During Feb. 25 ride, I stop to check if first flowers have bloomed at Mount Mercy University Campus. They had.
Between Ely and Cedar Rapids on Hoover Trail, resting on a bench and enjoying the woods on Feb. 25 ride.
Feb. 23--First commute to work on road bike after replacing front tyre.
Feb. 27--Bike parked at MMU Grotto. Windy afternoon, next day was the one day this week I didn't ride--below-zero wind chills in the morning.
I suppose, technically, that I own four bicycles—but one is an old tandem, used primarily for short summer rides with either my wife or a grandchild.
Grandchildren and spouses, in my corner of the world, don’t do a lot of bicycling in the chilly early spring, which is what February has turned out to be in Iowa. In a normal year, it would still be winter and I would be weeks away from writing about spring. This is not a normal year.
And that’s added up to some extra biking miles for me.
My first ride of the year of more than 30 miles was Sunday, Feb. 25. I went some distance south on the Cedar River Trail for the first time this year, rolling to Ely and then back. It was oddly warm for a February Sunday, and when I rested in a park at Ely, small spiders were skittering across the pavement. Bugs in February. It’s not Heaven, it’s Iowa, but it’s hot like Hades, at least “hot” for this time of year.
Feb. 25--Resting at mid-point of long ride in Ely. I will have to dig up sunscreen, got a mild sunburn on this ride.
Feb. 25--Sunny view of Cedar River on trail headed south, south of river. Mount Trashmore in background.
Feb. 25--Large bird of prey. I think it's a young bald eagle that hasn't grown into its adult colors yet. Although it could be a hawk. What say you, internet hive mind?
Feb. 25--Geese in Ely city park.
I didn’t have time to continue riding south to Solon for a much longer 50-mile or so ride, and I wasn’t dressed for it anyway (I need bike shorts for longer rides).
It was a pleasant ride. I took two brief rests, one in Ely and one on a bench in the woods on the way back. It was a bit breezy, but still a good day to be out. The ride totaled 32.88 miles.
It was on the road bike, which I have finally repaired. I took it to Goldfinch, because I’m too old to easily read tiny black numbers on black rubber, and no, I don’t have my bike tyre size memorized. They concurred that I needed a new front tyre, but advised the that worn back tyre is still good for a few months, although it will need to be replaced before longer summer rides.
Changing the tyre is never my favorite thing, but honestly it worked out to be easier than changing the tube on my mountain bike, which I had done a few weeks ago.
Feb. 21--Bikes in rack near Regina Hall, MMU. None mine. Seeing lots more bikes in February than is normal.
Feb. 23--My bike parked at Warde Hall, early ride after fixing road bike. Hawk feather has blown against rear wheel--there are a pair of red-tailed Hawks that nest on Warde Hall, I assume this is their greeting card.
So, recent rides have seen me taking advantage of the full trio—the long weekend ride and some commutes on Argent, my road bike. When I’m in the mood or worried about poor weather, rolling on The Fancy Beast, my mountain bike. And several routine commutes using the all-purpose pickup truck bike, my hybrid, Clarence.
I rode 224.29 miles in February and 6.94 miles on March 1, giving me 362.62 miles for the year so far—more than 10 percent of my goal in the early winter months of the year. I hope that foreshadows a good riding year. I’m not sure the year includes RAGBRAI—they have a hilly, southern route this year, which doesn’t, frankly, appeal to me much, and last year’s crowded, hot ride kind of spooked me a bit.
I may be ready for fake RAGBRAI this year, where I just try to top 300 miles during the week of the ride. We’ll see. And that way, I can ride my variety of bikes as the mood strikes me—maybe even the tandem (which has no name right now).
Feb. 25--I wondered if first flowers had bloomed, so rode to campus on my way home from Ely. Yup, early spring is official. Building in background, Warde Hall, is oldest on campus and where my office is.
Early in the ride, here and next 2 images--fawns and doe seen in Dry Creek from C Avenue Bridge.
“Go for a ride early before it gets too hot,” she said. Which was not a bad plan—except I did not wake up until 9 a.m. It was 11 by the time I headed out.
My goal was to ride 30 miles. But if it went well, I also thought I might ride a bit more.
I headed down to campus, intending to then take the Cedar River Trail south. I was slightly delayed—there were distracting flowers and students taking part in distracting activities, and I had my good camera with me and spent some time making images.
But I eventually made it to the trail. At Cedar Lake, I saw a heron take flight, which was fun. When I got down past the Federal Courthouse, on to the minor detour at the African-American museum, I stopped at Goldfinch Cyclery. I was riding my road bike Argent, which was recently fixed at that shop, and when I picked it up, the valves didn’t have their rubber caps—the staff member I spoke with was helpful and quickly got me two.
Heron takes off from Cedar Lake.
Here and below, I put on the new valve covers while parked outside the bike shop.
I kept going south, taking it easy on a hot summer afternoon—possibly the unofficial last ride of summer as fall syllabi are crying out for editing and lectures for prep. I’m not ready for it, but summer is pretty much over.
I went down to Ely and had passed 15 miles which would make for a 30 mile ride. I ate a snack at the park and then proceeded south, intending to turn around when I reach close to 20 miles to make for a 40-mile ride.
I paused to make some images of a goldfinch, which was cool to see. As I headed south, I thought I was fading a bit. So, I turned back a bit early.
South of Ely, state bird of Iowa, a goldfinch, eats thistle seeds.
I took one final break at Cedar Lake and decided to head back via the trail and Noelridge Park. Because that route is slightly longer than the route via campus, despite the early turnaround, I ended up getting 40 miles.
I have taken far fewer long rides this summer than in the past. Then again, I was not training for RAGBRAI. In a typical summer, I would do some 60-mile days and maybe even a century, so 40 miles is not all that much.
But I got in 40 miles on a warm day when I didn’t even hit the road until 11 a.m., and I rode 10 miles beyond my original goal. All in all, a good day, a good way to celebrate summer’s end.
Lots of images, because, hey, let’s picture summer:
Brief stop at MMU campus. Bikes start to show up in bike racks. Early students arriving.
Heron at Cedar Lake.
South end of town--heart signs start to appear.
Sign near Ely.
Eating snack at Ely Park. Reflections of trail traffic in pond.
Bikers reflected in pond.
Dragonfly on patrol at Ely pond.
South of Ely, swallowtail butterfly.
Yard decoration near south end of Ely.
Tin Man and Witch near ice cream shop in Ely.
Two from Oz in Ely.
Oz never gave nothing this guy that he didn't already have.
A classic vehicle. And a truck. Near Oz figures in Ely.
Wicked Witch of Ely.
She has the red shoes on.
New mural near biker bar (bicycle style biker bar) just north of the river.
Detail of mural.
Near African-American museum, new mural under a bridge, detail.
Another part of mural.
More in mural.
Bike in sand my river.
Sky early in ride--clouds. But it cleared off, got sunny and hot.
My bike parked near library at MMU campus.
One reason some redundant images--these final ones are from a different camera. Mural by bar.
The farthest point south on this ride--Sutliff Bridge in Johnson County. The bridge does not carry road traffic anymore, it's a historic site run by the county. And by the time we arrived, it was clear today's ride would be a long one.
Iowa was in a sweet mood on this July day. We had a stormy, damp day yesterday, but today was the kind of summer day that, if you could bottle it, you would want to keep it. It was sunny, but there were some pretty clouds to break up the blue sky. It was warm, but neither hot nor super humid. There was a breeze, but just enough to cool a bicycle rider without making for difficult head or cross winds.
In short, it was grand.
My sister and I have not seriously planned this not-RAGBRAI week, other than agreeing we would ride many miles in honor of the RAGBRAI that isn’t. Our plans are rather loose. But we always talked about two long rides—one south to Solon, one north far beyond Urbana.
Today, because I had a time limit, a late afternoon appointment, we opted for the southern ride. The day added up to more than 70 miles.
Cedar Lake, a pretty morning, mostly sunny sky. My sister (below) checks her phone right after I make the image above.
And there were many great RAGBRAI-like experiences:
Lunch at Big Grove Brewery mimicked a RAGBRAI feed in substance and style. I had a local craft beer with a French dip, and it was grand. My sister ordered and shared deviled eggs as an appetizer. We don’t have a lot of deviled eggs on RAGBRAI, but eggs, either scrambled or hard boiled, are frequent RAGBRAI food items.
Afternoon snack was an ice cream stop at Dan and Debbie’s Dairy in Ely. Definitely a RAGBRI type thing.
The ride to the Sutliff Bridge. The bulk of today’s ride, as all not-RAGBRAI rides have been, was on trails in the Cedar Rapids area. But we got to Solon too early for lunch, and my sister suggested pushing on to the Sutliff Bridge, a historic bridge over the Cedar River in Johnson County.
The ride from Solon to there was over 7 miles of county highway—and a reminder of what the geography of Iowa is like. Out-of-staters beware: Don’t come to RAGBRAI expecting to ride on the flat Great Plains of North America. Iowa is just east of that region and the land between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers rises and falls like a wrinkled sheet. We have no mountains, but the land dips into river valleys and rolls over numerous hills.
Hoover Trail, biking south of Ely on a gorgeous morning.
Just a bit north of Solon--the trail has crossed and parallels the county highway to the left. There is a bit of a rise in this area, seen below.
I know I use granny gear way more than younger, faster riders, but I think any rider would have found granny gear on this ride to Sutliff Bridge. My sister and I definitely worked for our lunch in Solon.
My sister on the county road out of Solon. She was the navigator because I had not biked to the Sutliff Bridge before.
The second road--more traffic, but also more of a shoulder for bikes. Both roads were fairly hilly--as my sister noted, it was more of a RAGBRAI ride.
Above and below, crossing the Cedar River on a new bridge east of the Sutliff Bridge.
View of Cedar River from county road bridge.
The bridge, when we got there, was worth seeing. It was fun to ride over it, too. I had never biked there before, and was glad to have a guide.
Views of the Sutliff Bridge.
Today, I rode the road bike, and my sister, while she would have ridden faster without me, was nonetheless pleased at our pace. I was not sure which bike to use for the other long ride—the trek north—because much of that trail is unpaved and the mountain or hybrid bike would be nice for those miles.
But it’s not a bad trail. And today’s ride pretty much sold me on the idea of using the road bike for these long rides.
Heading back to Solon from bridge. Iowa countryside view.
Old barn seen near Solon on the way back (detail below).
After lunch, heading back to bike trail heading north. This park on the edge of Solon is where we joined the trail.
Product placement, images of lunch at Big Grove (and ice cream snack at Dan and Debbie's).
So, there was a lot to like about today’s ride. Hence the song of the day:
That was sung along the Hoover Trail north of Ely in the morning. My sister seemed amused, and this was the first of the not-RAGBRAI music videos she was present to view the making of.
Tomorrow’s weather forecast looks pretty good. This week is a bit like RAGBRAI—it is hard to believe that it’s only Wednesday, it feels like the week is longer, and the leg pain is starting to be replaced with a sense that I can do this, that long rides are a thing. Onward!
My sister makes an image of me on county road as we cycle back to Solon from Sutliff Bridge.
Like previous image, this was made by Cate Sheller, my sister.. CR Biker making image of an old barn.
