In Which Biking Is a Family Affair

Flag on Mount Mercy University campus blows in stiff, cold wind Nov. 25. Winter is coming, but I am still biking. 

Fall is starting to transition into winter here in Iowa. Our weirdly warm and dry autumn changed to a more normal, damper pattern in November. The weather service says this has still been a warmer than normal month, but the outlook for the coming winter is an average weather pattern—which in Iowa means we should see some genuine cold and some snow.

We had our first hint of that, when a white dusting fell Nov. 20 and there was a bit of snow visible in a few spots on my morning commute on Nov. 21.

Nov. 21--Crossing C Avenue Bridge on morning ride. Despite the track I made in the snow, the bridge didn't seem slippery--but I was still glad to be riding The Fancy Beast mountain bike.

Yet, despite the cold, biking weather overall has been decent. Today I did wear full winter gear for the first time—a hat, hood, two long-sleeved shirts (a T and a thick sweatshirt), two pairs of socks including an outer pair intended for winter insulation, warm winter boots, long underwear, mittens—pretty much, the works. It was in 20s with a wind chill supposedly in the teens, although, to me, the wind wasn’t all that biting on my sunny morning ride.

Then again, I was very well insulated.

Well, despite winter, many recent rides have warmed my heart. The other theme this cool (but still unseasonably warm) November has been rolling with grandsons. A young boy, almost 5, is visiting Iowa from the Bay Area of California, and it’s nice to have this little San Franciscan staying with us. On Sunday, Nov. 17, he and his father and his third-grader cousin and I went on a bike ride. The older grandson and I used the tandem bike, the Cali kid and his dad used Clarence (my hybrid bike) with the Tag-A-Long seat.

California boy, ready for a ride.

We cycled up to the Lindale Trail, rode out to the Subway end, and then doubled back. We had to briefly pause—the tandem is heavy and I faded for a minute—but after a brief rest we proceeded at a slower pace. We headed east into Marion, pausing for a break at the Marion Public Library. I had my library card and was willing to check out a DVD or some books, but the boys were more interested in the chance to play, so after a while, and an announcement that the library would be closing soon, we left sans checkouts and headed back home.

It’s colder now, and I don’t know how well the child from the West Coast would tolerate it, but I hope I can attach that Tag-A-Long again and do at least one more ride with him before he wings west. We’ll see.

Nov. 19--Dandelion on cool fall morning. And that's my bike parked at rack in background, just rode to campus.

Seen Nov. 18 on C Avenue during morning commute--dinosaur session on wires.

Meanwhile, the day before that pleasant Sunday ride, my wife and I drove down to the Chain Reaction Bike Hub in Cedar Rapids with one of our daughters and her teen son. His 15th birthday is this week, and he needed an adult-size bike for his birthday. The Hub is a great local non-profit organization that offers bike-shop quality used bicycles, which have been repaired and are in great condition to ride, at reasonable prices.

We spoke on the drive downtown, and he was thinking he would like a mountain bike. He doesn’t care for the narrow tyres of road bikes, and wanted a bike to peddle on short rides around town, not really a long-range RAGBRAI bike.

The first bike he tried was a mountain bike that seemed a bit too small. The second bike was OK, but the chain slipped off when he tried to shift—not a serious problem, but not good PR for that bike. The third bike wasn’t a mountain bike—it was a hybrid, with slightly wider tyres than some hybrids. It was the largest of the three bikes that he rode, although it seemed to fit him well and given that he’s already tall and probably not done growing, I think it was a great choice.

And on Sunday, one week after the first grandson-themed ride, the teenager called me. “Want to go for a ride today?” Well, yes I did.

He rode over, and we briefly discussed routes. We could use the Lindale and Grant Wood trails for a tour de Marion, we could do the ride north to Lafayette, or we could head south.

Grandson looks at bridge we just crossed over Cedar River Nov. 24 on Edgewood Road.

He said he didn’t care, so I chose south. I had seen a note online that the new bike lane that crosses the Cedar River on Edgewood Road was open, and I was curious to see it. I also thought he would enjoy the ride down to Ellis Park.

Well, I was partly right. We rode to the Cedar River Trail and headed south. At Third Avenue, we turned off the trail and took the bike lane to cross the river, and then double back west along the trail by the river.

Little did I know that our way along that river trail would be blocked by a street construction project. The grandson had wanted a trail ride, but we ended snaking around the construction area on streets, although he seemed to be doing fine. And so we went, via street and sidewalk, back towards the river and the park that was our goal.

Ellis Park was pleasant, and the bridge turned out to be quite nice. It’s still marked with a “bikeway narrows, walk bicycles” sign—which made a lot of sense when the walkway was narrow before it was widened in a street project that is still ongoing in the traffic lanes, but there were no walkers on the bridge and there was plenty of room, so we pretended not to see the sign and simply cycled across the river.

View of Cedar River from new, wider walkway-bike lane on Edgewood Road bridge.

We paused. I had brought food for us, and ate a bag of nuts and some plantain chips. I brought some for the grandson, but he declined and simply waiting while I wolfed down my snack.

We were over 10 miles into our ride—by far the longest ride he says he remembers ever doing. And he had originally requested a “trail ride.” I had planned a ride that was going to be mostly trail and turned to be more street riding because of the closed river trail—and the question was, how would we get back? I was reluctant to retrace our steps—the detour around the project had not been all that easy. And we already were across the river to the northeast side again.

Despite there being a hill in that direction, I suggested we continued going north on the wide new sidewalk beside Edgewood Road.

Argent, my road bike, on the north end of the Edgewood Road wider walkway. Work continues on the road lanes, but this is now open.

The sidewalk ended at Glass Road, but I knew I could drive home easily at that point. Never had biked from there, however. Glass Road is a bit busy and narrow, and the grandson does most of his biking on sidewalks, so used the sidewalk as we turned east on Glass Road and rode to Wenig Road, where we turned north. Again, we were on a fairly narrow, fairly busy street so we continued our sidewalk trek.

And got to 42nd Street near Kennedy High School, where a bike lane led us back east to the Cedar River Trail.

So, my grandson’s “trail” ride turned out to be a 19-mile (close to 20, 19.67 miles according to the GPS app on my phone) adventure with less than half of it on trails. And, as it happens, when you diverge from bike trials, especially on Wenig Road and Edgewood Road, you also do more hill riding, although I think those climbs were harder on my old body than on his young one.

Still, the birthday bicycle boy got an introduction to longer rides. I hope the grandsons (and granddaughters) will want future rides, because I thoroughly enjoy such family rides.

As aforementioned, they warm my heart, even as the weather turns cold. As of midday today, I have ridden 160.11 miles in November, with the longest ride being the 19.67 with the teen grandson. So far for 2024, I’ve rolled 2,834.32 miles across this bumpy, pretty planet.

In Which a Hoped-For Eagle Appears

Heading south on C Avenue bike lane early in the ride.

I took an afternoon ride today—no need for lights. It was a fairly quick ride, probably 90 percent on streets with a few jaunts on trails, but relatively quiet ones.

I wanted a ride that was mostly street in nature, and to avoid the busiest trails. I decided to aim for Ellis Park. It was mostly a ride on streets, although the route there does include a trail on top of a flood control levee south of the Cedar River.

Third Avenue bike lane in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Bike trail on top of levee west of downtown area on south side of river.

On the north side of the Cedar River, in in recent years, a nesting pair of eagles have their home high in a tall cottonwood tree.

Luck was on my side. On this nice, sunny day, an eagle sat in a tree next to the nest, watching the river.

Eagle on north side of Cedar River, seen from south side. Below, the nest is in the next tree.

Ellis Park is one of the older city parks in Cedar Rapids. It’s been damaged by flooding in the past, but is still a nice place. The trail that leads there was pretty quiet today—I suppose most people drive to this park. I rode to near Edgewood Road, the west end of the park, paused to lower my bandana to take a drink, and then headed home.

I was enjoying the network of bike lanes in Cedar Rapids. Some have had recent improvements. On the Third Avenue Bridge, barriers separate cars from the bike lane, and water drains, that used to be perpendicular to the street and thus “bike catchers,” have been replaced with covers that have slots perpendicular to the line of travel—not something I would want to ride across, but if by mistake I did, it would just be a rumble strip and not a nasty fall.

Cedar River, on the way back east on the south side.

5-in-1 damn--crossed by four spans (north and south street and north and south Interstate highway) and is also a dam. Rode by it.

Third Avenue bridge crossing the Cedar River.

Bike lanes downtown are in more proximity to traffic, but traffic late on a Saturday afternoon was very light.

As I approached home, I had ridden more than 18 miles. Rather than head directly home, I briefly detoured down the Lindale Trail (pretty much empty) to add the extra mile I needed to get to 20.

A 20-miles ride on a pretty afternoon, and an eagle. It all makes for a nice day to be on a bicycle!

Deer looking at me from woods beside Lindale Trail.

Today's ride, above and below. Map on app makes it seem like I was drawing a bird on today's eagle ride.

In Which I Check Out The West Side

Bridge of Lions is closed to auto traffic, but the east walkway is open so the Cedar River Trail is not blocked at this bridge.

Well, actually, I ride the west side of the Cedar River fairly often, whenever I cross the river on the Cedar River Trail. But today, just on a lark, I headed way out west, to the wild, wild west—Ellis Park.

I started the day’s ride, as most do, with climbing the Brentwood Drive Hill. Then, I rode to the trail and went south. It was fairly late, about 4, when I started, so I knew I wasn’t going for a long distance today.

I paused to eat some Cheez-Its at Tait Cummins Park. I didn’t plan to push on to Ely, but wanted a bit more of a ride, and that’s when it occurred to me that I hadn’t been out to Ellis Park.

Time to head north, again. The 16th Avenue Bridge, the Bridge of Lions, is indeed closed to car traffic, as feared, but they left a walkway open so that Cedar River Trail riders can still travel through, which is nice. When I got to the federal courthouse, rather than continue on the trail, I stayed on the walkway beside the river until I got to Third Avenue, which has some nice bike lanes on its bridge (although it also has some drain covers in those bike lanes that seem designed as bike traps).

Bike Lane on Third Avenue Bridge. Yes, thank you city, for a bike lane--but this does not look like a bike friendly street drain. Can the holes run the other direction--perpendicular rather than parallel to road?

I liked the ride on the west side out to Ellis, some of it along a well-placed bike path atop a flood control levee. I do wish that they improved and marked more of the walkways on this side of the river, so that the bike route went all the way from downtown out to Ellis Park, especially since it mostly does now, anyway, except for some gaps.

Anyway, along the way I was amused by the city-sponsored American Gothic statute, and also photographed the new CRST building downtown.

New CRST building on east side of river has taken shape.

City's Grant Wood American Gothic statue on west side of the river.

I liked my bike's shadow, so I took a photo of it. I've dismounted to take statue photo.

It was a warm afternoon for a ride, but very pleasant. There were many bikers on the trails, although fewer on the route to Ellis Park, which seems a bit of a shame.

In the end, I rode 39 miles and was home about 8:15.

In Which Fine Weather Aids Weekend Rides

Linn County Mayors' Labor Day Bike Ride 2013, a set on Flickr.

Amelia inspects water in Dry Creek during our trail bike ride Saturday morning. My hand is not waiting to grab her, I was shooting right handed, and it makes my left (dominant) hand nervous.

This Labor Day weekend featured some excellent biking weather, and I’m glad to say I took advantage of it.

Some of my riding was solo—I went to the gym early Sunday, for instance, and rode a bit on the Boyson Trail afterwards. But much of my weekend riding was with company, and in each case, company made the ride much more pleasant.

On Saturday morning, my granddaughter Amelia joined me for a bike ride on the Boyson Trail. We planned a brief sojourn before meeting her siblings at the Bowman Woods School playground in our area.

Let me tell you, Saturday at 9 a.m. is prime time for dog walking on the Boyson Trail. That didn’t bother us at all—in fact, Amelia loves all animals, and exclaimed “puppy” every time one came into view. At the end of our ride, Miss Amelia said “more puppies” just before we were to exit the trail into the neighborhood. I wanted to tell her that we had already seen all the dogs we would, but luckily I kept silent, because when we rounded the final bend by the parking lot, there were indeed more people out walking their dogs. Queen Amelia wanted more puppies and she got them.

It was a nice morning, not exactly cool, but it was a bit cloudy and nowhere near as hot as the weather has been. Sadly, the clouds produced no rain, but it was still a very good time to be on a bike. And the other trail users are 10 times more friendly when you have a cute 2-year-old girl perched on a toddler seat in the front of your bike. We passed the last of the puppies, and I asked Amelia if she was ready to play at the park. “Not yet!” she cried, her one decree that came to naught. I guess it’s a good sign when the crowd wants more.

Deer I saw during Sunday morning solo ride on Lindale Trail.

Wife rides into a beautiful early evening on Cedar Valley Nature Trail.

Me, reflected near new amphitheater.

Sunday afternoon, the wife and I decided to take a spin. We’ve been doing the Boyson Trail a lot lately, so I suggested we head over to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. She agreed, as long as I could pick a route with “no hills.”

The route I chose, a slightly longer northern way that took us very close to my sister’s home, is not totally hill free, but it is mostly flat. We had to gingerly negotiate a bit of soft gravel at the Center Point Road project in Hiawatha, but once we were on the trail, is was a breezy, pleasant evening. It was warm, but there was a hint of cool in the air, a sign that the heat wave we’ve experienced is a thing of the past. We made decent time, and rode 5 miles north before turning back. I could not persuade my wife to go all the way to Lafayette, but she went further than she ever has on the trail, and it is a grand experience for use to be occasionally riding together.

Finally, today marked the Linn County Trail Association’s “mayors’ ride,” an 8-mile loop that starts and ends in Ellis Park. I headed down there this morning, and met my sister and her spouse. The morning was just about perfect for a bike ride, with cool wind and sunshine. I didn’t even mind a headwind now and then, since we weren’t pushing for speed and we weren’t going any great distance.

It was the second time I’ve done this ride, and 2 for 2 have been gorgeous. If this keeps up, it will be a habit.

Well, I’m sure Francis will have to go into the shop soon, so there might be a gap in my biking experience. I may borrow my son’s road bike, but will be judicious about putting miles on it. Still, even if Francis is laid up for a bit, it was nice to have such pleasant weekend rides.

Lunch With Bill and Builders

Bill in Ellis Park.

Monday’s bike ride was almost pure pleasure.  Almost.  There was a bit of a poignant note to it, too.

I rode to the north end of the Cedar River Trail beyond Hiawatha and Robins, and there was a sight to behold—actual construction/paving trucks on the actual trail.  The trail about 3 miles north of Robins has been closed all summer—not convenient for RAGBRAI training—for paving a few miles north to Central City.  It’s been frustrating seeing the serious-looking barriers and nothing else, and today was the first sight at the south end of the construction zone of actual work taking place.  My hope, of course, is that they started at the north end and are finishing the south end, but I suspect it will be some time before the trail is opened.

The last update on linncountrytrail.org was from May and said the project was ahead of schedule due to good weather, and the trail “could be opened before the end of summer.”

Well, I don’t want to sound whiney.  Along with, I’m sure, most Cedar Rapids bikers, I’m thrilled that more of the trail will be paved.  The ride south to Ely is nice, and it will be great to be able to head north, so a few months of inconvenience now are totally worth it.

A sight for sore eyes--the north end construction site.

And it was great to see the truck.  Construction is underway!  In fact, construction, for one reason or another, became the theme of this Monday ride.  I saw work going on to replace lights at the railroad crossing on 42^nd Street NE in Cedar Rapids, continued exterior work at the new federal courthouse, some construction barriers at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium adjacent to the newly opened City Hall, and, of course, work at the Five Seasons Center or whatever it’s called now.

I had my trusty new Canon with me and present some building photos—not bothering to show all the sights, by the way.  There was more work going on than I bothered to edit and post.

Never noticed before, but the big company downtown
is not Quaker Oats, but "Quaker Oars." Do they
mold paddles from grain-based plastics?

Cranes seem to be a part of the Cedar Rapids skyscape these days.  My personal favorite is the new central library.  If I do RAGBRAI again in the future, I’ll still find time to relax in the library.  A big new library right adjacent to the bike trail—well, blog fans, how could it get better than that?

Anyway, when I turned south, I decided that Ellis Park would be my lunch spot for an early afternoon stop.  The odd thing about the ride to Ellis Park is that much of it is on an under-used west side river walkway, disconnected from a nearby under-used bike path, and then a slightly iffy jaunt down Ellis Boulevard before you get to the park.  I kind of wish the city would simply sign and paint the river walk for bike use, and there could easily be a nice, continuous bike trail linking the east side downtown trail at Sokol Park to a west side river trail that goes all the way to Ellis Park.

The poignant part of the ride?  If you’re biking to Ellis Park, then when you get onto the nice, new, levee-topping east side bike trail, what’s on your left is a partial wasteland of flood devastation.  There are a few houses, but mostly block after block that was swept away by the Cedar River.  Two years after the mighty flood, there is a lot of good that has been done in Cedar Rapids (see the library and courthouse), but a lot of scars, too.

New federal courthouse being finished, conveniently on the bike trail.
If I commit a federal crime, I'll be able to bike to my trial on the trail.

Bicycle parking at new federal courthouse, more convenient than car parking, I'd wager.

Voters have twice rejected funding for west-side protection.  I don’t know why.  Lack of trust, I suppose, but I voted “yes” both times.  Tax me and protect my city, please.

Well, enough of politics and back to our tale.

I arrived at Ellis Park on a gorgeous, warm but not hot, summer afternoon and ate lunch with Bill.  William Shakespeare.

There is a “Shakespeare Garden” in the park, a bit of faux historic kitsch.  It’s not quite as impressive as the tree museum in Storm Lake, Iowa, which is an idea maybe Cedar Rapids should repeat—only can we make it the historic moss or fungus museum?  I’m kidding, let’s stick with trees.

Work on RR lights at 42nd Street.

In Storm Lake, Iowa, they have trees in a park along the lake that come from seeds or shoots of trees that are somehow associated with historic figures or events.  It’s both weird and cool at the same time.  Like a Shakespeare Garden for no particular reason in Cedar Rapids.  How about a Vonnegut garden?  Let’s do it before Iowa City wakes up.

Anyway, the literary park within the park is a nice, a quit alcove for a biker’s brown-bag (actually, green lunch box) meal.  And, as I looked across the Cedar River, of course, there was a utility vehicle doing something along the power lines that follow a railroad right-of-way there.

I headed back, crossed the river on one of the one-ways north, re-linked to the trail, then turned around at Sokol Park and headed north on the east side trail.

A new furnace is being installed at my house Tuesday, so if I take a ride, it will have to be an early evening jaunt—so it might be a while before the bard and I break bread together again.  But Monday’s ride was beautiful.  And I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

They’re paving the trail!

Convention Center downtown, being rebuilt.