Ridedate 20071006

A couple weeks ago, I wondered if I was on my last warm weather ride of the season. It was not to be. Conditions on Saturday were humid and hot with temperatures expected to reach the high 80's and South winds of 10-20 mph.

I left a little later than I prefer. By the time I had my traditional 'ride morning' breakfast of oatmeal and got organized, it was just after 8:30am. The temperature was 72 degrees under clear skies.

For sheer convenience, I typically ride off the Northern edge of Cedar Rapids. I can be outside the city limits within minutes of pedalling out of my driveway. However, on this day, I decided to head South and set a course for Solon with the exact route to be determined along the way. So the bad news was that I had to ride through the entire length (North-South) of Cedar Rapids before hitting the open road. But the good news was (is) that Cedar Rapids has a nice trail system I could take advantage of. The Northern terminus of the Cedar River Trail and the Southern terminus of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail meet in Hiawatha just about a mile from my house.

Portions of the trail pass through industrial areas that are scenic only in a "Youngstown, Ohio circa 1974" kind of way. The piping visible to the right of the trail is carrying something under pressure. The silence along this section is interrupted periodically by bursts of hissing and stream from venting valves.





The trails pass directly through the center of Cedar Rapids. Here is a view of Mays Island. You are forgiven if your eyes insist that I must have been cycling through Paris and snapped the Île de la Cité.



After passing Czech Village and skirting the landfill, I finally reached the Southern edge of Cedar Rapids after about 12.5 miles of trail riding. That illustrates why I hesitate to ride South. To my mind, the natural state for a road bike is, well, out on the open road.

There's a certain sadness implicit in riding through the city, waiting at crosswalks, and dodging traffic and pedestrians. It's like a caged bird or a disillusioned stallion in a breaking pen. OK, OK, THAT'S a bit much. The truth is that I would rather be on the open road. That's why I ride; that's where I'm trying to get to. But, having said that, the trail system has its virtues. It's well maintained and offers a quality ride through the city without too many stops and starts and is certainly safer than riding on city streets.

It had been several years since I had been on the Southern edge of the Cedar River Trail and I made the mistake of riding to a dead end on the edge of a new sub-division. After a quick back track, I finally emerged into the county and confronted the South wind in earnest. The main road through Ely (State Street) was closed for bridge construction, but the detour was satisfyingly short.

I stopped in Solon around 10:45am to fill my water bottles and decided that I was feeling strong enough to extend the trip through North Liberty. I also noticed, for the first time, that it was hot. I pushed on and rode by our old condo in North Liberty.

Now headed back North, I found a few bucolic scenes more typical of my rides such as these horses North of Swisher.



And the record corn harvest underway Northwest of Ely.



After rejoining the trail system, I limped home. This is a long ride for me and I should have eaten more and taken in more fluids along the way. The temperature climbed 10 degrees (82.2 when I arrived home) over the course of the ride. The statistics:

• Distance: 64.9 miles
  
• Ride Time: 4:05:01
  
• Trip Time: 4:20
  
• Average Speed: 15.8 mph
  
• Average heart rate: 143 bpm
  

I lost 2 pounds on the ride while consuming about 70 oz. of fluids. For food, I had a sleeve of peanut butter crackers and 40g of dried cranberries. Safely back home...



I discovered it's time for a new pair of gloves.



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