitive and bumpy. After a few yards, I stopped, and attempted to call up Google Maps on my phone to see if it would help confirm where I was. As I was looking at the tiny screen, a biker on a mountain bike came up behind me and passed me, continuing west. Well, that seemed like evidence this grassy walkway might be the elusive Interurban Trail, so on I went.

It was a little weird. I would have been much more comfortable here on a mountain bike, but Sommer was up to the route. That is, until I crossed a street and reached a sandy stretch. I attempted to ride there, but almost immediately my rear drive wheel started tossing sand in the air as the trike stopped all forward movement.

Yikes! I unhooked my feet and prepared to push the trike. However, the ground was level and I could move my side wheels by hand and “walk” with my legs. The level ground was important, because unclipping your feet on a trike might be an invitation to run over your legs, which is a painful experience best avoided. Anyway, between walky feet and pushy hands, I slowly sloshed about 20 yards to the end of the inconvenient, but thankfully small, sandy area.

I've just manually moved trike through the "beach" on the Interurban Trail.

The trail continued. At times, it felt like I was just triking along at the edge of someone’s backyard, but the journey carried on. Then, I reached a narrow, quiet paved street. It looked like a driveway, but had a street sign. I had trouble figuring out where it was, so I asked a gentleman who was walking his dog where I was. He pointed to a corner shortly ahead, and said I could turn there and go left to reach Bever Avenue or turn right to reach Cottage Grove Avenue.

Well, bad news. On the map, the Interurban Trail continues to Bever Park, and my plan was to take the trail all the way there—but across the street from me there was a fence and gate blocking the trail. I learned later from one of my daughters that the trail in fact does continue—one can walk around the blocking gate—but I couldn’t see a way to ride a trike there.

Honestly, I didn’t want to tackle Cottage Grove Avenue—I was in the valley of a tributary of the Cedar River, and Cottage Grove climbs steeply out of that valley. I know from my time as a CR biker that the Cottage Grove hill is a monster.

My final few yards on the Interurban Trail--what appears to be a nicely paved driveway is actually a quiet, narrow street.

The side street that the nice man had directed me to had bike lanes, fortunately, so I turned left to head towards Bever Avenue. And looked ahead. The road I was on climbed out of the same valley that Cottage Grove Avenue does. And if I reached Bever Avenue, I would be some ways from an easy-to-trike route home.

But I have biked up Cottage Grove Avenue before. While it features a high hill, it also, this far west, features a bike lane. And if I reached the top of the mountain, I was pretty confident in several OK options to reach home. I could continue heading south and climb the unknown hill to Bever Avenue, or turn north towards the big, but known, Cottage Grove rise.

It was warm, I was tired. But I decided to go for it—I executed a U turn and headed back towards Cottage Grove. I got to s stop sign, turned left and headed up that mountain, riding in the bike lane.

It was a tough slog up that incline—but memory is a funny thing. While Cottage Grove features a very challenging hill, it was more challenging in my memory than in reality. Don’t get me wrong, it took a lot of effort to ascend, it just wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. Halfway up, I tried to comfort myself. Count 100 strokes, I told myself. Before you reach 100, you will be on top of the hill.

It wasn’t exactly a lie but also not exactly true—it took pretty much all of those 100 strokes to climb out of that valley—but it didn’t take more, so I guess it was OK. On a bike, my route home would be to turn right at Washington High School—but that’s a “bike” street, not a trike route. I decided to continue west on Cottage Grove Avenue, not a familiar route, and I was pleasantly surprised. What had been a bike lane turned into a dedicated bike trail between the street and sidewalk. I had to switch to the actual sidewalk when I crossed First Avenue, but soon found myself on familiar, quiet streets in the Mount Mercy area, and I was able to easily make my way back to the CeMar Trail for the familiar trip home.

So, I don’t know how June will end. Will I exceed March’s miles now that summer is here? I don’t know, and I hope I don’t worry about it too much. The journey, not the mileage total, is the point. Still, I rolled 29.55 miles on that warm summer day—including climbing what is one of the most daunting hills available in my town.

Not bad.

Trike at intersection of Creek Trail and Boyson Road late in the day May 17. I just liked the angle.

Young deer by Lindale Trail--not caring a human is riding by.

Memorial Day, May 25. I ride over to Oakshade Cemetery to say hi to my parents. They don't have a headstone yet, but one has been ordered.

In Which a Memorial Ride Caps January

Sign another biker had on her bicycle for Jan. 31 ride.

Well, January 2026 is over. Last year, due to my heart surgery on Jan. 10, I rode no miles at all in the first month of the year. This year, weather was definitely an issue, as I managed only eight rides for the entire month.

Well, that’s about two rides a week. In the dead of a cold winter, perhaps that’s not bad. And I did roll for more than 100 miles in January.

Most of my rides were typical of my style of riding. I usually roll alone. I do not mind company, but I don’t always plan rides well in advance. And, while I enjoy a ride with others, I am also a bit of an introvert and don’t abhor some alone time.

The most memorable ride was the final one on Jan. 31. A local bike shop, Goldfinch Cyclery, joined with a national movement by planning a “We in Unity (For All for Alex)” ride to remember Alex Pretti and other victims of ICE violence.

Bikes parked at Ellis Park Harbor, west end of the ride, Jan. 31.

I did not know the route in detail, but from notes on Facebook I knew that it would be a short ride. I was toying with the idea of riding my trike—it’s my main cycling vehicle these days. But it is a very cold January, and I did not know how it would feel to wear my uninsulated biking shoes for this ride.

So, I did a test ride on Jan. 29. I put on three pairs of socks—a thin inner pair, regular exercise socks and a top layer of fluffy winter socks. I had on long underwear, an insulated shirt, long-sleeved T and sweatshirt under my biking jacket. In other words, pretty much the full winter regalia.

The temperature was in the teens Thursday, and there was a bit of a breeze. I headed up C Avenue to the Lindale Trail. There, I got a nasty surprise—the city has been doing good work clearing local trails, but hadn’t cleared the latest light snowfall, so the trail featured a thin, bumpy packed layer of snow.

Jan. 29 ride on Lindale Trail to practice for Jan. 31 memorial ride. Headed east on trail--you can see exactly where Cedar Rapids (no snow from latest fall removed) ends and Marion (snow cleared) begins. I hope Cedar Rapids will do better in the future.

I rode for about an hour, and was suffering a bit by the end. The verdict: Even with three pairs of socks, the bike shoes are not adequate a cold winter ride. Even my legs were cold by the end of the practice ride, which surprised me because in the past long underwear under my pants had been enough to keep my legs comfortable. Well, every day I grow older, and I know that my sensitivity to cold is more of an issue as I age than it was in the past.

That was Thursday the 29th. What to do for Saturday the 31st? On the one hand, a bicycle would allow me to wear warm winter boots. On the other hand, if I were to encounter a snow-covered section on the ride route, I would prefer three wheels to two. In the end, I decided that the downtown bike routes would be more likely to be clear than my neighborhood trail, and for the sake of comfort, I would wear the warm boots.

I made other adjustments, too. I again wore insulated long underwear but also a thin pair of pajama pants under my regular trousers. I added a regular T shirt under the three other torso covers, and chose a zip fleecy rather than a sweatshirt for the top under-coat layer. I felt a little bit like I was the younger brother in “A Christmas Story,” yet I was warmer.

Normally, if I were to ride downtown, I would cycle there, but this day, unsure of my cold endurance, I loaded the bicycle into my van and drove to the start of the ride. I got there a bit early, and by the advertised arrival time of 1 p.m., only seven of us waited in the cold. But it was half an hour before the ride was set to start, and in that time a steady stream of bikers arrived. I counted at least 70 people in a quick look at the crowd before the ride, and I think there were a few more than that.

Before the ride, Logan from the bike shop said a few words. He spoke well. Biking means freedom, and recent tragedies have been an attack on freedom (my words, not his). I won’t get more into my feelings on this biking blog, but I did write a post on this to topic on another of my blogs.

Speaker from bike shop talks before ride Jan. 31.

After the short speech, we started out from Plaza Park where the big red Cedar Rapids sign is, headed down to First Street and headed west, aiming after several blocks on a bike lane to a bike tail which would take us to Ellis Boulevard, and then to Ellis Park.

The wind was cold and my face was in slight discomfort. But it was not quite as cold as the day of my practice ride—and I had more layers on. That strategy seemed to work. When I arrived at Ellis Park Harbor, near the end of the line of bikers (no surprise, I am a slow rider), I was doing fine.

Well, I do not know if the right word was “fine,” given the reason for the ride. I mean I was doing physically well. We milled about for a few minutes, in quiet conversation or alone with our thoughts, and then headed back to the starting point.

Custom flag on another bike seen before Jan. 31 ride.

I think the choice to ride the bike was a good one. There were a few spots with snow and ice, and I was on my road bike, but I just rolled across them. Overall, the pavement was clear, much clearer here than on the Lindale Trail. I was glad to be on the bike for several reasons. The main one was the warm boots. Also, the ride was at times on a narrow walkway or bike lane, and the bike was better for those places just because it takes less space than my trike. And while I was near the end of the ride both coming and going, I am sure I did a better job keeping up with the pack riding my fastest bicycle than I would have on the tricycle.

As noted, I do enjoy a ride by myself. But a memorial ride like this is meant for a group. It helps to know that there are others who mourn the unexpected loss of a biker and a nurse and others—that decent people will gather publicly on this winter day in remembrance.

In January, I rode 108.8 miles, 14.66 on bicycles and 94.14 miles on my trike. The final six are the ones that will stick with me the most. Thanks, Goldfinch Cyclery, for this event.

Image from Jan. 9 trike ride. A new bike-pedestrian bridge across the Cedar River is taking shape, built on the foundations of an old railroad bridge.

In Which I Summarize and Seek a Name

 

Pretty late afternoon winter sun shines on the visibility flags of my tricycle as I pause on a ride Dec. 20, 2025, along the Krumholtz Trail in Marion, Iowa.

We’re about a week into the new year of 2026. I want to look back a bit on 2025 and then look ahead.

I’m not big on New Years resolutions—I don’t dislike the practice, I’m sure setting measurable goals are a good motivator for many people, but it’s just not the way my brain works. And in my biking life, unexpected events derailed my last attempt to attain a goal. At the start of 2024, I noted on this blog that I had ridden 2,954 miles in 2023, and stated that I wanted to top 3,500 in 2024.

Here's what I wrote in January, 2024: “In 2023, I rode 3,346.22 (miles), I’m sure a modest milage total for serious bikers, but a slight increase in annual miles for me. In 2024, I’m setting a goal of 3,500 miles. I’m still working (I retire in spring, 2025), and I hope that my bike miles will go way up in 2025, but a 50-mile increase from 2023 to 2024 seems doable, I hope. Maybe 4,000 in 2025? We’ll see.”

What we saw was a math-challenged rider who didn’t reach his goals. For various reasons, it wasn’t possible for me to ride RAGBRAI in 2024 or 2025, which cut my miles. And, as 2024 went on, I started to develop troubling symptoms—dizziness and chest pressure—that led me to limit longer rides as the year was coming to a close. Late in the year, I saw a heart doctor, who declared me temporarily unfit for biking for a time, until I had a heart bypass operation in January of last year.

So, instead of increasing my miles in 2024 and 2025, I actually rolled fewer miles—2,954 in 2024 and 1,843 in 2025 (1,842.7, to be more precise, but I’m rounding the other years to whole numbers).

From a spreadsheet I keep in my Google Drive (yes, I am that nerdy), my monthly mile totals riding bikes and my trike in 2025. Note the huge spike in September--I was given a new tricycle for my birthday in late August. Rides slowed down after that due to both a two-week trip in October and bad December weather, but maybe September shows the potential for more future miles.

I have decided that I am not setting a mileage goal for 2026. Instead, I’m going to recognize that I’m at a point in life where I don’t need to prove anything to myself or anyone else, and I want to just do what I enjoy. I’m retired now, I have no career mountain to climb, and I want to roll across the planet as much I am comfortable doing, enjoying myself and being grateful for each healthy day and each mile I can roll.

I would be lying to say I don’t hope to exceed my 2025 total miles, I just am saying I will roll what I can and try to be content with and grateful for that.

A big reason that I rode less in 2025 was that it was a truncated biking year for me. My miles in January and February were zero due to my medical adventures. It took about half the year for me to rebuild my biking ability—in fact, an irregular heartbeat post-surgery entailed a follow-up heart procedure in July, and while I did start riding my bikes again in March, it wasn’t until after the July correction of that irregular beat that I really started riding in earnest.

Report on a trike riding adventure:We had heavy snow in late November, and on Dec. 9 I rode my tricycle on the Boyson Trail. It was mostly clear (kudos to the City of Marion, they do a great job clearing snow off of recreational trails). But near the McGrath VW dealership, snow had been pushed off of their parking lot onto the Boyson Trail. I tried to trike around it, but tipped on the edge of snow mountain. I was going very slowly, neither me nor my trike were harmed, but I did file a complaint with the dealership via their web page. To their credit, they quickly answered back and said that they would clear the snow that they had put on the trail. Below, the same stretch of trail seen during my Dec. 20 trike ride on the same trail. The trail is clear.

Due to my surgery, to encourage my continued rolling adventures, my children and my wife conspired to buy me a recumbent tricycle for my 67th birthday—so the nature of my rolling has shifted. The tricycle is heavier than a bicycle, but also sturdier and more stable.

It remains to be seen what the trike will mean for my miles in 2026—yet another reason I’m not setting a specific mileage total goal.

To what do I aspire to ride in 2026? Mainly, to continue rolling and to enjoy the journey. I want to meet the rest of Team Joe and family in central Iowa sometime, and do my first twilight trike ride along the High Trestle Trail. Maybe this year, I can gather some children and grandchildren and enjoy a family trail trike and bike adventure. I would like to visit more regional parks in 2026, now that my wife and I are both retired, and hopefully we can bring some bikes along for some rides at those places.

CR Biker on final ride of 2025. Too cold that day for the trike, but I enjoyed a ride along the Grant Wood Trail leading east of Marion. Wasn't sure of the conditions so I rode The Fancy Beast--the trail was mostly clear but there were a few snowy spots, so it wasn't a poor choice.

Deer seen by Grant Wood Trail on Dec. 31, 2025, bike ride.

Rode my hybrid bike (too cold for trike) Dec. 21 to Cedar Lake. The trail system around the lake is being extended, this is a yet unopened new stretch of trail on the east side of the lake.

Clarence, my hybrid bike, at Cedar Lake Dec. 21.

Tricycle parked on Krumholtz Trail during Dec. 20 ride. What should this trike be named?

Snow on park field beside the Boyson Trail Dec. 20. December got a bit warmer at the end and much of the snowpack had melted by this point, but there were still places blanketed in pretty white.

Winter sun over creek at east end of Krumholtz Trail, Dec. 20 trike ride.

Most of all, I just want to spend pretty days rolling along, enjoying this still gorgeous planet from the seats of my trike and my bikes. Weather has limited my miles so far in 2026, but in the first six days I’ve done three rides—two on bikes and one on the trike, although the trike is beating the bikes in total miles (8.46 miles on two chilly, short bike rides; 16.64 trike miles from yesterday, a warmer day).

The bikes have been a bit of a mixed lot lately. I planned to ride my hybrid bike, Clarence, a few days ago, for example, but discovered a broken pedal. Then, I was going to swap it for my old mountain bike, The Fancy Beast, but it had a flat tyre. Thus, my most recent bicycle ride was on my road bike, Argent, even though I do not commonly ride that bicycle a lot in winter.

2026 is starting with some challenges--a flat tyre on The Fancy Beast and this broken pedal on Clarence.

Whatever. I am limited in trike rides by the fact that the pedals on my tricycle require biking shoes, and the specialized pieces of cycling foot gear that I own are definitely not fit for cold. It was lucky that it was warm enough Monday for those 16 plus trike miles, and it looks like I may be lucky and trike again tomorrow, which will be nice.

Finally, I get down to some real business. I have homework for you, dear reader: a little poll. I would appreciate the hive mind’s input on a question my new status as a tricycle rider raises.

I have habit of naming my bicycles, and I want to honor my new tricycle with a moniker.

My tricycle as I pause to eat a snack at Cedar Lake during Jan. 5 ride. What should I name this vehicle?

What should the trike be named? I posed the question on a Facebook image from a recent ride. The suggestions I received didn’t yet resonate with me. One person suggested “Bart” because he thought maps of my recent rides looked like I was frequently drawing a character from the Simpsons TV show. I haven’t watched that show much, however, and I don’t feel like using the name of a fictional personality I don’t know much about. One of my sisters suggested “the Martian” because the invaders in War of the Worlds used tripods. I am amused by that idea, and maybe if the trike was green I might go that way—but it’s not. The trike is blue, and space invaders are little green beasts, not blue meanies.

And yes, I’m a Beatles fan, and yes, “Blue Meanie” has potential, except it does not quite fit the personality of this sturdy steed.

So, what should it be, blog pals? That’s the really important issue for 2026—the key goal I can accomplish soon, with your help. Let’s play a game: Name that trike.

Please comment your suggestion on this blog (or in a comment on Facebook if you see a link to this post there). It’s not an election—your humble correspondent is the Task Master and full decider in this event—but I would appreciate your ideas.