A bike ride on the wild side

I steered my bike toward the miniature ramp with a good head of steam. But at the moment of truth I wavered, spelling my fall.

I touched the brakes in an instance of indecision. By the next second I had belly flopped over the bars and landed with a splash of dust. At least there was no report from the US Geological Survey of an earthquake.

Dirty, but no worse for wear I could only grin as it was my choice to take on the obstacle.

The above was from my second outing on the new mountain bike trail at the Sac and Fox Trailhead at East Post Road in Cedar Rapids. The “Aspen” trail was professionally built and runs point-to-point for 2.8 miles on the north bank of Indian Creek.

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The historic crushed limestone trail follows the south bank.

A new biking trail is even better than a new fishing pond because the trail is in top shape from day one. A new fishing pond takes several years to get good.

My first inkling of the trail happened early in the spring while driving East Post Road. I saw someone on a mountain bike high on the north bank, “There’s no trail there,” I thought.

I wondered if someone was blazing a rogue trail? Soon after I learned it was a public trail under construction. I’ve been biding my time ever since.

With a great deal of excitement I peddled under the bridge and saw the new trail markers to the left. All I knew about the trail was it ought to be good and where it ended. The rest was a blank map — my kind of place.

It was a short climb and then the trail followed along a pretty consistent contour line, with the requisite drops and climbs. I loved the flow. I was pedaling fast from the get-go, keeping a pace that felt just on the good side of control.

Since my trail running days are over, mountain biking is my replacement for that rush of coursing through the woods. The chase, if only after the wind, awakens the wolf, a primordial feel in a postmodern world. The only catch is I never could crash while trail running.

The Aspen offered surprise after surprise in the forms of discretionary features, that is, obstacles. With a little lean, a rider could veer onto a pyramid of logs to hop over, or ride a rusticated balance beam that is neither straight nor smooth. There were ramps to “catch air” and even a severe teeter-totter.

If the trail wasn’t enough, you had options.

My first run took about 13 minutes, according to my analog watch. I only had to dismount once because I had misjudged the steepness of a climb and had to walk the bike to the crest after I lost momentum.

I felt emboldened on my return trip. Not bold enough to take on the obstacles, but enough to push the pace. This run clocked about 12 minutes. A rough sense of time was good enough lest I got fixated on the time of the journey instead of the journey itself.

The Aspen trail didn’t take much space as it utilized the existing right-of-way. Midwestern mountain bikers don’t need granite massifs to pack in a lot of twists and turns. The parallel trails of the Sac and Fox Trail system are proof of that. Moreover, they invite speculation and wonderment of a host of other places where the design is possible.

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You and I live parallel lives. We already share the daylight and sleep during the same darkness. We eat lunch around the same time. On this blue marble in the cosmos we share so much, albeit in our own ways.

While I was huffing and puffing the Aspen trail, surely some couple was walking their dog on the Sac and Fox Trail. We were all headed downstream, seemingly apart on our separate experiences. At our lived scale we seemed like rays that would never meet. But compared to the cosmos, we were together.

Since 1975 people, pets, even horse riders had followed along Indian Creek. Countless experiences in series, in parallel. Only trees have kept count. Now add another line to the great human sketch along the banks of Indian Creek.

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This story started here, my second occasion to ride Aspen. This time I took the Sac and Fox Trail as an easy and enjoyable warmup to the end of the Aspen trail. Then I began my ride upstream.

The warmup and my familiarity of the trail breathed words of encouragement into my ear, “try the obstacle.” Passive-voice language is a red flag. Maybe if it confidently commanded me to, “take the obstacle,” I would have carried through.

Alas, Teddy Roosevelt’s voice was absent and I literally became the rough ridden. I confirmed there was no damage, back to the grind.

Up, down, up, and down on a wavy stretch until I came to an obstacle that caused me to lock up the breaks. A fawn was curled up in one of the dips. Veering or jumping wasn’t an option. The fawn remained motionless and silent when I picked it up to give it a safe resting spot.

Obstacle removed, the ride continued. A volunteer mowing the sides of the trail caused another full stop, as did the couple traveling the trail downstream.

We are on a journey at this very moment: life. It’s our one chance. We’re all going somewhere. Sometimes we can add to the journey by taking a different trail.

For two generations some have opted for the Sac and Fox Trail as an additional challenge, now the knobby tire crowd has an extra option with options.

Looking up, looking ahead, and keeping my pencil sharp.

John Lawrence Hanson, Ed.D., of Marion, teaches U.S. history with an emphasis on environmental issues at Linn-Mar High School and is past president of the Linn County Conservation Board.