In Which There is a Lull Before

Airing my tent out in the backyard July 20. It's my second RAGBRAI tent, much smaller and simpler than the first. Less complex is sometimes good.

I had not really planned it that way, but Wednesday was my final bike ride before RAGBRAI.

On Monday, I had gone to Des Moines to visit my youngest son, daughter-in-law and grandson there. The daughter-in-law has a new bike given to her for her birthday by my son, and it was a momentous gift, marking her foray into the world of biking. She never learned to ride a bike as a child, and just last week they went to Gray’s Lake, where she glided around for a while on my son’s bike, and then started pedaling.

He shot a video. She pedals by him, saying something about blessed excrement. It turns out, in your 30s, if you're motivated, it's possible for your body and brain to learn the subtle balance needed to keep moving on two wheels.

So, we brought our bikes to Des Moines and pedaled along the paths near Gray’s Lake Park with them. Our speed was pretty slow, dictated by a very young grandson who waffled between riding in a trailer (faster) and zooming along on a glider bike (slower).

On a trail near Gray's Lake, Des Moines, newest rider, daughter-in-law, leads the way.

Still, it was a pretty day, it was fun to enjoy a ride with a new adult biker, and we did also stop at a playground, always fun.

Tuesday, I only did a little riding, going to campus and back and doing a minor amount of work there.

And on Wednesday, pre-RAGBRAI riding reached it climax. I got my mountain bike out of the garage that afternoon, planning to ride on some grassy walkways through a prairie flower garden at Waldo's Rock Park in Marion. It was a fine, warm afternoon. On the way, I encountered a group of turkeys crossing the Lindale Trail, and made some images of them.

And when I got out to Waldo’s Rock, there was a pelican at the pond, which was cool to see.

Pelican (above and below) leaving Waldo's Rock pond.

Pelican in the pond.

Turkey (above and below) seen on Lindale Trail.

Turkeys (above and below), Lindale Trail.

The final ride was thus already a win but it would get even better. I was headed back west, intending to ride the mountain bike trails by the Boyson Trail, when I ran into my wife riding the other way. We decided to ride on the Boyson Trail together. We went out to Menard’s and then turned back. When we got to the mountain bike trail, I took it and she stayed on the main trail. By pushing pretty hard, I managed to finish the mountain bike trail in the same time that she rode the main trail. We rode home together.

She rode 10 miles that day. I rode 17.4 miles. The miles this week were far fewer—deliberately so, taking it easy the week before RAGBRAI is a time-honored strategy to have your body well rested for the long ride.

And it’s shaping up to be a long ride in at least one way. A heat wave is expected, with temps approaching triple digits by mid next week. Hot weather riding—well, I have done that before. Was it 2012? It was my second RAGBRAI, and it began in a heat wave. Temps that year soared to more than 100 degrees.

The strategy was clear—begin each day as early as possible and ride as far as possible before the heat really kicked in. Take hydration seriously. Any time you felt a bit off, stop, find some shade, rest a while. It was a tough RAGBRAI, but I got through it.

I was younger then. And my style of RAGBRAI riding has evolved. During that ride, the goal was to ride every mile. Now I’m on a family team where we share driving duties, and so I have the choice whether to ride a full day or half day.

The hydration and rest strategy will be in place. The start early strategy is also important. The let the ride be what it will be and don’t fuss about riding all the miles idea is new. I plan to enjoy the ride as best I can, let the weather be what it is and roll with it. In the RAGBRAI spirit.

In July so far, I have pedaled 346.9 miles. Year to date, 2,035.9 miles. And more miles next week as I roll most of the way across the state. See you on the other side. My RAGBRAI will probably end Thursday, my plan is to ride 5 days and then be home to see visiting family members.

Good luck to you if you’re doing the ride this year. And next week on RAGBRAI, start early, take it easy and drink—water. Lots of water.

In Which I Tour a Lake Thrice in Two Days

Late afternoon sun at Cedar Lake, Sept. 3, 2019, around 5:30 p.m.

Cedar Lake—it’s not the prettiest body of water. It’s stuck next to rail tracks near a giant grain mill in a downscale part of town.

But it has its charms. If you want to view a sunset in Cedar Rapids, it’s one of your go-to places. It’s a good place to watch birds—geese and ducks. One cold icy spring day, I even encountered an eagle there.

I like Cedar Lake, and look forward to the not too distant future when it’s part of the big “Connect CR” project.

And I had the opportunity to enjoy Cedar Lake three times in the past two days. On Labor Day, I rode in the Linn County Mayors’ Bike Ride, sponsored by the Linn County Trails Association (a group that my wife recently renewed my membership in as a birthday present).

Monday was warm and muggy, but thankfully cloudy, too, which kept it from getting hot. The air was still, and a breeze would have been nice, but it was a still a pleasant enough day for an easy ride, which the Mayors’ Bike Ride, at 8 miles, is. My sister and I rode by the lake on the way to the ride, and circled more of it later in the morning as part of the ride.

My sister's trike gets inspected before the Mayors' Ride at Ellis Park.

During the Mayors' Bike Ride, trail by Cedar Lake.

I mildly regret not making more images at the lake Monday—the still air made it unusually calm, and Cedar Lake looked like a giant mirror, which is not its usual appearance.

Well, Monday was a nice ride. The crowd was maybe a bit smaller than in the past. I did run into Laura and Mike, biking pals from my neighborhood, but didn’t see other MMU Mustangs at the ride. At least I wore my colors. Some more images of the ride and after the ride:

Heading home after Mayors' Bike Ride--liking the new bike infrastructure by the courthouse. Barriers between cars and bikes, and new drains that are bike friendly And a kybo just to make us think of RAGBRAI.

Near end of ride, passing by Cedar River.

Photo with my sister at the end of the ride.

Biking along Third Avenue during Mayors' Ride.

Today was another warm, muggy day. The weather is expected to cool after today, which will be nice. Even today, however, was merely warm and a bit sticky—not really summer hot. So even if it was a little uncomfortable, I still enjoyed the ride down by the lake.

And—drum roll, please—CRANES! Three huge white birds were hanging out near the north end of the lake, fishing and fussing at each other and posing for photos.

Well, I hope you get a chance to check out the lake and see some birds there. It’s not Iowa’s premiere body of water, but it does have its charms, and I am often thankful that this urban pond does have a very useful bicycle trail around it.

Cranes on Cedar Lake, Sept. 3, 2019.

In Which Bugs and Thunderstorms Appear

Daffodils by the bike trail next to a big city parking garage in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Suddenly spring is getting busy. After a wet morning and cloudy early afternoon, it got sunny and warm late in the afternoon.

And bugs decided today was the day. I shot some images of early bees on my flowers before getting my bike out. Shortly after 4, I left home and rode down the Cedar River Trail. The sun looked nice, but clouds were also getting interesting.

The evolution of the sky--mostly sunny as I cross C Avenue (above). Sunshine at Cedar Lake (below). On the way back, sky getting cloudier on Cedar River.

As I rode under a bridge near the river, gnats were suddenly there. Not a heavy crowd—but, bugs in a cloud.

There were a fair number of bikers, walkers and joggers out. As I got down to Tait Cummins Park, the sky started to get a bit darker in the west.

Construction zone south of Cedar River.

When I got back to Cedar Lake, I noticed that the white pelicans had returned, so I made some images of them. But the sky was getting more and more dark, and about 3 miles from my house, it started to sprinkle.

Still, I got home fairly dry. And fairly happy. It was a longer ride than I had planned. My odometer said 16 miles, but it lies—the battery is not good and it kept blinking on and off throughout the ride. I suspect the ride was closer to 25 miles. And it was nice to be out there on two wheels during the first buggy day of spring.

Birds on Cedar Lake, seen on the way back north. Gull, above, pelicans, below.

In Which We Think of Hitchcock Films

The crow in the corner calls the morning bird meeting to order.

See the power lines, which I photographed on a cool, cloudy Wednesday morning during my bicycle ride to Mount Mercy University. This is on Eastern Avenue.

“The Birds,” right? The crow that seems to be chairing this meeting did squawk a bit menacingly at me as I paused to photograph this group—sadly, only one crow so it’s just a group of birds, not a murder—but I don’t think it quothed “nevermore.”

And so I emerged from said spooky October dinosaur photo shoot unscathed.

It’s fall y’all, and the seasonal bird sightings continued Wednesday afternoon. I choose the trail route home, and there wasn’t just one white bird of unusual size at Cedar Lake—two flocks of pelicans graced the lake with their awkward, stately presence. They were pretty to see, and I may swing by the lake today to see if they’re there in the bright, cool, pretty fall sunshine of today.

The pelicans have landed. There were in two groups, one on the lake near the north shore (first two photos) and one that came in for a landing in the middle of the lake (bottom photo).

Finally, get a load of the deer. This is not the same photo shoot as in my previous blog post—this is later on my ride home Wednesday, almost there—the deer are right beside C Avenue near rush hour—I hope they don’t become McMeat via any car (or bike) dodging!

Light is fading, so walking deer is a blur. There were three in this group.

Today featured featured the first frost of fall–definitely a jacket morning. I looked, but did not find my winter gloves, and my bike gloves did not quite cut it. My digits were frigid by the time I got to campus, although not too frozen to shoot an image of the frosty grass at sunrise.

First frost--I hope you can see it on the oak leaf. Sunrise on hillside at MMU this morning.

Fall is indeed second only to spring as a pleasant biking season. I love the cool air. The advantages that spring has are: Flowers. And the bugs aren’t out yet. But with frost in the air, we may be getting to the end of mosquito season in Iowa. The true bug hammer won’t come down until the first hard freeze, which isn’t even in the weather forecast, yet.

Maybe that’s a good thing. I still have time to find those gloves.

In Which It’s Too Early For Eagles

Dec. 10--grey, cool late afternoon at Cedar Lake, but a nice afternoon to bike around the lake anyway.

Birds—lots of them—were gathered at Cedar Lake this afternoon. I finished teaching for the semester with a class that ended at 11:30 a.m. It was a little frustrating—students had done speeches on Monday and I had finished grade reports for them that I could not print before class.

And, what with one thing and other, I didn't leave campus until around 4:30. It has been a long week, the hill to hump day was pretty steep. Computer problems at the campus newspaper, end-of-semester stress, getting stuff done for terms that start right after Christmas—well, it’s been a long week.

And although it was cool and light was fading, I decided that 4:30 wasn't too late for a quick trail ride around Cedar Lake.

There were lots of birds there. No eagles, yet—in late winter, when open water is precious, those majestic big birds are often clustered near open water at one end of the lake, but right now there must be way too much open water available all over North America—despite a cold November, lakes and rivers and streams are not totally frozen over.

Cedar Lake was maybe 33 percent open—enough ice making places where ducks and geese clustered. They seem to like the edges between ice and water, and must be well insulated—swimming in a giant bowl of ice water doesn't seem to bother them.

Crows were also clustered in trees near the lake and called in their cacophonous voices as I rolled by.

Warmer weather is forecast for this weekend, which is nice. If I’m lucky, I may get down to the Cedar River on Francis to see how the season is going there. It did feel good today to ride a few extra cool, dusky miles at the end of a stressful semester.

In Which Final RAGBRAI Prep Is Underway

I am ready to give a granddaughter a ride. Later, I took her cousin, a boy of the same age as her,on a ride. Final kid rides before the seat will come off the bike for RAGBRAI.

Well, I will try to update this blog during RAGBRAI, but you understand I’ll be borrowing the technology, and internet connections and networks in tiny towns across Iowa are often strained by the army of bikers that will start riding across the state Sunday.

I’m in the packing stage. Today, I took two grandchildren on bike rides on the toddler seat on Francis, which will be removed in the morning to lighten the load. Besides the new back bag, which I think will come in really handy, there are some other new technologies I’ll be using this year:

1) I replaced the hickeys. Eldon, one of the Team Joe members, gave us all rubber shoe ties last year, called “hickeys.” They are a great idea because the shoes fit snugly and there are no laces to get caught in a bike—but several of them also broke. So this year, I’m trying “no tie” elastic bands for shoe laces.

New elastic, no-tie laces on RAGBRAI shoes--shabby, but comfortable, sneakers.

2) I replaced my bike computer. There was nothing wrong with the old one, until the bike fell over during a training ride (Cate and I were lifting it over a tree, I wasn’t riding it when it fell). The fall seemed to knock a wire loose that killed the computer. Well a bike computer is not essential, but when we were shopping for item number 3, my wife pointed out several computer models, and I bought one when I picked up number 3. It is nice to be able to see the miles go by on an odometer and trip meter, and to know your speed as the other RAGBRAI riders zoom by.

New computer after 10 miles of use.

3) I, along with my wife, installed a bike rack on the van. It’s not quite as nice as Cate’s, it’s a rack the bikes do hang from, but it is a 4-bike rack, which we hope will make it handy.

Anyway, I seem to have all the stuff I need. I’ll put it all in bags in the morning, and then it’s off to an overnight stay in Storm Lake, followed by Rock Valley and RAGBRAI!

Flowers I saw this week--hibiscus or Rose of Sharon in bloom at MMU (above) and new hollyhock in my back garden at home. I had biked to MMU, and I was hanging out my RAGBRAI sleeping bag when I saw the hollyhock, so these are biking pictures, right?

As I hung out and when I took down my sleeping bag off of the clothesline, two tiny but very loud birds quite violently protested by presence. I suspect they nest in the lilac bushes or the trumpet vine near the clothesline. I tried to tell them I had no interest in their nest, but they were having none of it.

 

In Which Big Birds Are Seen In Cedar Rapids

A bird that is a pelican on Cedar Lake in Cedar Rapids on May 15, and one that is not. Below, this is less than half the crowd. There were many birds--maybe 30 to 40 or so--all crowded together along a sandbar on the lake.

We’ve moved quickly from cool early spring to sudden, warm summer. It’s suddenly green. A few late bushes and trees are yet to leaf out, but for the most part, everything is green, green, green.

The pears are already fading, but lilacs and crab apples are still in bloom and smelling sweet. And I saw a sign of the changing season yesterday that really made me pause. I went downtown for a meeting and was on my way back to campus when I was passing by Cedar Lake.

There were large white birds at a sandbar along the north shore. At first I thought they were swans, which seemed odd to see in such a crowd, but as I got closer, I saw that they were pelicans.

Well, cool. It was not an encounter as majestic as the time Matt and Ben and I saw eagles—nothing seems as impressive as an eagle unless you meet a live T-Rex—but cool nonetheless.

I learned, via the oracle Google and the Iowa DNR site, that these are probably American White Pelicans just migrating through. They are on their way to summer fun in Canada, and apparently can be spotted in Iowa twice a year—in fall on the way to vacation in Mexico and in spring on the way to vacation in Canada.

I’ll have to swing by the lake on my way home today to see if the big white bird party is still underway.

In Which CR Biker Wonders Where the Birds Went

Birds gathered near Boyson Road trail very late one afternoon last week.  Paging Alfred Hitchcock.

South, I know, it’s that time of year.  But, they left suddenly.  I saw them last week and it seems that this week there are far fewer avian crowds on our neighborhood wires.

One reason to bike is to be “out” and to see the natural world a bit more often.  I’ve noted before that in Iowa, seasons sometimes don’t slowly evolve from one to another—sometimes they switch abruplty, like someone quickly slid the dial from “summer” to “fall.”

That’s to a communing biker’s advantage, in some ways.  Cool fall mornings are about the most pleasant biking conditions one could ask for.

But in the twilight of the suddenly earlier evenings, the silence is getting dominant.  Throughout summer, you hear life all around you, even at night when the insects and frogs are seeking sex and singing their love songs.

There are a few diehard Romeos out there, still, but the evening insect chorus has died down from a full choir to a few lackluster soloists and an occasional quartet.  It’s hard for enough beetles to get together to be a fab 4, these nights.

I took the photo of the birds gathered on a wire during the evening ride I blogged about last week.  The picture of the bug below shows a creature that was slowly—slowly—inching its way across a railing at MMU’s Busse Library this Sunday evening, the final night of September, when I had stopped by, on my bike, to check on the student newspaper.

The sudden fall leaves me with mixed feelings.  I like the vibrant change of colors that appeared overnight after one cold evening—but am a little melancholy that the unusual fall beauty is partly due to a harsh drought.  I like the biking weather now, but the chill reminds me that cold is on the way.

Summer might not be my favorite biking time—but it beats heck out of winter!

I had a lot of trouble getting this little guy's image.  I think it was getting too dim
for my little point-and-shoot camera to focus well.

Watching All the Bunnies and Deer

If at first you don't succeed ....  The first brood of robins in my back bushes was eaten by something, cat or raccoon, I suppose.  But the robins are trying again, and I wish them luck.  Note that just right and below daddy, you can see one of the babies--there seem to be 3 in the nest.

OK, the bird is just in my back yard, and although I saw lots of birds on my bike rides today, I suppose that's cheating, a little.

The doe, however, is legitimately from my morning ride. After I went to the gym, I rode on part of the Boyson Trail, and saw this doe.

Doe on trail between Lindale Drive and main Boyson Road trail, this morning around 8.

Later today, late morning, the grandchildren were over playing, and I offered Tristan a pre-lunch ride. He accepted and we headed down the Boyson Road trail.

Although I didn't photograph them, we actually saw four more deer. He also informed me that any patch of trees we passed through was the “deep dark woods” where the Gruffalo lives.

His older sister is obsessed with the Gruffalo, and apparently Tristan is getting into the act, too.

It's been cool, naturally, since RAGBRAI is over and it's safe for nice weather to return to Iowa. We've had a few rains, which have greened up some of the plant life, although much still looks tired in this dry year.

Today's ride was all about the critters, and we saw many birds and bunnies as well as deer. It was a good Thursday for a mid-day ride.

I asked Tristan after I hopped on the bike--"should I take our picture before we go for our ride?"  "Yes," he said.