 |
| Escape Route: Bike paths through Evansdale |
Saturday the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective held a Safety Check at the local farmers market and I about froze to death standing there. You know it is getting bad when your joints feel cold. It took me until mid-afternoon to warm back up from that exposure!
Plus I was feeling down about the single person who came to the bike check who had a bicycle which hadn't been maintained for probably a decade, maybe more. When I discovered the STI shifter was hung up, (a common Shimano issue mechanics have seen for 20-plus years) the person who owned the bike claimed it was my fault and the bike "worked before I brought it here!".
Another example of a bike "I wish I never Touched". Mechanics know what I mean. The "You touched it so it is YOUR FAULT" thing. Never mind the fact the bike hadn't had a new part on it since who knows when, and the person admitted to leaving it in a single gear when they rode it, but never said why. Curious that..... Anyway....
 |
| New road and bike path construction happening on Lafayette Road all the way to Elk Run Heights. |
 |
| First gravel: Young Road |
Sunday was a beautiful day, if a touch cool for this late into May. The temperature was around the mid-60's with a moderate Northeasterly breeze. I decided at the last minute to divert from my original plan to ride my "Tour Of Southern Black Hawk County" loop and go East on Young Road. This would put all the headwind stuff on the front end and I haven't been out this way much for a while.
I ran across a new-to-me development in Evansdale. They are remodeling Lafayette Road from Evansdale to Elk Run Heights and putting in a proper bicycle path. This is a great addition to the bicycle trail network, but it needs to go somewhere after getting to Elk Run Heights. Currently it will be a path ending at the park there at Elk Run. At least, this is how it appears to be now.
 |
| The crops are emerging now all across the county. |
 |
| A brief stop where McStay Road is barricaded. Further up the road it terminates at HWY 20. |
I made great time getting out of town but once I reached gravel on Young Road the fresh dump of rock slowed my roll quite a bit! Being on a single speed, I had to meter out the effort accordingly or risk blowing up before I got my route done. Fortunately the wind wasn't much of a factor.
The next mile after reaching the opening salvo of freshies turned out to be less of an issue and then the fresh gravel and older surfaces alternated so it became a game of hunting for a good line, then rolling easy for the rest of the route.
 |
| Headed North on Garling Road here. |
 |
| I'm doing a drawing study of these crosses on Holgate Road from different seasons of the year. |
After doing a bit of "cheater road" (pavement) headed toward Jesup on Dubuque Road, I headed up Holgate Road and finially up to Newell and a mile from the Black Hawk County line on the East side.
So, I decided to stop at the New Barclay Cemetery for a brief visit. Then I turned West and headed down toward Waterloo again on roads which were mostly older gravel, very dusty, and fast.
 |
| This was the furthest East I went on the day. It also was nearly the highest elevation point. |
 |
| It was nice to see the crops poking out. Soon these will be 8ft high corn plants (Or higher!) |
A couple of miles from the cemetery I heard the familiar barking of a dog and an owner yelling at it. Of course, the dog in these scenarios never listens to the owner. So, knowing this I stop and start talking to this, what appeared to be, overweight, older Labrador. The dog seemed genuinely happy to find me, and was waging its tail furiously side to side, holding it high, which is a good sign, but you never know.
Meanwhile, the owner, a tall, athletic looking man of maybe around 40 years of age, comes sauntering out onto the road with two little girls, both probably around five years old, in tow. The man tells "Bucko", (I think I got that right) to sit, and he does, right next to me! It was as if the dog was saying, "Look what I found!".
The owner apologized for this scene and literally drug the dog away by the collar. I'll tell ya what - I've seen this scene play out several times enough to know that most country dogs are not trained to heel when called upon by their owners. If you have to literally drag a dog off the road, this is a bad sign. This time it was no big deal, and I smiled as I rode away because the look on those little girl's faces was priceless. Plus the dog was no big threat. However; I've had it the other way too, where a dog was threatening me and even resisting its owner. It didn't help that it was a Great Pyrenees and it was so strong it nearly overcame its owner's tugging.
But this wasn't how this encounter ended, thankfully. It was just one more good day on the bike instead of a tragic story.
5 comments:
Yeah the good old bike check dilemma. You want to help people out, but what I found out fast, was to punt to a LBS quickly if it looks like it is a wrench and a part are needed. I watched a LBS store manger work on a POS mushroom bike chainguard, and crankset for 1 hour. The parent took the bike and quipped, "took you long enough." Well if you knew what the manager had to undo with limited resources, I was impressed the bike even functioned. But as Baby Uncle Billy says in TeenJus, "turn the other cheek."
I'm really sorry "that guy" happened to you at the farmer's market. People that are willing to do that to someone that's basically volunteering to help them should be ashamed of themselves... but they aren't. It's just how they are.
@N.Y. Roll @MG - Thanks guys! Yeah.... I feel it boils down to certain people having a "poverty mentality". They don't want to feel like they need to give anyone any money, and if they can find a way to "get it free" they jump on that opportunity, even twisting intentions of givers to match their "need".
It's a fear based way to live, and honestly, I feel very sorry for those people who choose this way of thinking.
Those crosses are a bit eerie. Do you know the story behind them?
@Derek - Specifically? No, I am not aware of the circumstances surrounding these particular crosses. However; it is a fairly common practice for people to place signs, memorials, and crosses at points where loved ones died in automobile accidents. Kind of like "Ghost Bikes", only for automobile accidents.
There are several crosses like this in the ditches around Waterloo.
When I was a child, there was an insurance company that used to place signs where people had died in accidents along the roadside telling prospective clients they had best have life insurance, just in case you end up like the person being noted for where they met their demise. That was pretty creepy!
Post a Comment