In Which The Evening Sky Steals The Show

Tuesday sky, view one. Seen from bridge in Otter Creek area. It was, see sign below, apparently a troll bridge but I crossed with ease. making me Big Billy Goat Gruff. By the way, why didn't Big BBG save everyone the hassle and just cross the bridge first in the first place?

I didn't bike on Monday of this week, because I was out of town helping a daughter prepare to move to England. I’m sure what she’s doing is pretty scary for her right now, but I’m proud of her.

Anyway, I got back to town around noon Tuesday and spent part of the afternoon unloading the truck. After that my wife had some shopping to attend to, and said to me, “why don’t you take a bike ride?”

Well, why not? The late afternoon was mostly cloudy but clearing, the weather fine, and I was anxious to get some miles in. So I hopped on The Beast and was off.

I was trucking along pretty fast on the Beast and paused at a parking lot before the 4-mile trail mark to drink water and take this photo of a a Fancy Bike style tube someone has decorated the bench with.

I looped around the neighborhood so I could do the Brentwood Drive hill climb (good RAGBRAI practice), and then headed off to the Cedar River Trail, turning north this time to see how far I could go in a limited period of time.

Pretty far, I think. I went on beyond Lafayette to the end of the paved surface. I was on The Beast, so I didn’t have to turn back at that point, but it was getting late, and the sky wasn't sure whether it wanted to rain on me or not, so I headed back towards town.

I made pretty good time. Between the extra couple of miles to climb the hill, the ride to and from the trail and the ride to just past the 10-mile marker north, I think in a few hours I did 30 miles.

Sun nears horizon and just starts to clear cloud cover as I head south on trail back towards city.

On the way home, I stopped over at Cate’s. She kindly agreed to give me a ride to the Tour the Raccoon Ride that we’re doing this weekend, and we wanted to see how well The Beast will fit on her car’s bike rack. Very well, as it turns out, and I’m hoping that creates some odd karma that causes the bike shop to call me Friday and say Francis is fixed, since I now know I’m ready to ride The Beast if need be.

We’ll see. The way home from Cate’s was a dusky ride, but I have put lights on The Beast and proceeded home.

Just about a mile left on the trail, sun sinking low, sky looking very pretty.

Wednesday was a day of more limited miles—a regular commuting day, for the most part, and Thursday was a gardening day and a day to prepare for a daughter and her family who are staying with us on vacation (they live in England but are here for a while).

Anyway, even if I wish I could have taken more advantage of good biking weather this week, it was good to get those 30 miles Tuesday. And the sky, as often happens on a mostly but not fully cloudy evening, was pretty nice to view.

Now if we can just get rid of those gnats …

OK, probably not the safest thing to do--photograph a gnat on your arm as you bike. The ground is moving pretty quickly there, big guy. Put the camera away and watch the trail.

In Which A Long Ride on The Beast Tops 1,000 Miles

The far south end of the ride, the pond at the Ely City Park. Reflections of the way life used to be. You're welcome for the ear worm.

No, not the one ride—that would, indeed, be an epic ride—I mean that I rode about 35 miles today, and that puts me at 1,020 miles and some change for the year so far.

At one point, when I was about an hour into a three-hour afternoon ride down to Ely, I passed a gentleman stopped by the side of the trail. He was doing an odd sort of prance, which I assume, based, on our conversation, was probably due to a foot cramp.

Me: Is everything OK?
He: I’m fine, I just need some new feet.
Me: While we’re at it, I’d like a new butt.

Indeed, the main weak spot, the biggest concern I have going into the Tour the Raccoon Ride next weekend—especially if I ride The Beast—is the soreness of my butt. It was very sore indeed following today’s ride, which was done wearing proper bike shorts. On the other hand, I did do more than half of the length of one day’s ride (the tour is two consecutive days of about 60 miles), and I’m typing this without any serious lingering ill effects.

A train passes under the trail and over a bridge on the Cedar River. It was moving so fast that it made its own wind on the bike trail bridge.

Weakness number two is my back. It gets very stiff and sore on The Beast, and 60 miles will be a trial.

Still, I rode 35 today. I was going to credit myself with 30, figuring I had ridden 4 miles in the morning to get to campus, and then ridden to Ely and back to home in three hours in the afternoon. That would have meant I was going about 8 mph on The Beast.

But, here’s the thing. I was surprised, today, at how fast I was biking. I rode most of the route in 3-7, the fastest gears, because I’m so used to The Beast now that it doesn't feel like I’m “pumping” too hard in that gear. And, while The Beast can’t compete with Fancy Bike for speed, it didn't feel a lot slower than cruising on Francis. And on Francis, on a long trail ride, I go faster than 8 mph.

So I tried plotting my route on “Map My Ride.” And that’s where I came up with the 35 figure. I’ll go with it.

The gnats were out in force, and that was unpleasant, but otherwise it was a beautiful day for a ride. The sky was full of pretty puffy white clouds, the sun shone warmly (but not hot), there wasn't much wind—it was a day for flying on a bike.

I was tempted to do the Sac and Fox again, but decided to go to Ely just because I have not in a while. And so I did.

My butt would like to put in for a transfer. My back is threatening to spasm. Yet, I completed 35 miles at a fairly fast pace (over 10 mph) on The Beast. I think that makes for a good biking day, and it’s a decent omen for the Raccoon ride.

I do hope Francis is back for the ride. Still, if it must be The Beast, I’m starting to be more at peace with that. If the conditions are right, even The Beast can move.

Catalpa near Cedar Lake in bloom. Naturally, I stopped to take a drink and a picture (the drink was from water I carried, I do not subsist, like a bee, off of flower nectar).