In Which A Sunny Day and Vertigo Equals 20 Miles

Rockwell-Collins pond on C Avenue this morning.

It was another sunny, warm day in Iowa. After a cool and damp early April, it’s suddenly a spring of sunshine and warmth. Also, on the dry side, but after doing the cloudy snow thing just a week ago or so, I guess we’ll take it.

There were several riders on the C Avenue bike path this morning—perhaps now that warmer weather is here, more of us are riding to work. Drivers may gripe a bit, but actually traffic on C will move more smoothly if more bikes means fewer cars.

Busy morning commute on C Avenue bike lane.

I was scheduled to go to the doctor this afternoon. Having started blood pressure medication last year, I have periodic check ins. The news on the pressure was good, although I’m having some problems with vertigo. The PA I saw had me lay down to test it, and I almost passed out. “I’ll call that a positive result,” she said, in humorous PA understatement.

Turns out I’ll need physical therapy to restore crystals in my inner ear. Fortunately, the place I’ll have to go to have my inner ears retooled is right by the bike trail.

After the ride to the doctor’s office, I attended the Multicultural Fair at Mount Mercy University, meeting some grandchildren there. Then, I gave my 2-year-old grandson a ride to Thomas Park to meet up again with his cousins for some play time.

And when play time was over, the grandson requested a bike ride home, and I obliged.

It was a wonderful day to be out riding. My vertigo issue is only an issue if I either sit or arise quickly, or look sharply up or down—none of which has caused any issues with biking, nice to say.

And on this warm day I rode close to 20 miles. It was, all in all, a very good biking day.

In Which We Ditch the Jacket

Ready for morning ride. I have Nikon because I anticipate shooting some spring images on campus as I go about my day--and the day did not disappoint.

I try to do at least 2 hlll climbs a day now, and once or twice a week go up the "back way" onto the MMU campus. This is the steep drive behind Andreas House leading to the library--the most labor intensive way for a biker to get to the top of the hill. Despite that, I stopped in the middle of the hill just to shoot an image of the morning light and shadows--a gorgeous day for a CR Biker!

It was only in the 40s this morning, but the sky was clear and there was no wind. The world smelled of thawed soil and fresh spring flowers—I was moved to shoot a few flower images before starting the morning commute. And I skipped wearing a jacket, something that has been rare this cool April.

Spring has finally arrived with a truly warm day today. Despite a slight chill in the air, the morning ride was gorgeous in the way a spring day can be. Despite trees still looking bare, the sudden green of the grass and the profusion of daffodils advertise that the seasons have finally shifted.

And then, tonight, it clouded up again, with a cool breeze blowing. Oh well, we had today, and it foreshadows more gorgeous days to come.

In Which Spring Teases Bikers

Rockwell-Collins pond on C Avenue Thursday morning. Pretty, but that's snow on the grass.  We're kind of over that by now, Mama Nature, please.

To be honest, I don’t totally hate April snow. I’m ready for it to be over, understand—I want warm weather, too—but, except for the days like Wednesday when it was actively snowing, biking has not been all that bad this cool April.

Take this morning, for instance. It was cool, with a little snow showing in the grassy areas, but I rode Clarence because the streets were dry and clear enough to accommodate the hybrid. Later this afternoon, the Mount Mercy Bike Club is to meet, as bikes are brought out of winter hibernation.

Of course, some of us crazy bikers didn’t hibernate this winter, but have been out there riding. I did not have to wear them this morning, but at times this week I’ve had on winter layers on my legs and winter boots on my feet—very odd biking for April.

Tuesday, before the storm, I shot these images on my ride home—the top one contrasts with the snowy pond above, the other image is just a sign near some street work or pipe work that I find amusing. When is a dead-end block ever open for “thru” traffic?

Tuesday afternoon, looking west over pond on C Avenue (morning view above, of course, is looking east).  A pretty afternoon before the storm.

Isn't this road, the stub of 39th Street NE at Lennox Avenue NE, always closed to "thru" traffic?

And “thru?”

Anyway, I rode the winter bike Monday, but had an OK ride day Tuesday. Wednesday was the return of winter, but spring came back today. I hope it wants to stick around. I don’t hate April snows because they slow down the plants that you don’t want to emerge and freeze in early spring—but seriously, we are getting past any reasonable definition of “early spring,” so I’m willing to let the plants take their chances with afternoon sun.

In other CR biking news, Iowa City is starting to plan its RAGBRAI party. All I can say is, please don’t take too much advice from Coralville. When the ride recently stopped there, city planners committed one of the worst rider infractions that is possible—they routed incoming bikers through the vendor area before delivering them to camp sites.

No, no, no! After a day of biking, a riders wants to set up their tent and shower before heading out for the eat-drink-music of the evening. Nobody wants to be forced to walk their bike one more time unexpectedly at the end of the day.

Got that, Iowa City? Camp first, vendors second, please.

In Which We Contemplate a Non-Cranky Biking World

Drove downtown in the rain, 9:30 on a Tuesday night. No, not really--I shot this Sunday afternoon. But I hope some of you heard Barenaked Ladies.

Well, that’s a bummer. Recently, Crank’s Uptown bicycle shop in Marion announced it is closing.

I purchased my most recent hybrid bike there, and have taken all of my bikes in for service there. We’ll miss you, Marion bike shop—you’ll leave us feeling cranky.

Last week was one of slightly cranky biking. I was thinking that last Thursday as I rode to campus—in winter-like cold, with little wisps of snow drifting down.

Why I didn't bike Monday.

Of course, I can dress for the cold, and, while it has been too chilly for April (it feels like we’re being treated to two Marches this year), it has by no means been beyond my biking zone.

Then again, several inches of show fell last weekend—although, now, the spring is finally warming up..

I hope the warm weather stays The MMU Bike Club hopes to have a remote bike ride around April 21. It would be nice if we were not fighting show on the High Trestle Trail!

Here is the text of the announcement from the Marion bike shop:

"Well... here’s some news about the store. Due to a pending spouse relocation for work, I made the hard decision to close Cranky’s Uptown over the next few months. It’s just too hard to try to manage a business on top of the big changes for her so we’re bringing it to an end. It’s been great to be a part of Marion Uptown and to have you all as customers. I need a few days to get the store set for the closing sale so watch our postings for more information."

We will miss you, Cranky bike guy.

Some spring view. One above is early morning last week. Below are two view this week--one below is Tuesday morning, bottom is Wednesday flowers on campus.

In Which We Await Spring and RAGBRAI Training

Tuesday morning--first bike ride since Spring Break. Foggy, dark, damp morning--running with lights on. Fancy Beast in background.

I got a message via the Messenger app on my phone yesterday: My brother-in-law was reminding me that the deadline to register for RAGBRAI is upon us. I promised to register later that day, and Wednesday evening I made good.

I’m in the lottery. We’ll see if the village pulls my name out and stones me. Oh, wait—not that lottery.

It’s been a heck of a week. It’s good to be back home and bad to be back home. Jet lag is a real thing, as the return from just a week in England is proving to your fuzzy brained biking correspondent. The spring break trip to the UK was totally worth it, but I am paying the price this week.

And, it rained Monday, so I drove the Dodge.

But, luckily, I’ve been biking ever since, and experiencing the dramatic weather changes Iowa offers at this time of year.

Snow fell in Iowa Saturday, the day before my wife and I jetted across the pond. By all accounts (and the amount of white stuff slowly turning to water on the ground), quite a bit of snow.

Tuesday morning it still looked damp out, but nothing was falling from the sky, so I got out the winter beater bike. The Fancy Beast was quite nice to ride, except for on a stretch of sidewalk on C Avenue that, days after the snow, was still a frozen, frosty snowscape. I bogged down and had a sloshy walk—later sending a complaint email to the City of Cedar Rapids.

I know that sidewalk was new last fall, but come on, business park at the corner of C Avenue and Collins Road, shovel your walk.

Sidewalk that also serves as bike route on C Avenue. I'm an Iowan, so snow doesn't always make me sad. But it does make me sad when it's on a bike route.

Wednesday morning was cooler, but also sunnier. I still rode the Fancy Beast, figuring that I would encounter some snow on the sidewalk. Fortunately, by the Wednesday ride home, it appeared that ambient radiation from a nearby star had caused a state change in matter on the pavement—the solid sidewalk snow was now a liquid.

Wednesday--still very cool, but a clearly more pleasant spring day. Parked at bike rack near library at MMU.

So this morning, I decided it was time for the hybrid bike, my main commuting bike. I don’t mind riding the Fancy Beast, but a mountain bike is a mountain bike, and a hybrid is a lot more fun to ride, if you’re riding on pavement.

As it turned out, the strategy seemed to work. The morning commute was foggy and cool, but also largely dry. The only snow-related glitch was that the bike rack behind Warde Hall was still blocked by snow, a problem I solved simply by parking Clarence on the “wrong” side of the rack.

Spring! Let’s see more warm sun, blooming flowers and green—soon, please. But I did bike three out of four days during this short work week, and started a few extra hill rides to get ready, just in case I do win a slot on RAGBRAI in that lottery.

Thursday morning--Clarence parked behind Warde Hall--nice ride in, even if there is snow blocking the other side of the  bike rack.

In Which The Mornings Turn Dark and Pretty

Pond on C Avenue this morning. Still stark and brown--and cold--but still a pretty, clear sky.

We love to bash Daylight Savings Time, and maybe it is an empty gesture that makes little sense.

This March in Iowa, setting the clock forward an hour has made the mornings, still winter chilly, a bit darker, too. But, at least the afternoon rides are lighter (I’m writing this at 6 p.m. and won’t be riding home in the dark).

And the morning sun as it comes up is very pretty, something a biker gets to appreciate a bit more, I suppose.

I used all three bikes this weekend, going for a road ride Saturday, using the mountain bike for the gym commute Sunday morning and bicycling to campus for newspaper work Sunday afternoon.

Statue on MMU's Rohde Family Plaza seems to glow as I arrive on campus this morning.

I have not tried to persuade my wife to bike to church on Sunday morning, and I don’t have high hopes of even trying until the weather warms up.

Still, I noticed this past week that my miles are increasing a bit. I’m not really in RAGBRAI training mode yet, no 60-mile weekend rides, but as the days slowly lengthen and the afternoons, at least, feel a bit springy, I feel that good biking is coming soon.

In the meantime, at least the morning light is pretty!

Now it is my bike, just parked at Warde Hall, that appears to be flowing in the morning sun.

In Which The Air Is Just So

Dry Creek, March 9, 2018. A bit of ice on the creek as the sun starts to rise on a chilly March morning. My phone said it was 18 degrees.

March: In between winter and spring, and right now winter rules the mornings.

The ice melted a while ago on the C Avenue pond that I ride by each morning on my commute—but it was 18 today, with little wind. In the cold, still air, a thin layer of ice had again formed, and the pond was mostly frozen over, except for one small open patch where a rather chilly looking duck slowly moved.

Pond on C Avenue--not sure you can see it well, but a thin layer of ice has formed on this cold morning.

Tiny bit of open water with a cold looking duck.

I rode Clarence this morning, for the second time this week. On Wednesday I had ridden the mountain bike, but Thursday and today it was clear enough for the hybrid.

I was gambling that the pavement would be clear, and for the most part I won. I should have gone directly to campus, but was drawn by the cool but pretty morning to take the trail. I encountered some snow in Noelridge Park, but otherwise the way was clear.

Two views from Noelridge Park. A bit of snow on the bridge at the east end. Nearer the west end, where the community flowers gardens are, two geese stroll during the cold morning.

And the morning ride was cold. My toes were suffering a bit by the time I got to campus.

Bridge work along the trail. I thought the crane looked pretty in the morning.

View of artwork in garden behind Warde Hall, near where my bike was parked this morning.

The afternoon was also cool, but probably 30 degrees, which is better than 18. The ride home was still chilly, however. But, the March sun had warmed the city enough that the pond which was frozen in the morning had thawed again by 5:15 p.m.

C Avenue pond again, in the afternoon, almost the same spot. Water after sun was shining on the ice all day.

March—it’s not very much like spring yet, but you can tell it’s coming. Meanwhile, the air is just at that point where it will freeze ponds in the morning, and melt the ice by afternoon. This weekend, we have the spring time change—may it be a sign that the weather will soon make the turn from the frozen season to the time of new growth and more pleasant bike rides.