Friday News And Views

 Nathan's Miles: Vinton's Glow-In-The-Dark Trail (From Baker Ent. Facebook page)

 The U.S.A's Longest Glow-In-The-Dark Trail:

A bicycle trail that glows in the dark? Yes, and it is located just South of where I live about 38 miles away. The trail, claimed to be the longest of its type in the U.S., has aggregate embedded in it which glows in the dark when exposed to sunlight.

Apparently it only needs 15 minutes of direct sunlight to glow for 15 hours!  This trail should get a lot of attention here in Iowa over the next several years. It has a glowing section of approximately two miles in length, (the trail is three miles overall), and it passes by a couple of Vinton's schools which were attended by a former resident and Vinton city employee, Nathan Hesson, who first dreamed of this trail. He died, unfortunately, before this trail could be realized, and it is dedicated in his memory. Called "Nathan's Miles" trail, the City of Vinton dedicated and opened the trail just this past Tuesday.  

I'll have to scoot down there again someday to check this out. I was last through Vinton on my aborted century ride last Summer but I did not see anything of this new trail at that time. Maybe I can even time it right to go through in the dark and see what this trail can do.

First Annual "UG" To Occur This Weekend:

You know, this event is big, and it is following the coat tails of one of the original gravel grinders of the modern era, the Dirty Kanza 200. (That was its name, whatever your politics/thoughts are on that.) This 'new' event happens for the first time this  next weekend. (Thanks to "RonDog" for catching my mistake!)

Here are my thoughts concerning this. I'm probably the only person that thinks this way, so never mind me, but here we go....

The whole kerfuffle with the DK name and the ouster of its former original co-director, (the other co-director, Joel Dyke, voluntarily left DK around 2011), was driven by social justice issues and with an aim to remake the old event into something which would not resemble much of the heritage of the past DK event- Things which were deemed to be offensive. Okay, that is a valid and understandable action which leaves us with a new name and new race directors, none of which are related to the old DK event with the exception of Kristi Mohn. 

Okay, so now you have an odd situation. The former name and former race director, Jim Cummings, were largely responsible for the event's effects on the community of Emporia, Kansas, which were deemed to be positive. These gains in tourism, economic impact, and let's not forget prestige in the international racing community, were things which the new owner of the event, Life Time Fitness, and the community business folks did not want to have 'go away'. 

How do you separate the one from the other? On the one hand, you have a 'turning of the page', a new event, for all intents and purposes, and on the other, you have people and business entities wanting to hold on to the money, (let's be honest here, that's the bottom line), which has great potential to benefit said entities and concerned people. Things which that old name and the old race director brought to the area. Actually, you can do this. But Unbound Gravel seems to be wanting to walk the fence on it. 

On the one hand, they haven't said that this event is a new beginning and that any and all ties to that past event which shall not be named are now cut. They could do it like this: "That part is over. The Past. We now, for the first time, begin a new event with better ideals and with the same focus on challenge, etc....." But no, we get uncomfortable references to the DK200, and in some situations, it is painfully obvious that there really is no 'cutting of the ties' to the Dirty Kanza 200. Especially when 'the continuance' of certain ideals are being carried over in terms of things the old DK200 did for rider recognition, the references to this being whatever year it is of the event, and so on. 

I just find that all totally unnecessary. Just stop it. Make a full cut from the old and start again with this being 'Year One' and make your own heritage. But no, the uncomfortable truth of the matter is that fear of losing economic impact and prestige makes for words and actions that say one thing but hold the hand behind the back for the cash on the other. 

And that's just my take. Like I said, I may be the only person on Earth that sees things that way, and I am fine with being told I'm crazy and wrong if that's the case, but that's how I see it. 

UPDATE on the Wesley Martin YouTube Channel: I was made aware on Wednesday that the link in my story called "Just Passing Through" about Wesley Martin for his You Tube channel was not working. I fixed it, but here it is again in case you tried and missed last Wednesday. I apologize for the inconvenience. But go check it out, like, and subscribe to his channel. It's a great little look at everything he is seeing on his 3000 mile bicycle trip which will eventually take him and a friend to California. 

Just as a sample, he rode a mystery trail before meeting his traveling companion and it is a hilarious episode. I won't say more, but do go check out his channel. 

WARNING: Self-Plug Coming! If you listen to his Day 15 entry you'll hear Wesley heaping praise on Andy's Bike Shop. I guess he was pretty impressed by us and said as much in that entry. It is nice to hear it, honestly. After years of pretty much no feedback on my work at the old job I was pleased to get some positive commentary and it made me feel pretty good. Also, Andy gave him one of the shop shirts and he was wearing it for the next two days! Pretty cool all in all.

So, Wesley, I doubt you'll ever read this, but if you do- "Thank you!" And also- Here's to a safe, adventurous, memorable trip for you and your traveling companion. I'll be following along on the You Tube channel to see what happens.

The WAR brand is part of the new Ross Bicycles.

Ross Bicycles Returns, Has Gravel Bike, (Of Course!) :

Rumors and bits of news had been coming for a few years in the trade papers that Ross Bicycles was coming back. You may remember the brand for their chromed out early 80's mountain bikes. By the late 80's/early 90's Ross Bicycles seemingly faded away, never to be heard from again.

Well, now they are back and they do (or will) have mountain bikes again. However; as you are all probably well aware by now, Gravel® is what you HAVE to be selling, so Ross Bicycles has a gravel model dubbed the Evader GSR under the W.A.R brand of their company.

Comments: It looks to be a consumer direct brand and the prices are okay looking, nothing spectacular here for an aluminum frame/carbon fork and SRAM Rival bits. The frame looks a LOT like the Viathon from Walmart, what with the big dropped drive side chain stay and lowered seat stay design. The geometry is what I would expect- not very inspiring, to me at least, and so this isn't anything that trips my trigger. It is just interesting that Ross Bicycles is behind this and that the brand is making a comeback.  

Okay, that's a wrap. This is a BIG weekend in the U.S.A. Stay safe, have a great holiday, and roll some wheels somewhere! Thank you for reading!

Friday News And Views

 Nathan's Miles: Vinton's Glow-In-The-Dark Trail (From Baker Ent. Facebook page)

 The U.S.A's Longest Glow-In-The-Dark Trail:

A bicycle trail that glows in the dark? Yes, and it is located just South of where I live about 38 miles away. The trail, claimed to be the longest of its type in the U.S., has aggregate embedded in it which glows in the dark when exposed to sunlight.

Apparently it only needs 15 minutes of direct sunlight to glow for 15 hours!  This trail should get a lot of attention here in Iowa over the next several years. It has a glowing section of approximately two miles in length, (the trail is three miles overall), and it passes by a couple of Vinton's schools which were attended by a former resident and Vinton city employee, Nathan Hesson, who first dreamed of this trail. He died, unfortunately, before this trail could be realized, and it is dedicated in his memory. Called "Nathan's Miles" trail, the City of Vinton dedicated and opened the trail just this past Tuesday.  

I'll have to scoot down there again someday to check this out. I was last through Vinton on my aborted century ride last Summer but I did not see anything of this new trail at that time. Maybe I can even time it right to go through in the dark and see what this trail can do.

First Annual "UG" To Occur This Weekend:

You know, this event is big, and it is following the coat tails of one of the original gravel grinders of the modern era, the Dirty Kanza 200. (That was its name, whatever your politics/thoughts are on that.) This 'new' event happens for the first time this  next weekend. (Thanks to "RonDog" for catching my mistake!)

Here are my thoughts concerning this. I'm probably the only person that thinks this way, so never mind me, but here we go....

The whole kerfuffle with the DK name and the ouster of its former original co-director, (the other co-director, Joel Dyke, voluntarily left DK around 2011), was driven by social justice issues and with an aim to remake the old event into something which would not resemble much of the heritage of the past DK event- Things which were deemed to be offensive. Okay, that is a valid and understandable action which leaves us with a new name and new race directors, none of which are related to the old DK event with the exception of Kristi Mohn. 

Okay, so now you have an odd situation. The former name and former race director, Jim Cummings, were largely responsible for the event's effects on the community of Emporia, Kansas, which were deemed to be positive. These gains in tourism, economic impact, and let's not forget prestige in the international racing community, were things which the new owner of the event, Life Time Fitness, and the community business folks did not want to have 'go away'. 

How do you separate the one from the other? On the one hand, you have a 'turning of the page', a new event, for all intents and purposes, and on the other, you have people and business entities wanting to hold on to the money, (let's be honest here, that's the bottom line), which has great potential to benefit said entities and concerned people. Things which that old name and the old race director brought to the area. Actually, you can do this. But Unbound Gravel seems to be wanting to walk the fence on it. 

On the one hand, they haven't said that this event is a new beginning and that any and all ties to that past event which shall not be named are now cut. They could do it like this: "That part is over. The Past. We now, for the first time, begin a new event with better ideals and with the same focus on challenge, etc....." But no, we get uncomfortable references to the DK200, and in some situations, it is painfully obvious that there really is no 'cutting of the ties' to the Dirty Kanza 200. Especially when 'the continuance' of certain ideals are being carried over in terms of things the old DK200 did for rider recognition, the references to this being whatever year it is of the event, and so on. 

I just find that all totally unnecessary. Just stop it. Make a full cut from the old and start again with this being 'Year One' and make your own heritage. But no, the uncomfortable truth of the matter is that fear of losing economic impact and prestige makes for words and actions that say one thing but hold the hand behind the back for the cash on the other. 

And that's just my take. Like I said, I may be the only person on Earth that sees things that way, and I am fine with being told I'm crazy and wrong if that's the case, but that's how I see it. 

UPDATE on the Wesley Martin YouTube Channel: I was made aware on Wednesday that the link in my story called "Just Passing Through" about Wesley Martin for his You Tube channel was not working. I fixed it, but here it is again in case you tried and missed last Wednesday. I apologize for the inconvenience. But go check it out, like, and subscribe to his channel. It's a great little look at everything he is seeing on his 3000 mile bicycle trip which will eventually take him and a friend to California. 

Just as a sample, he rode a mystery trail before meeting his traveling companion and it is a hilarious episode. I won't say more, but do go check out his channel. 

WARNING: Self-Plug Coming! If you listen to his Day 15 entry you'll hear Wesley heaping praise on Andy's Bike Shop. I guess he was pretty impressed by us and said as much in that entry. It is nice to hear it, honestly. After years of pretty much no feedback on my work at the old job I was pleased to get some positive commentary and it made me feel pretty good. Also, Andy gave him one of the shop shirts and he was wearing it for the next two days! Pretty cool all in all.

So, Wesley, I doubt you'll ever read this, but if you do- "Thank you!" And also- Here's to a safe, adventurous, memorable trip for you and your traveling companion. I'll be following along on the You Tube channel to see what happens.

The WAR brand is part of the new Ross Bicycles.

Ross Bicycles Returns, Has Gravel Bike, (Of Course!) :

Rumors and bits of news had been coming for a few years in the trade papers that Ross Bicycles was coming back. You may remember the brand for their chromed out early 80's mountain bikes. By the late 80's/early 90's Ross Bicycles seemingly faded away, never to be heard from again.

Well, now they are back and they do (or will) have mountain bikes again. However; as you are all probably well aware by now, Gravel® is what you HAVE to be selling, so Ross Bicycles has a gravel model dubbed the Evader GSR under the W.A.R brand of their company.

Comments: It looks to be a consumer direct brand and the prices are okay looking, nothing spectacular here for an aluminum frame/carbon fork and SRAM Rival bits. The frame looks a LOT like the Viathon from Walmart, what with the big dropped drive side chain stay and lowered seat stay design. The geometry is what I would expect- not very inspiring, to me at least, and so this isn't anything that trips my trigger. It is just interesting that Ross Bicycles is behind this and that the brand is making a comeback.  

Okay, that's a wrap. This is a BIG weekend in the U.S.A. Stay safe, have a great holiday, and roll some wheels somewhere! Thank you for reading!

Local Changes

Aerial view of the future location of a solar farm (Image courtesy of the Waterloo Courier)

 I have noted a few changes that locally will affect our cycling here. These are probably 'good' changes, but there are changes I want to also touch upon which are bad, in my opinion, and affect cycling in rural areas negatively. But that's just a very personal viewpoint, which I will share briefly in a moment. My bigger point is how we, as a people, tend to misuse and ruin what could be a valuable resource and trade it for a very flawed way of life. But first, the local stuff. 

There was news last week of a new energy project proposed by utility company MidAmerican Energy that would see a new solar farm installation along Burton Avenue and Airline Highway. This is right along a route I use to get out of town to gravel roads. Burton is chip seal at the point past Airline Highway for a little over a mile, then it goes to gravel just North of the intersection with Big Rock Road. (Note: It used to go to gravel just South of Big Rock Road 12 years ago) Anyway, this may impact passage North on that road due to construction, and maybe it will entail an upgrade of that road to better pavement. I don't know that, but you have to figure that with the solar farm that a good access to it might be in the cards. At best I am hoping that this new construction, slated for Sprin 2021, will not affect my routes North. 

As for the solar installation itself, it is claimed that once it is up and running that it will provide enough electricity to run 600 homes. That seems like a good thing, but.....I have no idea what initial costs or maintenance costs might be. 

The other update to the local scene is really taking shape now and should have a fairly radical effect upon how cyclists move from Cedar Falls to Waterloo in the future. Right now, unless you are an intrepid exploratory nutcase, such as myself, getting from Cedar Falls to Waterloo, safely by bicycle, is a bit of a chore and makes for a somewhat tortuous route out of your way through a State Park and another City Park. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not the most efficient route, in terms of time and energy. Now, my combination of alleys, dirt, grassy fields, and some streets is far more efficient and timely. However; it isn't a route I'd recommend to anyone. No......most folks would be ill served by my goofy tracks. 

The old Sergeant Road Trail terminus is gone.

 The new University Avenue project is nearing completion and has, as one of its many features, a bike path all the way down its Southern edge. This will run completely from Cedar Falls to Waterloo, and will make a much straighter shot between the two cities than anything that has come before it for cyclists and pedestrians. (Note- There is a sidewalk on the North edge as well)

Not that this path will be perfect, mind you. I've already seen many future issues this trail will present due, mostly, to a complete lack of any way to deal with water, snow, and ice runoff from the adjacent highway and hills. Mud run off will likely be an issue at points as well. Then there are the many busy intersections cyclists and pedestrians will have to navigate. It will still be a sub-standard route from the terms of design, but it is better than riding on what was University Avenue, that's for sure. 

It is a shame though that the most glaring deficiencies cannot be addressed now since these will end up causing big problems down the road. But yeah..... We will take this and hope for the best here. I may be able to incorporate some of this into my commute in the future. I have been scouting out the possibilities, and so far, things are looking good for me to use at least a tiny portion of this route. (See image with arrows)

Now on to the previously mentioned rural aspects of my thoughts on how we use land. So.... I've noted in my short years on this planet that many folks would like a respite from "The Rat Race". Those folks often times want secluded, rural settings in which to find peace and quiet. I get this. I'm ALL about that part. The thing I wonder is, "Do these people that want to live in rural areas really want "rural" areas? 

See, this is the thing. It progresses from one or two folks building houses on the fringes of a community, or in a beautiful area. Then they complain about dirt, dust, and animal smells. They want their cars to remain 'pristine' and retain their trade-in value. So, you know, gravel and dirt have to be paved. Then the next thing ya know is that cars are zooming down their road at high rates of speed, because they can now, and MORE traffic results in the end. A few more folks end up moving to the edges of town, or out in this little conclave, since, ya know, they paved the roads and all. Then developers see an opportunity for a subdivision, or retail outlets, because these folks are so far out in a rural area, well- they need to sell that seclusion and then make it convenient. 

Next thing ya know this place is indistinguishable from a city.  It finally evolved into exactly what the folks who initially moved out "there" wanted to get away from. We are so stupid this way. And what really chaps my hide is that all the while we gobble up pristine, quiet, beautiful rural areas, we leave our inner cities to rot and decay like an old tree. Looks nice and big from the outside with many lush, beautiful branches, but its growth caused a rotten, hollow core. And you know what happens to trees like that when the winds get strong and the heavy rains come. 

Ah! Well, it all boils down to a short-sighted view of our legacy and money making. That's my opinion, but this is the sort of thing that breaks my heart when I see it on walks in town and on rides in the country. We can do better. We should. 

 

Local Changes

Aerial view of the future location of a solar farm (Image courtesy of the Waterloo Courier)

 I have noted a few changes that locally will affect our cycling here. These are probably 'good' changes, but there are changes I want to also touch upon which are bad, in my opinion, and affect cycling in rural areas negatively. But that's just a very personal viewpoint, which I will share briefly in a moment. My bigger point is how we, as a people, tend to misuse and ruin what could be a valuable resource and trade it for a very flawed way of life. But first, the local stuff. 

There was news last week of a new energy project proposed by utility company MidAmerican Energy that would see a new solar farm installation along Burton Avenue and Airline Highway. This is right along a route I use to get out of town to gravel roads. Burton is chip seal at the point past Airline Highway for a little over a mile, then it goes to gravel just North of the intersection with Big Rock Road. (Note: It used to go to gravel just South of Big Rock Road 12 years ago) Anyway, this may impact passage North on that road due to construction, and maybe it will entail an upgrade of that road to better pavement. I don't know that, but you have to figure that with the solar farm that a good access to it might be in the cards. At best I am hoping that this new construction, slated for Sprin 2021, will not affect my routes North. 

As for the solar installation itself, it is claimed that once it is up and running that it will provide enough electricity to run 600 homes. That seems like a good thing, but.....I have no idea what initial costs or maintenance costs might be. 

The other update to the local scene is really taking shape now and should have a fairly radical effect upon how cyclists move from Cedar Falls to Waterloo in the future. Right now, unless you are an intrepid exploratory nutcase, such as myself, getting from Cedar Falls to Waterloo, safely by bicycle, is a bit of a chore and makes for a somewhat tortuous route out of your way through a State Park and another City Park. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not the most efficient route, in terms of time and energy. Now, my combination of alleys, dirt, grassy fields, and some streets is far more efficient and timely. However; it isn't a route I'd recommend to anyone. No......most folks would be ill served by my goofy tracks. 

The old Sergeant Road Trail terminus is gone.

 The new University Avenue project is nearing completion and has, as one of its many features, a bike path all the way down its Southern edge. This will run completely from Cedar Falls to Waterloo, and will make a much straighter shot between the two cities than anything that has come before it for cyclists and pedestrians. (Note- There is a sidewalk on the North edge as well)

Not that this path will be perfect, mind you. I've already seen many future issues this trail will present due, mostly, to a complete lack of any way to deal with water, snow, and ice runoff from the adjacent highway and hills. Mud run off will likely be an issue at points as well. Then there are the many busy intersections cyclists and pedestrians will have to navigate. It will still be a sub-standard route from the terms of design, but it is better than riding on what was University Avenue, that's for sure. 

It is a shame though that the most glaring deficiencies cannot be addressed now since these will end up causing big problems down the road. But yeah..... We will take this and hope for the best here. I may be able to incorporate some of this into my commute in the future. I have been scouting out the possibilities, and so far, things are looking good for me to use at least a tiny portion of this route. (See image with arrows)

Now on to the previously mentioned rural aspects of my thoughts on how we use land. So.... I've noted in my short years on this planet that many folks would like a respite from "The Rat Race". Those folks often times want secluded, rural settings in which to find peace and quiet. I get this. I'm ALL about that part. The thing I wonder is, "Do these people that want to live in rural areas really want "rural" areas? 

See, this is the thing. It progresses from one or two folks building houses on the fringes of a community, or in a beautiful area. Then they complain about dirt, dust, and animal smells. They want their cars to remain 'pristine' and retain their trade-in value. So, you know, gravel and dirt have to be paved. Then the next thing ya know is that cars are zooming down their road at high rates of speed, because they can now, and MORE traffic results in the end. A few more folks end up moving to the edges of town, or out in this little conclave, since, ya know, they paved the roads and all. Then developers see an opportunity for a subdivision, or retail outlets, because these folks are so far out in a rural area, well- they need to sell that seclusion and then make it convenient. 

Next thing ya know this place is indistinguishable from a city.  It finally evolved into exactly what the folks who initially moved out "there" wanted to get away from. We are so stupid this way. And what really chaps my hide is that all the while we gobble up pristine, quiet, beautiful rural areas, we leave our inner cities to rot and decay like an old tree. Looks nice and big from the outside with many lush, beautiful branches, but its growth caused a rotten, hollow core. And you know what happens to trees like that when the winds get strong and the heavy rains come. 

Ah! Well, it all boils down to a short-sighted view of our legacy and money making. That's my opinion, but this is the sort of thing that breaks my heart when I see it on walks in town and on rides in the country. We can do better. We should. 

 

Winter Views: Clearing Up

What the what?!! There were a bunch of scrub trees felled into the path here.

Monday was another frigid edition of Winter here, so riding in the country did not happen. I did bust out the ol' Ti Muk 2 though, and I decided to head over towards the West and see some of the bike trail and assess my new route choices to where I'll be working in the Spring.

The beginning of the route is much like the past 17 plus years. I head out across a grassy field, now covered in ice and snow, of course, and then drop down a little embankment to the Sergeant Road Trail's end on its Northern terminus. This is right where University Avenue crosses the bike trail. When I reached the upper part of the drop in, I stopped short because a bunch of scrub trees had been felled across the path, such as it is.

So, I dismounted and huffed, and puffed, and I drug a couple trees off the path and out of the way. I suppose things will be in a constant state of flux down there in 2020 since this is where the University Avenue rebuilding project comes next. There is supposedly some plan for connecting the bicycle infrastructure planned for University with the Sergeant Road Trail, so I imagine them clearing out the scrub trees is just the beginnings of that project. It will probably interrupt my passage through that way for about a year or two.

Oh well! Such is the price we pay for "progress". I'd be fine if they dumped everyone that wanted to come down to Sergeant Road Trail on a bit of dirt single track, but that's just me! I'm sure that there will be some sort of cement pathway put in at some point instead. In the meantime I'll probably have to go through a part of downtown Waterloo to get West.

Those two large evergreen trees used to be bushes either side of a building entryway in the 1960's!

The area between University and the Expressway to the North used to be an industrialized area back when I was a kid. There was a coal company in this space and a casket company. The casket company building used to have these two evergreen shrubs on either side of the stairs leading to the entry of the building facing West, and now these have grown into trees in their own right. It appears as though these sentinels of days gone by are also going to be mowed down in an effort to make the area accessible to construction equipment. I doubt many in Waterloo or Cedar Falls even remember this history, but anyway.......

One positive in all this- vehicular traffic sure makes mincemeat of post-holes! 

I ended up poking around for a while until it was about lunch time and then I went on back home after cruising some more alleyway connectors to make my way over toward Cedar Falls. I plan on making the route as much off-pavement as I possibly can, so I will be away from traffic and have more fun!

It looks like we're in for one more week of "real Winter" weather and then they are forecasting a break in things. Hmm...... Transitional season is about to come. We're already a third of the way through February, so it won't be long now!

Winter Views: Clearing Up

What the what?!! There were a bunch of scrub trees felled into the path here.

Monday was another frigid edition of Winter here, so riding in the country did not happen. I did bust out the ol' Ti Muk 2 though, and I decided to head over towards the West and see some of the bike trail and assess my new route choices to where I'll be working in the Spring.

The beginning of the route is much like the past 17 plus years. I head out across a grassy field, now covered in ice and snow, of course, and then drop down a little embankment to the Sergeant Road Trail's end on its Northern terminus. This is right where University Avenue crosses the bike trail. When I reached the upper part of the drop in, I stopped short because a bunch of scrub trees had been felled across the path, such as it is.

So, I dismounted and huffed, and puffed, and I drug a couple trees off the path and out of the way. I suppose things will be in a constant state of flux down there in 2020 since this is where the University Avenue rebuilding project comes next. There is supposedly some plan for connecting the bicycle infrastructure planned for University with the Sergeant Road Trail, so I imagine them clearing out the scrub trees is just the beginnings of that project. It will probably interrupt my passage through that way for about a year or two.

Oh well! Such is the price we pay for "progress". I'd be fine if they dumped everyone that wanted to come down to Sergeant Road Trail on a bit of dirt single track, but that's just me! I'm sure that there will be some sort of cement pathway put in at some point instead. In the meantime I'll probably have to go through a part of downtown Waterloo to get West.

Those two large evergreen trees used to be bushes either side of a building entryway in the 1960's!

The area between University and the Expressway to the North used to be an industrialized area back when I was a kid. There was a coal company in this space and a casket company. The casket company building used to have these two evergreen shrubs on either side of the stairs leading to the entry of the building facing West, and now these have grown into trees in their own right. It appears as though these sentinels of days gone by are also going to be mowed down in an effort to make the area accessible to construction equipment. I doubt many in Waterloo or Cedar Falls even remember this history, but anyway.......

One positive in all this- vehicular traffic sure makes mincemeat of post-holes! 

I ended up poking around for a while until it was about lunch time and then I went on back home after cruising some more alleyway connectors to make my way over toward Cedar Falls. I plan on making the route as much off-pavement as I possibly can, so I will be away from traffic and have more fun!

It looks like we're in for one more week of "real Winter" weather and then they are forecasting a break in things. Hmm...... Transitional season is about to come. We're already a third of the way through February, so it won't be long now!