In Which Mama Nature Finally Relents

Late in ride, seen from Lindale Trail. Quiet winter woods. I will love the pretty greens of spring and summer--but winter has it's charms, too.

Do I call it a winter ride or a spring ride? It was in the 20s today (American 20s, still well below freezing but warm enough that there was some melting where sun hit pavement), and there is a lot of snow around.

On the other hand, we are on the cusp of the final week of February, and my daughter in Norwich, England, is seeing spring blooms. Despite it still being winter here, there is a hint of spring in the air. The sun is slowly moving north and slowly visiting longer each day, the horny birds are singing their avian spring Tinder tunes—there are signs that good changes are coming.

It’s been a long time, a couple of weeks, since I donned my helmet and headed out to move two-wheeled in the world. The streets between here and campus, being in Cedar Rapids, are still packed with slick white ice, and they won’t be rideable until we have a string of warmer, sunny days. Snow is expected Sunday.

But today, the morning was too pretty. I had other stuff to do for a while, and honestly other stuff to do this afternoon, but I decided I needed some two-wheel mind and body therapy. Spring—when young birds think sex and old men think bicycles.

Bike on Boyson Trail, in top image, winter walker approaching. The Iowa road and trail game--find the road in winter. Honestly, eyes are better than cameras, the trail was really pretty obvious. Covered in packed snow, but passable if one rides The Fancy Beast slowly.

I figured I would need a short ride that didn’t involve streets—as even where there are bike lanes, they are often covered in snow and ice.

But I also thought that a ride on neighborhood trails using The Fancy Beast might be possible.

It turned out I was right on all counts. It was tough going climbing the hill on C Avenue to get to the Lindale Trail—technically I did slide and fall at one corner, but it was such a slow-speed “fall” that all it meant is that I ended up standing over my bike. No harm done to cold bike nor cold bike rider; the bike even ended up still upright between my legs. Would that all my bike falls would be such nonevents.

Just climbed C Avenue hill. The pavement here does not look bad, but it's only this clear by Walgreens--most of the way was 100 percent snow and ice covered. But I managed at a slow pace.

The morning sun had given way to clouds and the wind was chilly. I regretted my foolish decision to not wear long underwear, but it was still OK. Frankly, despite becoming cooled, I have to say that this little winter adventure was great for lifting my mood.

Once I got the on trail, the ride conditions improved dramatically. The CR parks workers—and those in Marion—did a great job of clearing the Lindale Trail. It was not 100 percent dry pavement, but good enough for a slow biker on a mount bike.

Two views of Lindale Trail--snow on the west end, clearer just beyond that. Most of the trail was in good shape, easy to ride.

I got to the end of the trail and turned to head through a residential neighborhood to the side trail (which I named the Joe Trail in an earlier blog post) of the Boyson Trail. Again, I was enjoying this cloudy, cool ride, but I could not help but be a bit sad at the state of streets in Marion, Iowa.

These quiet residential streets were clear of snow—bare pavement, totally safe to ride on. It’s like this town has discovered snow plows and uses them—I wish CR could do that.

Two views from the ride--the sad state of Marion Streets (above)--sad only because CR streets do not look like this. End of side trail (below) approached by a beast. A very reserved, quiet beast whose walker quickly leashed and walked by. "Beautiful day," he said--the biped, not the dog. "Yes, comparatively," I replied.

I met a few dog walkers on the Boyson Trail. Its limestone surface was totally packed with snow, but I was actually kind of hoping for that. When it gets warm enough for melting, this trail will be too mushy to ride—but the white ice covering meant on this slightly warmer day, the trail was still frozen and rideable with a mountain bike. I rode in a loop, leaving the trail where it’s closed for construction and looping back to the Lindale Trail though the neighborhood again.

I don’t really know my miles—not many, maybe 4 or 5. I guess, to me, that wasn’t really the point. I’m not sure when Iowa’s winter will relent enough for me to resume normal bike commuting operations. But I enjoyed today’s preview of spring.

Probably not as much as the birds, but still, I liked it. Three final images, contrasting the Lindale Trail with the C Avenue sidewalk:

East end of Lindale Trail, I'm ready to ride west towards C Avenue. Again, the east end. like the west end, is more snow covered than the trail in general, but this surface is OK with a mountain bike.

C Avenue sidewalk (above) covered in snow. Bridge over Dry Creek (below) is also not in great shape--but I was able to navigate both.

In Which Lanes Clear Up and Skies are Peachy

Bikers and geese enjoy the morning light at  C Avenue pond Oct. 5.

Tuesday sunrise at Blairs Ferry Road.

The biggest news this week is that the branch trucks came Wednesday morning to take the brush away from C Avenue. So, there are not tree trunks blocking the bike lane anymore.

Which is a mixed blessing, because the trucks leave plenty of small sticks behind. Still, it’s an important step forward, and I’ll appreciate it.

It has been a dry and cool week in Cedar Rapids, great biking weather even as the light fades. The mornings are dim now, and it’s not unusual to have my lights on for either the evening commute or the morning commute or both.

Clocks change this weekend and suddenly it will be dark for the ride home. Well, that’s why I have lights.

And this week has been full of pretty views!

Above and below--crew at work removing tree debris on C Avenue. Went down Old Marion Road for a block--thankful they have added new bike lanes there.

Above and below--Sunrise during Wednesday morning ride.

In Which CR Biker Avoids Striking Nicole Kidman

If I had been the celebrity photographer, I would like to think that Nicole Kidman would not have been knocked down. In case you missed the top biking story of the week, late last week a paparazzi photographer on a bike plowed Ms. Kidman down as she attempted to enter her hotel in New York. Sad to say in the same week, I almost plowed down a pedestrian on C Avenue, and I’m deeply sorry.

So, according to him, was the photographer, but I think my “sorry” is a bit more sincere. I was only on the sidewalk on C Avenue because the street, with 4 lanes of busy traffic and a 35 mph speed limit, isn’t very bike friendly. I was not stalking Nicole Kidman.

And my near brush with bike notoriety came as I turned the corner from Brentwood Drive onto C Avenue, heading towards the gym on Saturday morning. There was a couple headed north on foot. I was going very slowly since I had just turned, and thought I was stable enough to simply squeeze by, leaving the bulk of the sidewalk for them. Sadly, I wobbled and made an unexpected (by both the couple and me) left turn.

I nearly knocked into the man. Surely, I would have rather run into Nicole Kidman. But actually, I would rather run in to no one. And in this case, luckily, no collision occurred, and other than a mumbled “sorry,” there weren't any consequences, video on ABC TV or potential charges. Sir, I will be more prepared to stop and let walkers pass every time I go around that sidewalk corner, cross my heart and hope to live.

The photographer who hit Nicole may face reckless driving charges. That sounds OK to me. A biker should always yield to pedestrians, and I honestly always try.

I just don’t always succeed.

Biker, not me, on C Avenue Saturday.
I rode that day, but later, to church and then to my office.

In other CR Biker news headlines:

• It’s colder out there, but still dry. The biking weather has definitely improved, which is nice, but days are getting shorter and my lights have been much more in use.

• I failed to get educated on how to use bike lanes. I had every intention of attending a Thursday night ride in downtown CR, but when I got down to the New Bo market at 5 p.m., I found that the first ride was not until 5:45. I just didn’t feel like waiting, so I guess I’m on my own with the new bike lanes.

Perhaps I needed the safety education. There’s at least one guy who was walking on C Avenue who might say so.

Blazing A New Trail Near Our Home

My shadow as I pull up late in the afternoon..what is that beside the sign?  A new trail!

I’ve been seeing a “Road Work Ahead” sign on the Cedar Rapids end of the trail that runs behind Walgreens on C Avenue NE in my neighborhood, and cynically assumed it would take years for the city to actually do anything with this trail.

Well, CR Public Works, I take back my cynicism.  Suddenly, in the course of maybe a week, a sleek new limestone trail has magically appeared.

I noticed, as I zoomed by on C Avenue Monday night on my commute home, something looked a bit different, so I turned around to investigate.  Sure enough, a new access to the old rail line had been created at the end of a dead-end street.

The start of the trail looked a bit mushy—we had two inches of rain over the weekend.  And Audrey was due to come home soon—we had planned to go for a walk.  So I rode home, texted her that there was a new trail, and we decided to walk it.

Well, it was slightly mushy in parts, but in surprisingly good shape.  As far s I can tell, the city is done putting most of the limestone down, and just has a bit of shoulder fill to move in before Miller time (or should it be Fat Tire time?).

The shaow of the walkers--Audrey and I head away from the sunset along the new trail.  Clearly, we are not cowboys or we would be going the other way.

We walked a loop, first going to Lindale Avenue in Marion, then back north through a quiet residential neighborhood to the short west trail that runs beside the longer Boyson Road trail.  We headed back home, passing by Bowman Woods School on Boyson Road.  The loop we walked was about an hour long—which makes it just about the perfect length for the occasional evening constitutional, and along this walk we crossed no busy streets at all.

Well, cool for you, CR.  Thanks for putting in this trail.  My late fall bike riding has just gotten better.

Eventually, years from now when the CENMAR trail is finished, this new trail will be my commuting route, and I’ll be able to ride all the way to MMU with only the short sidewalk jaunt to Walgreens being pre (or post) trail.

Yeah, it was a nice way to end a very nice ride.  Although the ash trees are spent, there were still lots of pretty maples to enjoy on my ride.  Happy trails!

This photo and below are in the neighborhood east of Harding Middle School and Noelridge Park.  I had taken the Cedar River Trail north through town, not knowing that there were more trail adventures in store.

The Camera Store Ride

Can't post a link to it--the newspaper site was not updated this week--but here is a picture of a story that the Mount Mercy Times at MMU ran this week about bike trails in Cedar Rapids.

The story focused on trails used by students and how to visit them from campus. I was a "hidden" source for the story, in that I suggested a map and helped the design editor plan routes for that map.

She didn't actually use my routes verbatim, however. For instance, the paper suggests riding north on C Avenue to get to the Boyson Trail in Marion.

Naw. When I head north from MMU, I spend over half my time on E Avenue. Despite the fact that Kenwood School is there, it's much better for biking than the busier C Avenue.

Anyway, I had to take a newspaper camera into the shop today, which meant taking 43rd Street to C and riding just one harrowing block on that avenue before a right turn into a quiet alley leading to a back parking lot of a business complex. There is a fence between that complex and the mall area where Kohls and Barnes and Noble are located, but also a deliberate hole in that fence, for access to the mall area. Rode slowly through this (mushy ground) then east through Mall parking lot, a 4-way stop and by HyVee and Lindale Mall to PhotoPro.

The route home from the photo shop involved the access road that goes by KMart, a jaunt through a steakhouse parking lot and then north on Northland to Blair's Ferry, where I ride on the sidewalk.

All in all, a cool ride, but still. a ride. Glad to be back on the bike again!

A View From A Bridge

There were clouds in the sky today, and I was wondering, in the middle of the day whether the weather would hold turn wet.

Well, luck was with me this fine late winter/early spring day. The sky turned from cloudy to a milky sunshine, and the ride home was very pleasant.

Two images from my ride home, both from the C Avenue bridge. There was plenty of traffic on C Avenue, but still, even in the city, it's nice to be outside, to not be enclosed in a glass and metal box as you go from place to place--to be able to see and hear the woodpecker in the maple tree.

The dominant color outside now is brown, and I'll enjoy it more when green starts to take over. But even the brown countryside of March can be pleasant on an unexpectedly nice afternoon.