In Which Not-RAGBRAI Part 2 Has Great Weather

Team Joe on Aug. 31 in Solon, Iowa, mid point of our longest not-RAGBRAI ride this year. My delayed twin Brigid, sister Cate, brother-in-law Eldon and me. Used my camera's timer to make image.

Many days in August, 2024, were very, very hot in Iowa. Despite actual temperatures in the 90s, there were far too many times that humidity made the heat index top 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, I should not complain. We’re not in Phoenix, with 100 days of 100-degree heat.

Team Joe had planned for the second half of its Not-RAGBRAI ride to take place over Labor Day Weekend. Would we be braving the hot breath of this very warm summer?

Well, the summer gods relented. The dragon of August was, apparently, ready for a rest. As our first ride on Aug. 30 neared, the weather shifted and the hot summer suddenly seemed to give way to early fall. Part of that shift from hot to cooler was morning rain on my birthday, so I drove to campus.

Which was OK, in a way, half of Team Joe was driving over from Des Moines in the afternoon, and we planned relatively quick first ride. By about 4, the sky was partly cloudy by the afternoon was cool and pretty. My sister in town rode her recumbent trike to my house where the rest of Team Joe arrived from Des Moines and got their trikes ready to ride.

In Team Joe, I’m the lone biker. Here I am, newly 66, still rolling on two wheels.

Ride one of not-RAGBRAI part two went well. We headed east on the Grant Wood Trail, circled Waldo’s Rock and headed out to the new bridge, turning around there. The Friday ride was 20.61 mile. And it was my birthday.

Aug. 30--Cloudy birthday sky on our ride--pond at Waldo's Rock Park.

The birthday snake, Waldo's Rock Park. It clearly liked the warm pavement on a cool afternoon, but was not as happy with the attention of hairless apes--it was in full threat, intimidation mode, partly muted by the fact that it was about 4 inches long.

Team Joe includes two of my sisters and a brother-in-law. My youngest sister is exactly 4 years younger than me—she was born on my fourth birthday. Following the Friday ride, as a joint birthday celebration, the team and additional family members went out to a nice dinner at a local Indian restaurant, and then had a great fruit cobbler my wife made as desert. More than 20 miles and a very fine meal—it was a good way to celebrate turning 66 (or 62, in the case of my sister).

Saturday’s ride was the longest one we planned. We rode south on the Cedar River Trail, going down to Solon and eating lunch there. The day was warmer, and we felt it. Thus on the way back to Cedar Rapids, we made the obligatory ice cream stop in Ely and then headed back to town, deciding to take an alternate route up Third Avenue rather than continuing on the bike trail. My local sister (not the delayed twin, my other biker sister) showed me a back way by Coe College that ends up at the end of the CEMAR Trail.

But as we neared the ride’s end, I faded a bit and had to rest. Getting old: I do recommend it, given the only alternative, but it has its challenges. Well, after a break, I was able to ride slowly home. A classic RAGBRAI meal, spaghetti, was the plan for the night. Saturday’s ride was 50.06 miles.

Another Team Joe image at park in Solon.

It had cooled down again Sunday. My youngest sister and brother-in-law went out to breakfast with my wife and I, and then we just relaxed for a while—the other sister was busy Sunday morning and came over in the afternoon. Our final ride was along the Boyson Trail and then out to Lowe Park. We walked around the nice garden at the Lowe Park art building, and then took a break at the playground area.

It was not our longest ride, but with the pauses in the park, it was great for a biker who carries a camera and enjoys making images:

Flowers and pretty fall sky at Lowe Park.

One bicycle, three tricycles parked at playground, Lowe Park.

Lowe Park flower.

I have not seen many Monarch butterflies this summer, so at playground in Lowe Park, it was great to see four fat cats on one Milkweed plant. They looked about ready for the transition to butterfly, and I hope they make it on the migration to Mexico and make many babies.

Four on one plant.

My wife and I had a trip to Des Moines planned for Monday, so the Sunday ride was the final one for Team Joe on our not-RAGBRAI adventure this year. We rolled 19.05 miles that day, and over the three days our rides added up to 91.72 miles. I wrote earlier about the first half of our not-RAGBRAI ride in Des Moines, and our total team distance for the two halves of the event were 143.08 miles.

I enjoyed the team rides. My individual rides since then have been very nice, too—with the beautiful weather sticking around for a while. On a recent Saturday, I had a nice morning ride out Waldo’s Rock, and then in the afternoon headed to a park on the tandem bike with an 8-year-old grandson.

Warmer weather is coming. Summer 2024 isn’t totally done with us now, although I think we could be past the most intense heat. I rode 402 miles in August. So far this year, it has been 2,265.27 miles. Images from other recent rides:

Sept. 7 solo ride to Waldo's Rock with mountain bike--riding grass trail through prairie plant area.

Sept. 7, Waldo's Rock park.

It's been weeks of pretty skies as slightly cooler weather sets in. Pretty early fall light Sept. 6 on bike ride home, corner of C Avenue and Blairs Ferry Road.

Morning of Sept. 6, C Avenue Pond seen on bike ride to work.

As I unlock bike Aug. 28 for bike ride home, I'm being inspected from not far away. The squirrels at Mount Mercy think they own the campus, except when the hawks are in the sky.

In Which I Visit a Hub and Ride my Coming Age

Attending volunteer orientation at Chain Reaction Bike Hub in Cedar Rapids.

I went on a journey last weekend, with the goal of riding my birthday. Each year, my goal is to ride the number of miles that I turn old on a day in the month of my birthday—August. For logistical reasons, I did things differently this year—more on the birthday ride, soon.

But first, another recent biking adventure. It was at some community event, I’m not sure exactly what (I’ve been to several this summer), but not long ago, I paused at a booth where someone was giving out information about Chain Reaction Bike Hub.

Their mission seemed pretty cool to me—to repurpose bikes, selling them at a reasonable cost, and donating some to local agencies for people in need. It seems a way to make bicycling more accessible by putting quality bikes in the hands of anybody. So, I put my name and email down on their list, and received an invitation to a volunteer orientation, which I attended Wednesday, Aug. 14.

At the event, I met two leaders of the organization. They described how Chain Reaction Bike Hub receives donated bicycles from individuals and from the local Solid Waste Agency. The bikes are evaluated—not all are worth fixing. If a bike goes into the “reject” pile, it’s disassembled and any useful parts kept, while the rest is recycled, so besides providing bike transport to more people, the Hub is also preventing more materials going to the landfill.

Refurbished bikes are available for sale, with shop hours being Wednesday 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to noon, and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They are located at 1010 Third Ave. SW.

Anyway, I’ll have to think of when I can volunteer—I told them that I would be more available after the school year, but hope to get a bit involved even before I retire.

It seems like a good group with an important goal. I aspire to be more engaged with them in the future. Read more about them here and here.

On a bike ride Aug. 13, pausing to make image of Eagle roosting in a large tree on the other side of the Cedar River.

Meanwhile, my birthday is coming up. I turn 66 years old at the end of this week. I was hoping to do my annual birthday ride this month, but it’s been both crazy busy, and, honestly, I’m not the rider I once was. In that, I really, really struggle with rising early. I’m doing a little better with that now that my final year as a university faculty member is underway, but August has just been very packed.

Yet, on Saturday, Aug. 17, I thought maybe I was ready for my ride, except I didn’t get a very early start. At my age, 66 miles would take all day, and it was close to 10 when I was ready t head out. My wife hinted that maybe riding 66 miles in a weekend could count this year. I thought that wasn’t crazy talk, but thought I would give the ride my best shot that fine day.

Flat tyre on road bike. I got the flat Aug. 17, although I made this image early in the morning (7 a.m. or so) when I was getting ready to fix this.

So, I headed out, riding to the Lindale Trail, planning the first leg of my journey to be out to Waldo’s Rock Park in Marion. And just after I crossed Lindale Road, about 1.5 miles from home, my bike started to make an odd noise, a sort of thump-thump-thump. I was just thinking I should check it, when there was a soft pop followed by a woosh.

I stopped, hopped off, and checked my tyres. The front one was clearly and quickly deflating. So I had a 1.5 mile walk back home.

And it was getting well past 11 a.m. Do I fix the flat and take my lightest bike on my journey, or do I use my hybrid bike, heavier and slower but with air in its tyres? I decided I was in the mood to ride, and although I felt a little like Tom Hanks in “Apollo 13,” (we just lost the moon), I decided to just enjoy the ride I could do rather than fret over the ride I had imagined.

The backup bike I used for the bulk of my riding on Aug. 17. Getting ready to start riding it that day.

And I rolled over 30 miles that day, getting about half of my birthday ride. I decided my wife was right—I knew what the rest of the month would present, and with school starting, this year a split ride would have to count.

The next day, Sunday, I awoke early and fixed the flat on the road bike. Looking back, the 20-minutes to swap out the tube (I don’t know what I rolled over, but there was clearly a small tear in it) would have been a good investment on Saturday, considering that I roll just enough faster on the road bike that I would have picked up more miles. Anyway, I rode to church in the morning, came home, changed into biking gear, and took off. I rode in the Boyson Trail area, headed up to Lowe Park and then cut over to the Cedar River Trail.

Aug. 18--Have not seen many Monarch butterflies this year, but I saw this on along the Cedar River as I was riding from Cedar Lake to home. I was in a hurry, but I have to stop for Monarchs.

On Sunday, Aug. 18, my grandson and I are parked so he can play for a bit in area beside art museum at Lowe Park.

Waldo's Rock Park on Aug. 17. Got sprinkled on a bit--it was just not fated for me to do full birthday ride this day.

I rode north to Robins and turned around. While I was hunting for miles, I also knew that a daughter and grandson had gotten back from a short trip to Milwaukee (he’s a big baseball fan and the Dodgers were playing the Brewers there, although his beloved Dodgers didn’t win that game). We had arranged that he and his mom would join us in the afternoon for a meal, but didn’t specify exactly when. Well, I rode form Robins down to Cedar Lake, when I got a call from my wife to come home for lunch with the Dodgers fan and his mom.

We enjoyed a visit, and he wanted to go play with his grandparents at a park. We decided that he would pick up his bicycle, we would meet at Lowe Park and do some riding together. So I rode my bicycle to the park, my wife drove the van with the grandson, daughter and bicycle in it. We met at the playground, and he and I rode a loop around the art building before heading back to the playground where he played. As the afternoon wore on, my wife suggested ice cream at the Freeze in Marion. I was calculating my miles, and figured if I rode my bike there and then home from there, I could reach my mileage total.

That’s what I did. On Aug. 17, I rode 32.27 miles (1.5 on my road bike, the rest on the hybrid). On Aug. 18, my morning church/post-church solo ride added up to 22.99 miles. The afternoon post-lunch ride was 13.76 miles—in two days, I rode 69.02 miles, exceeding the 66-mile goal. It wasn’t exactly my traditional birthday ride, although in recent years I’ve always tackled this goal as a sequence of rides anyway; I just usually have time to complete all rides on the same day.

So far this year, I’ve rolled 2,064.68 miles. Over 314 of those have been in August. The month is not over yet—but I work all this week so that’s the bulk of my rides in the eighth month of this year, 66 years after I entered this biking life. On my actual birthday, this Friday, Aug. 30, my small RAGBRAI team should gather. Part of Team Joe is my sister Brigid, who was born on my fourth birthday, so Friday will be a special ride even if it’s doesn’t quite reach 66 (or 62) miles.

Aug. 20, hybrid bike parked by library at MMU. I've been riding my road bike to work most days, now that school has started, but I have better lights on the hybrid bike, and I knew it would be twilight by the time I rode home this day.

In Which Heavier Bikes Still Reach the Goal

The Fancy Beast mountain bike on trail late on Saturday ride, second ride that got me to my birthday ride goal.

So, I turned 65 in late August, the penultimate day of the month. It was a Wednesday, a work day, and I have a couple of more years until I retire.

Therefore, my birthday ride had to wait for the weekend. My plan was to ride all three of my bikes and have a series of rides Saturday that would add up to at least 65 miles, and thus, as is my tradition in recent years, to ride my birthday near my birthday.

Mice and men and all that. Plans change. The valve on the rear tyre of my road bike was acting a bit funky this week—spewing air when I tried to inflate it. I could get pressure up to maybe 60, but it’s a road bike and I like to run around 90, at least.

I have other tubes and could change it—but I’m gainfully employed and didn't have time this week. I thought I might swap tubes Friday afternoon. However, Family matter dictated an unexpected drive to Des Moines after work that day, so the tube swap never happened.

No matter. I still have Clarence, my hybrid bike, and The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike. I met my sister Saturday morning, rolling on the hybrid, and we headed out to the Cedar River Trail.

The plan was to go north, stop at Jams in Urbana, then head south, do lunch in Cedar Rapids and maybe check out Cedar Lake. The ride started pleasant, but the day was warming up by the time we got north of Center Point. A Labor Day weekend heat wave was just setting in, and what had been a cool morning was switching to a sweltering afternoon.

My hybrid bike, Clarence, and my sister's trike, which she named Tiger but I always think of as Pumpkin, parked at depot in Center Point as we take a breather during 50-mile ride.

We followed the plan, but on the way back to Cedar Rapids, my sister noted the ride wasn’t that fun anymore. Too hot. So we decided to cash it in after lunch at Culver’s in Hiawatha. Thanks, sis, for the ride, and for treating me to both first lunch (Jams) and second lunch (Culver's). It was the hottest part of the afternoon, about 3:30, when I arrived at home.

The ride went surprisingly well, despite the heat. On the hybrid, I was rolling, at least for the first few hours, at speeds that rival Argent, my road bike. My sister was leading, and I struggled a bit at times, but kept the pace.

We slowed down in the heat, but when I was done with the ride, I had completed just over 50 miles. A big step towards the 65-mile goal.

I rested for a while at home, visited with my wife and a grandson who was staying the night. We even did a bit of shopping, buying a replacement dehumidifier at Menard’s for a unit that conked out in the laundry room.

It was getting close to 6 when I headed out again. It was still hot, in the 90s, but at that point in the afternoon, shadows grow longer, the heat starts to abate and a ride seemed more doable. My plan was to ride mostly along the Boyson Trail and associated side trails—a shady ride to beat the heat.

The second ride on The Fancy Beast went pretty much as I had planned. I rode the mountain bike trails by the Boyson Trail and was pleasantly ruminating about the old road bike. Not counting the ancient tandem that my wife and I use now and then for very short rides, The Fancy Beast is by far my slowest bike. Yet, it has a bit of zip. It rolls surprisingly well on a downhill, and I can get it up to decent speed on a flat with favorable wind.

Utility work going on at Menard's end of trail.

A doe ambles across the Lindale Trail Sept. 2 as I'm heading home and nearing 65-mle goal.

I was rolling fast enough that I was melting a bit from the sweat, but it still felt good to be on this sturdy little go-anywhere bike. After doing the mountain trail loops, I rode down the trail to Hanna Park, going from there via streets to the trail by Menards.

I was a bit startled to see a big construction project going on at the trail by Menards. Luckily, late on a Saturday there was no work going on, and the trail was open. I rode to the bridge, and paused there to turn on my lights.

I crossed the bridges on the trail before heading home, just to be sure to get to my mile goal.

Stopping to turn on lights.

Accidental image--trying to make image seen at start of this post, and I don't aim the camera well. Still, I like this picture of some dry weeds at the edge of the trail.

It didn’t get fully dark on the ride, but was getting a little dusky. I rode up to Boyson Road via the Boyson Trail and the new side creek trail, and was watching my miles. By the time I got to Boyson, I was pretty sure I would be past 65 by the time I got home. Just to be sure, when I rode up the hill by the Milwaukee Road bride, I doubled back and crossed both bridges before turning towards home.

I was a bit tired, but I was right. I hit 65 miles before I got to C Avenue, about a half mile from home.

And I have new respect for the backup bikes. It would have been an easier day on Argent, but Clarence and The Fancy Beast carried me to my birthday goal.

Postscript: On Sunday, Sept. 3, the day after my birthday ride, I paused for a little bike maintenance. The rearview mirror on Clarence, my hybrid bike, was a little loose, which can be irritating. My wife had purchased a new mirror for me for my birthday, and I put it on. But before that, I made one more attempt to air up the tyre on Argent—and this time, for some reason, I easily got it to 90 psi.

I pumped it up, did the mirror project, and checked the air again. The tyre seems to be holding air. So, I went for a late afternoon 11-mile ride on Argent. Even if the road bike wasn’t part of the birthday ride, it was part of this hot Labor Day weekend. And on today’s ride, I passed the 2,500-mile mark for the year so far.

I paused app between rides, but kept it on for both to track full goal of the day.

In Which A Birthday Ride Reaches Its Goal

First ride on Sept. 4--Clarence, my hybrid bike, at new trail that will extend Lindale Trail to the west.

Second ride--The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike, at Waldos Rock Park (that's Waldo's Rock, a boulder dumped by a glacier, in the background).

Third ride--Argent, my road bike, on Cedar Valley Nature Trail north of Hiawatha. I'm almost back in town again, I think this is when I stopped to make images of a snake.

OK, I implied on an earlier post that I was unsure about riding my birthday this year, and I was.

But this Saturday I purchased new tyres and installed them on two of my bikes. So Sunday they wanted to go somewhere, and I obliged.

Worn back tyre on Argent. Time for a new one, which I got Saturday.

Clarence has the worn tyre blues. Front tyre needs a change.

Saturday after visit to bike shop--new tyres (and a little pump to take with me on rides).

Besides tyres, I got this little pump Saturday. I tested it when changing the tyres, and it's much nicer than most frame pumps. I put it in a bag on Argent, have the bracket to hold it on The Fancy Beast, and use this bungee when taking it on Clarence.

I got the hybrid bike out early, went to church, and then added about 15 miles by swinging down to Cedar Lake and stopping at campus before going home.

This first ride featured some nice sights—in particular, pelicans, which visit us twice a year headed north (spring) or south (fall) were visiting Cedar Lake this Sunday. Very nice.

Here and next images, pelicans on Cedar Lake.

 

 

Hybrid bike at Cedar Lake.

Before the lake, I checked out the new trail that is being built to take the Lindale Tral farther west into Cedar Rapids. It’s a short trail going nowhere right now, but should be tied into the Lindale Trail yet this fall.

Paved part of new trail heading west of Lindale Trail.

Same trail, but looking east at incomplete part.

Noelridge Park--people walking dogs are not the most dangerous thing on two legs you might encounter.

After the lake, I paused at the Plaster Athletic Complex to watch a bit of baseball and softball. Then I rode to the main campus of Mount Mercy University, where I work, and on campus, I was pleased to spot several monarch butterflies on Swamp Milkweed by the library. And I made some images of the Grotto, just because it was there.

This, and next image, caterpillars on campus.

Bike at Plaster Complex.

Softball.

Baseball.

After I got home, I was hatching the plan. If I rode all three bikes today, could I do it? It’s just that 17 was a chunk of miles, and 64 didn’t seem that far way. I was checking out some new routes, and I have intended for a while to ride my mountain bike to Waldo’s Rock Park to check out some grassy trails. I suppose they are for hiking, but I figured the mountain bike could navigate them.

Grassy trail through a natural flower meadow at Waldos Rock.

I was taking a very RAGBRAI approach to riding my birthday—dividing the ride into segments where I got a treat in between each segment. Only the “town” I kept visiting was my own home. All of the riding I did on the mountain bike added another 17 or so, so I was up to 34 miles—I exceeded Bon Jovi, I was more than halfway there.

The lunch break was a while—I fixed myself a feast (home-style thick cut potato chips and tuna salad wraps), figuring I was burning some calories. And I paused to swap some things around on my bikes—put on a new bell and some new lights my wife got me for my birthday. It felt like the bikes should have their birthday swag for birthday rides. The lunch break, by the way, was between the hybrid bike—Clarence—and the mountain bike—The Fancy Beast.

New bell on The Fancy Beast.

New lights on Argent.

After the ride to Waldo’s Rock, I had another break. What with one thing and another, it was getting a bit late, but I only had 30 miles to go. And the final bike, Argent, is my road bike, the bike on which I can move the fastest.

Of course, I had already moved myself 34 miles, and I’m never a racer, so “fast” is a relative term. I rode north on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, figuring if I went to Center Point and back, I would be close to my goal. I didn’t make it. It was cloudy and dim, and by the time I got close to Schultz Road (10 miles north of Hiawatha) I was worried about riding the trail in full dark, so I turned back.

Turn-around point on ride north, 10-mile mark just short of Schultz Road.

Where you wondering if you would see the snake? Yes you would. It crawled off into the grass, scared, apparently, of a photographer although my bike seemed to have made no impression at all.

But a 20-miles round trip on the trail, plus the few miles I rode to get to the trail, meant my goal was in reach. I had to do some deliberate indirectness, some inefficient moving around in the neighborhood north of Boyson Road between Council Street C Avenue, but I thought getting a few extra miles in the full dark of night was smarter on lit city streets than on a dark rural trail.

When I turned on to Devonshire Drive for the final half mile, I didn’t quite have enough distance. In the area of Devonshire north of Boyson, there are some planters in the middle of the street, and anybody looking out their window then might have wondered at the crazy old man who, at about 8:15 p.m., kept circling those planters. I was getting the couple of tenths of a mile I was missing.

Sunday ride.

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's my Labor Day ride.

And when I got home, I had 0.19 miles more than I needed—but then again, I was a few days after my 64th birthday, so maybe I needed to exceed 64 miles just a bit. With a 10-mile journey today, I’m at 99.54 for September and 2,017.11 for the year so far. But mostly, let's recall that I made it 64!