In Which I Ride 14 Miles To Go 5

Oak Tree in Thomas Park along Boyson Trail.

What kind of a day was Sunday?

I had urgent work to get done—a whole fall break’s worth of tasks which I had successfully avoided for most of break, which, I think, is what breaks are for. But it’s back in the saddle, pilgrim, time to ride on in the office and get some work done.

So I put some stuff in a bag and had to pick a bike to ride. Francis or Argent? Argent is more fun, and Francis needs a brake tightening—but I looked, and I did have the right wrench, and when you need to tighten a brake it’s a quick job best done when the tool is in your hand. So I fiddled with Francis a bit—cleaning some grease off the rear cogs, lubing the chain, inflating the tires. And tightening the brake. After all that, there was no choice—Francis left for work.

Hill in Frisbee Gold Course area along Boyson Trail.

But went the wrong way. I headed up the Bowman Woods hill for no particular reason and ended up on the Boyson Trail, which I rode all the way to Menards before turning back and then riding the side trail behind Walgreens to get to the Cedar River Trail.

By the time I got to Warde Hall, it was 14 miles later, but it felt good. It was a cool mid fall day, ideal for bike riding, even on my old pickup of a bike.

Along trail coming back from Menards. Trees in flood plain are bare, but hill still has color.

Crab apple tree near Dairy Queen along Cedar River Trail in Hiawatha.

So now I will finish this blog post. I’m not sure how many homework assignments I’ll get graded—but some. The mountain of work that awaits will be eroded at least a bit.

And, honestly, I’m not consumed with guilt over the extra nine miles. Just look what I saw.

Sumac along Cedar River Trail.

It's less buggy--lots fewer gnats--but bugs are not yet done this fall. Hopper on the Cedar River Trail.

Got to MMU and climbed hill by library from back side just because I could. Geraniums are still in bloom near decorative fall pumpkin.

Decorations near library area  bit disturbed, but not by human vandals. Tree rodent was climbing corn stalks to get at corn.

In Which I Wonder About Oklahoma Bike-Eating Trees

See this chilling video from an Oklahoma TV station:

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Yes, it appears trees in Oklahoma snack on Schwinns.

Although we’ve passed the longest night of the year, much of winter is before us. And it seems that this winter, to paraphrase a popular saying involving another S word, snow just got real. We were supposed to have a flurry on Christmas, and it turned into an inch or more. The snowpack is a foot or so deep, and counting. The streets are nowhere near bike worthy.

So far, this Christmas break has been a total bust, from a biking point of view. Based on the weather forecast for the next week, which includes an arctic air mass and several bouts of snow, I’m not sure how much bike commuting J-Term will have this year, at least to start.

Well, at least the sleeping trees in Iowa aren’t devouring many Schwinns. I guess you’d have to leave your bike leaned up against an arboreal risk zone for quite some time before the trunk began to seriously envelop the machine.

Me, I’m glad Santa brought me some chain lube. I also have two lights to add to Francis before he’s ready for his next commuting trip. And I promise, Francis, if Mother Nature leaves you stranded for a time, I won’t lean you against a hungry Oklahoma tree. Whatever other fate awaits you in 2014, you won’t be Cheetos to some Ent.

In Which I Feel Sorry But Then Recall Europe

Scary looking video from storm, one lucky Dutch biker.

It’s been a lousy biking week, blog pals. On Sunday night, on the way home from playing with the MMU Bell Choir as part of the celebration of Mass, my back tire blew.

That was my bad, as I knew the tire was getting thin and needed replacing. But the front derailleur control also cracked, so I could not shift in front. My brake shoes are also shot.

So, I took Francis in to Northtowne Fitness for repairs. Because the bike needs new pedals too, as well as two new derailleur controls, it will be a pricey fix.

And so I have been driving this week. Horrors.

Then again, we’ve had some rainy days, so I really have only missed two days of biking, at most.

And we need the rain. Also, I can’t feel too bad when Europe has been battered by much worse, deadly weather. My wife has spoken with my daughter in England, by the way, and since the weather was not raised as a topic, we’re assuming all is well, although I wonder if my son-in-law had to resort to a bus commute.

Anyway, check out the video in this New York Times story. Among other things, bike traffic was interrupted in The Netherlands.

Well, I hope Francis is back in shape soon. And I hope the weather in Europe is back to normal and those Dutch are back to biking, too.

In Which The World Is Suddenly Green, Sniff

My bike on the left. Another bike on the right. As the weather warms, maybe there will be more.

Looking north from the bike rack. Beautiful day for a ride. I note that the usually brown hillside I see to the north is now starting to turn green. It won't be many more warm days before the trees leaf out. I'll miss being able to easily see the birds, but I'll still enjoy the bike trails even more when the world turns green.

CR Biker has a cold that came on suddenly after a party Monday, and so I am awake at 3:30 a.m., which is a bit odd. Your correspondent has done a little school work, but feels like being less productive.

Anyway, spring fever is ready to hit. The days are suddenly warm, and the somnolent trees are slowly coming to life. Look at the ash branch that frames my view of the hill beside Warde Hall, when looking north from the bike rack—not only are there a few baby green leaves on that tree, but the wooded hillside in the distance is no longer it’s uniform winter brown—it’s starting to green up, and in a week or so, Iowa will be a very green and shady place.

Well, good. Despite the cold (in my head, the weather is warm), I enjoyed the biking Monday. There was a lady’s bike in the rack in back, so my bike didn’t have its usual lonely day. I took the trail route home, which adds maybe a mile or so to my commute, and saw my sister passing by. She noted on Facebook that she had done just a bit more than 17 miles Monday.

I’m sure I didn’t bike that far, but I’ll claim 10 for the day. I think it’s the start of a very nice biking week. Even being awake at 3 a.m. won’t spoil it—and biking on little sleep is, I suppose, good training for RAGBRAI.

A New View of Skeleton Trees

I'm riding on J Avenue, on my way from MMU to the Cedar River Trail.  This oak in Daniels Park is without leaves, now, but a raven and other birds are it's fall fruits.

Now that Halloween is almost here, the trees are starting to look skeletal.  A few have leaves still clinging, but mostly, fall is done falling.  Hills that were splashed in color a week ago are drab and grey and brown.

I think one reason I bike is that I just enjoy being outside—the fresh air, the sun, the breeze, the trees and flowers and other plants.  So I do enjoy biking more when the world is green and birds are plentiful and things slither and buzz and hop in the woods.

We’re arriving at the brown time of year.  On the one hand, I don’t really mind.  I do like seeing the outline of hillsides that are normally hidden in the woods, the shape of the trees is interesting and I don’t mind the slightly odd experience of actually seeing the interstate traffic through the trees, rather than merely hearing it as you do on many stretches of the Cedar River Trail when the leaves provide more screening.

Still, it will be nice when the green returns.

The ride was a bit windy and raw today—cool and frosty in the morning, and it did not feel a whole lot warmer in the afternoon.  But, I had my biking jacket and warm socks on.  I was comfortable.

Yet, I do feel compelled to ask.  Is it spring yet?