Country Views: A Visit With Ben

Escape Route: Alleys of Waterloo

The last several days have been ridiculous with rain, severe weather, and high humidity. I don't have to ride in those conditions, because I have done that, and I have done that too much. Enough is enough. So I waited until yesterday to get out because the humidity was a LOT lower and the air was less warm as well. 

It is funny because I had no idea at all where I wanted to go on this ride until the moment I stepped outdoors and felt the wind. "Out of the North? I guess I'm heading North then!", I said to myself, and off I went through some alleys and eventually to the Martin Luther King Jr. trail. 

The ride was on the Noble GX5 and this is a bike I haven't changed much on at all since getting the original GRX stuff and then a few other details that fell into place on it made the bike a stable, unchanged rig for quite a while now. That said, in typical "Guitar Ted" fashion, nothing remains original to the bike but the frame, fork, and head set.

The cresting Cedar River seen off the 6th Street bridge.

Climatologists are still saying we aren't out of the "too dry" stages yet.

The flooding Cedar River was raging through downtown Waterloo as I crossed the river going out on my ride. We're seeing minor flooding down here, but other spots in Iowa have seen incredibly devastating flooding, and so too has Southern Minnesota. 

But despite all the rain, climatologists say we received upwards of 200% of normal rainfall for June in many places, we are still considered "too dry" here. You can tell on the gravel too. It's still very dusty. A crop sprayer passed me by going out and I almost couldn't see it after it passed by due to all the dust getting kicked up by its tires. 

Extensions deployed and ready for service!

This place had an outstanding flower display along the road.

While we may not be quite out of the woods when it comes to water table levels this is about as good as it has been for several years. The plants show it. The wild flowers are popping. People's flower gardens look magnificent. And the corn is a deep shade of green such as I cannot remember seeing in a while. 

Some places out here can make you feel pretty small and alone.

The corn is about waist-high now.

I have a book that details the ways people moved throughout what became Black Hawk County since indigenous peoples were the only folks that crossed this area by foot. The book claims that even the indigenous peoples had to use landmarks to navigate the vast grassland prairies that once dominated the landscape here. Only along waterways were there any trees, so often the trails followed these rivers and streams. Going "cross-country" was not done, because you'd have the distinct possibility of losing your way and dying. Unless there were outcroppings of rocks, groves of trees in random places, or something of note, most of the county was not used as a way to get anywhere. It was a vast, green sea of grasses. 

I have a feeling that Eastern Black Hawk County was such a place. Even today it feels 'empty' in a way. There are no major streams or anything really notable that occurred naturally out here. Maybe a glacial erratic here or there. I suppose "pilot grove", which got its name as a way for early settlers to navigate out here, because that grove of trees stood out above the prairie, was another such landmark. Today's "Pilot Grove Road" takes its name from that long-gone ancient landmark.  

St. Francis Catholic Church

I made my way to St. Francis Catholic Church on Airline Road and decided to stop for a bit. Just before getting there I went by the place where several years ago I had an encounter with a dog and its owner that was not interested in calling his mutt off while I stood there pinned where I stood on the roadside. Eventually the guy called his dog off. It was rather unsettling as that stands to this very day as the only time a dog owner has done anything like that to me. 

Long time blog readers may recall that incident and how that I met a man further down the road who hailed me and when I told him about my encounter, he recognized the owner. I will never forget how the man said "What a dick!", when he realized who owned the dog I was telling him about. As I left St. Francis Church I wondered about the man and was thinking about that day. 

I have a theory about this tree.....

Stealth camper

I left the church and headed up toward Big Rock Road as that is the only East-West through road on gravel without going too far North. As I rode West on Big Rock, I started to wonder which place it was that the kind man lived at. I couldn't clearly remember, but I thought one looked like the place, when just then a man exited the door of the home there, waved his hands (yes - both of them!), wildly and asked where I was going, where did I come from, and how far I was riding. It was the same guy, I was sure of it. 

Yeah....sure! Iowa is "flat". Right.

The Noble GX5

Of course, the man did not remember me. I had to retell the story again, and then he lit up, "Yeah, that's Neil. He can be a dick sometimes." I smiled. Then we fell into conversation. We talked about the flooding, of course, and the recent tornadoes in Iowa. The man then told me about the "tornado of 'oh-eight'..." that devastated some farms North of him and how he was "gun-shy" whenever tornadoes came around. 

Then he said he'd better get busy. He was a week behind on field work, and that due to "some tractor trouble" he had. But I suddenly remembered to ask his name. Surely such a random event required that I now get to know this guy better. He said his name was Ben. I told him my name. Then Ben said I could stop by anytime, have a "cold one", or just visit. 

As I rode away I started to think about that term "visit". I remember my older relatives saying that back in the day. "Hey, we went down and visited with the relatives last weekend", and maybe it was, "Old Marvetz stopped by to visit the other day to see how we were doing." 

Visiting. A lost art, I'd say. Today we "visit" with a text, maybe, if we do anything at all. But physically visiting each other? I guess we are too busy these days for any of that. But I'd say we should change that. Think about "visiting" someone soon. 

This is Iowa

I think about the Victory Ride we had recently. Sure, it was a bike ride on gravel, and that sure didn't suck. But it was more about visiting. Seeing people and interacting with them. People you may not see again for awhile.....or ever again. Visiting is a lost art, but it is a blessing waiting right there for you. You can do it....

Don't let that opportunity pass by.