In Which I Anticipate More Shade

April 13--Ride on Grant Wood Trail east of Marion. True sign of spring, Dandelion in bloom by trail.

Spring comes from the ground up in Iowa, and for weeks, the grass has been slowly turning green, insects have started to appear, the early flowers have been in bloom—and now spring is slowly rising up, as it does. Lilacs and small trees such as Redbud and Crab Apple are in bloom. Some larger trees—maples, for instance—have been fuzzy with the new season for a while, but the Oak and Walnut and Catalpa have been snoozing through early spring.

No more. Young Oak are showing tiny new leaves, and even their older, slower cousins have swollen, greenish looking buds.

April 17--Bluebell by trail near Menard's.

Snake on the trail, March 28.

April 17--Eagle glides over bike trail--I'm stopped to make images of the Bluebells beside the trail.

And as spring has slowly been taking hold, my biking is slowly getting better. I have not done any 40-mile nor even 30-mile rides yet, but riding 10 miles is no longer an ordeal for me. On Palm Sunday, I actually rode 20 miles in my most epic ride to date. My first outdoor bike ride after heart surgery was March 17, and in March I rode a grand total of 36.18 miles. April come she will—it’s the 28th so April is not quite over, and I have rolled 144 miles across my small corner of the planet.

My incision still bothers me at times. I do still get more easily winded. But as April has grown warmer and spring has entered its mid phase—well, I can tell I am stronger. I have for many years been an old, slow biker, but I was ridiculously slow in March. I feel that my speed has significantly picked up as April has gone on—not back to where I was before heart bypass surgery in January, yet it is still good to see my riding improve. And it is good to see spring, and I anticipate that shade will be coming soon as the tree canopy gains itself.

April 22--Ride down to Cedar Lake, new construction area.

April 18--Near Tower Terrace Road on Creek Trail--Beaver swims in pond.

Late afternoon sunshine near south end of Boyson Trail April 2.

April 26--On mountain bike trail off of Boyson Trail.

Bike parked near bridge, April 26 ride.

My rides have been mostly on nearby bike trails. Weather and time have not been kind to my work plans, and while I rode to campus Sunday for an art reception, I have not yet resumed regularly commuting by bicycle.

There are only 3 weeks of the semester left. And if weather cooperates, campus is well within my range now. The miles there aren’t as flat as my trail rides near home. Yet, while I don’t want to tackle any big hill yet, I’m sure the small rises between me and Mount Mercy University are doable.

Like spring, I’m warming up. I’m getting to be a stronger biker. And that’s been a nice trend.

Am I ready to ride to campus? Yes. Rode there April 27 for an art reception.

In Which Summer Ends on New Trails

Aug. 13--Ready for a ride to C Avenue Park with grandson, wife and daughter.

I’m back to commuting rides—more rides, fewer miles. Whatever. The recent days in Iowa have been almost ideal biking days, and I can only hope that when I retire in just a few years, I’ll have a bit more time (and ability) to enjoy biking on them.

Recent rides have featured some trails that are new or newish to me. I used a new route on the way home Friday, going along the Cemar Trail, up First Avenue, and approaching C Avenue’s bike lane from the east rather than from the west. I did some extra riding out to the Catholic cemetery, so I can’t really compare miles to my traditional western route, but the eastern way is one that I’ll ride a few more times to determine its viability (the biggest reason was that one of the streets by campus is closed by some utility project, and thus I have to adjust my ride anyway.)

Aug. 13--Behind Popeyes and Amaco, start of new trail heading east.

Aug. 19--Work at corner of C Avenue and Blairs Ferry Road.

Aug. 20--Parking at Menards to buy batteries for lights. Bike rack doesn't look new, but I've never used it before. I didn't realize it was there and always tied to a pillar at the store.

Aug. 20--Changing depleted batteries for some bike lights.

Meanwhile, work on the new extension east of the Grant Wood-Lindale Trail continues. A tiny stretch of the new trail behind the Amaco station is now open, and crews are working at the corner of C Avenue and Blairs Ferry Road. I look forward in coming weeks to trying this new trail extension.

I’m still enjoying the mountain bike trails off of the Boyson Trail—in fact, I raised the seat on my mountain bike so that it’s more comfortable to ride, and when it’s dry, I often take a short spin on the easier of these 2 trails. I also got my bikes more ready for fall rides by putting new batteries in lights. School commuting will inevitably lead to some night riding.

Aug. 13--Yes, I know, I need to replace the seat. At least it's up a bit, which makes The Fancy Beast more comfortable to ride.

Sign for side trail off of Boyson Trail. There are two, one branches off the other. The "not branch" trail is easier and can be ridden, in dry conditions, with a hybrid bike. Still, liking having a mountain bike for these trails.

Aug. 13--Looking at the mountain bike trail. There is a grassy area and a woodsy area.

Not really a mountain bike trail, but a short side trail off of the Boyson Trail.

Aug. 13--Narrow bridge on mountain bike trail.

Aug. 13--Close passage between two trees on the more challenging of the side trails off of the Boyson Road Trail.

Between the mountain bike trails and the new creek trail off of the Boyson Trail, it feels that my late summer rides are featuring some new places. Nice! Year to date, 1,807.43 miles; August, 225.19 miles.

And, just because it’s me, here’s a whole bunch of pretty images from recent rides:

Aug. 13 ride--images from Lindale Trail plus flowers and butterflies seen on mountain bike trails off of the Boyson Trail:

Aug 17 rides: Some from Noelridge Park, some from Cedar Lake, deer on Lindale Trail, flood control construction along street near Cedar Lake:

 Aug. 19: Clouds on work commute:

Aug. 20: Ride to Menards for batteries, deer along Lindale Trail, most images near Menards end of trail: