Not Particularly Snazzy
I found out that my Sutliff Bridge route is a well-known scenic bike route, but many people avoid it because it's so bumpy. Once a month the tandem club PIGS (Paired Iowans Going Somewhere) rides out that way.
I joined Bicyclists of Iowa City for a "Thursday Night Leisure Ride." It was extremely leisurely, but I figured out that if I shifted down, I was able to bike that slowly. The slow pace made the hills more difficult because I had less momentum, but the extra exercise was probably good for me, though it gave me sore knees the next day. They set an average pace of 10 m.p.h., which is the speed I normally ride; but I normally ride on crushed limestone. This was smooth concrete, a much faster surface.
I think the path was called Glen Willow, although it is unnamed on the map of Coralville trails. It runs between Coral Ridge Mall, which is the largest mall in the area, and another major shopping area, terminating at a small, well-hidden, and very popular ice cream shop. The trail area is undeveloped because it used to be a Boy Scout camp, and it is now being used as greenspace.
Before the ride I went to the mall to buy a brightly colored shirt to ride in. My wardrobe is mainly black, white, brown, and navy, due to nine years of New England living--enough time for most of my bright and funky Texas and California clothes to wear out. So the first place I went at the mall was Scheels All-Sports, where I decided that there was no way on this green earth that I was paying serious money for a bicycle jersey when I never ride more than 22 miles at a stretch. I went to a department store instead and bought an orange T-shirt on sale for $14. It's a shade darker than a traffic cone, but just as bright, and it has stupid little flowers on the front, and it still looks better than most cycling jerseys. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it in Boston, but we Iowans are less finicky about what we put on our backs.
I was happy to find that most of the other riders were also wearing T-shirts and ordinary shoes, so I didn't feel out of place in my makeshift riding gear. Most of us had bicycle shorts, though, which are well worth a $60 investment. I now see why my cyclist friends say "everyone looks funny in bicycle shorts," but frankly, I don't mind looking funny (if I did, I'd throw away the corduroy sneakers I'm wearing right now), and those shorts are darned comfy. But I still think the jerseys are funnier. I have no idea what that back pocket is for.
Iowa City is a generally unassuming town. Back in the 80s I bought a comic book called "Superheroes of Iowa City"; they all had these piddling superpowers like melting the soles of tennis shoes, so they couldn't get in on the big leagues and had to content themselves with banding together to fight crime in Iowa City. Bicyclists of Iowa City also proved to be a lowkey crowd in which each individual had a few unique talents. I look forward to riding with them again.
I joined Bicyclists of Iowa City for a "Thursday Night Leisure Ride." It was extremely leisurely, but I figured out that if I shifted down, I was able to bike that slowly. The slow pace made the hills more difficult because I had less momentum, but the extra exercise was probably good for me, though it gave me sore knees the next day. They set an average pace of 10 m.p.h., which is the speed I normally ride; but I normally ride on crushed limestone. This was smooth concrete, a much faster surface.
I think the path was called Glen Willow, although it is unnamed on the map of Coralville trails. It runs between Coral Ridge Mall, which is the largest mall in the area, and another major shopping area, terminating at a small, well-hidden, and very popular ice cream shop. The trail area is undeveloped because it used to be a Boy Scout camp, and it is now being used as greenspace.
Before the ride I went to the mall to buy a brightly colored shirt to ride in. My wardrobe is mainly black, white, brown, and navy, due to nine years of New England living--enough time for most of my bright and funky Texas and California clothes to wear out. So the first place I went at the mall was Scheels All-Sports, where I decided that there was no way on this green earth that I was paying serious money for a bicycle jersey when I never ride more than 22 miles at a stretch. I went to a department store instead and bought an orange T-shirt on sale for $14. It's a shade darker than a traffic cone, but just as bright, and it has stupid little flowers on the front, and it still looks better than most cycling jerseys. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it in Boston, but we Iowans are less finicky about what we put on our backs.
I was happy to find that most of the other riders were also wearing T-shirts and ordinary shoes, so I didn't feel out of place in my makeshift riding gear. Most of us had bicycle shorts, though, which are well worth a $60 investment. I now see why my cyclist friends say "everyone looks funny in bicycle shorts," but frankly, I don't mind looking funny (if I did, I'd throw away the corduroy sneakers I'm wearing right now), and those shorts are darned comfy. But I still think the jerseys are funnier. I have no idea what that back pocket is for.
Iowa City is a generally unassuming town. Back in the 80s I bought a comic book called "Superheroes of Iowa City"; they all had these piddling superpowers like melting the soles of tennis shoes, so they couldn't get in on the big leagues and had to content themselves with banding together to fight crime in Iowa City. Bicyclists of Iowa City also proved to be a lowkey crowd in which each individual had a few unique talents. I look forward to riding with them again.
Labels: bicycling
posted by Margo at 10:21 AM
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