CeMar Trail: Open at Last!

 

It wasn't the prettiest day by any stretch of the imagination, but it was clear enough for the last link in the CeMar Trail to be officially opened at noon Friday. There was a fair-sized and joyous crowd on hand...

...many of them arriving on bicycles. (There were cars everywhere, too.)

You could tell Joe Mitchell about all these Iowans on bicycles,
but he would never believe you

There were speeches by the mayors and city managers of Cedar Rapids and Marion, thanking all who have gotten us to this moment, and celebrating the opportunities the new connection will bring between the two towns.

Nicolas AbouAssaly, mayor of Marion

Tiffany O'Donnell, mayor of Cedar Rapids

Possibly the most solemn responsibility:
Keeper of the scissors

After the speeches, the cutting began.

The first cut (of three) is the deepest

The ceremony over, many of those in attendance headed out to try the trail.

Riders on the trail, seen from Mt. Calvary Cemetery

I was not among them, but I anticipate one of my coffeeneuring rides next week will go this way. Watch this space!

CeMar Trail: You're in Marion when you cross 3rd Avenue...

...and in Cedar Rapids when you cross back

SEE ALSO:

"Trail Connection Delayed, But Not Denied," 5 October 2026

Joe Mitchell is too silly for words

Cycling infrastructure, like this Marion sidepath,
allow children to navigate their town safely

(10/26/2026) You probably heard that there's an election next week? Many U.S. Senate and state governor seats are up for voting, along with all U.S. House seats. For a variety of reasons that need not detain us here, Democrats smell blood in the water and are looking to make big gains, while Republican efforts to game the election (Marley and Binday 2026, ProPublica 2026, Bock Clark 2026) seem likely to fail. 

One of the U.S. House districts that has proven competitive is the 2nd district of Iowa, where I live. It is a rare example of a swing district, although Republicans have held the seat for ten of the last twelve years. Incumbent Representative Ashley Hinson is leaving the seat to run for the U.S. Senate, so it's also an open seat. Former (2019-2023) state representative Joe Mitchell is trying to hold the seat for the Republicans, with challenges from current (2019-2026) state representative Lindsay James, Libertarian Rick Stewart, and independent Dave Bushaw. At this writing, the district is rated a "toss-up" by the Cook Political Report.

Kickstand: Cycling to the bar, May 2023

Last week, Mitchell traveled to Sioux City to participate in a rally held by President Trump. This was a curious move, because (a) Sioux City is on the western border of Iowa, far from the 2nd district, and (b) President Trump is less unpopular in Iowa than the rest of the country, but still far from being an asset in a close race, so he is an odd choice to cuddle up to.

Once there, Mitchell used the short time he was allotted to (a) present Trump with a framed certificate proclaiming him Man of the Century, and to thank him for building a ballroom on the site of the ravaged White House, as well as cancelling U.S. Department of Transportation projects that included bicycling infrastructure. (That resulted from a series of decisions made in 2025 by Secretary Sean Duffy (Kuntzman 2025), on the grounds that it causes traffic congestion and encourages dangerous behavior by cyclists, despite evidence to the contrary that Duffy thoughtfully had removed from the DOT webpage (Wilson 2025).) Here's Mitchell in Sioux City:

Thank God you're building the ballroom. Thank God you're getting rid of those awful bike lanes. We don't ride bicycles in Iowa. We ride Harley-Davidsons. Isn't that true?

Ride the Districts 2024

Mitchell's statement is silly on its face, as has been pointed out in numerous places. Iowa is, after all, the annual host of the RAGBRAI summer bike ride from the Missouri to the Mississippi. The City of Cedar Rapids frequently touts its "Silver" rating from the League of American Bicyclists. 

As you've probably noticed, we at Holy Mountain are less concerned about annual rides across the state than about routine daily trips. Trails are great, but if you have to drive your bike to the trail, we're not quite there yet. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Surveys for both 2022 and 2024, a mere 0.1 percent of Cedar Rapids residents commute to work by bicycle. That includes 0.1 percent of men and 0.0 percent of women, and perhaps supports Mitchell's point, except that the answer is going to be better bicycle infrastructure, not getting rid of it.

Evidence for the efficacy of in-town bike lanes is everywhere. If more people cycled for routine trips, it would improve physical fitness, save energy resources and lower pollution, and put less stress on a city's physical infrastructure and therefore its finances. As the City of Cedar Rapids's annual Bike to Work Week proclamation proclaims in part: Increased bicycle use strengthens community connections, improves health and well-being, supports local businesses, attracts tourism, and contributes to vibrant, livable neighborhoods.

Bike to Lunch with the Mayor, May 2017

A recent Bike Talk podcast highlighted research by Hannah Younes and co-authors, finding that the presence of bike lanes--even the cheap one-stripe-of-paint kind--slowed turning traffic, particularly at top speeds. Cars were also more likely to make a full stop when turning right on red. In these narrowly-defined circumstances, bike lanes were making everyone safer (Younes et al. 2024). 

So, there's a lot to be said for bike lanes, albeit the Trumps and Duffys and Joe Mitchells of the world are determined not to hear any of it. But there's an arguably bigger problem with Mitchell's comments, defining as they do the characteristics of who does and who doesn't belong here. It's the same logic as Governor Reynolds's declaration that two of the most successful places in the state are "not the real Iowa," as well as President Trump's thuggish immigration policy. A state or country that defines itself by who it excludes is doomed. As a bicycle commuter, I see no reason why a Representative Joe Mitchell would represent me or anyone else who doesn't fit his crabbed definition of Iowan.

SEE ALSO: "Reflections on Bike to Work Week 2023," 22 May 2023

Only one (highly suspect) Iowan rode a bicycle to the eye center this morning.
Zero Harley-Davidsons in sight, though.

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2026

 

The leaves say: It's time for Coffeeneuring!

What's the secret to our success? I say it's the autumn appeal of low-key two-wheeled rides on bikes, coffee and fall-inspired drinks with friends, a goal to strive toward, and the best community.

--MARY G., CEO OF COFFEENEURING 

Week One

0. Saturday, October 10 (Mostly sunny, 83F)

Coffee at: Bruegger's Bagels, 3310 Mount Vernon Road SE [round trip 3.5 miles]

I found out about coffeeneuring two years ago, and have been an eager practitioner ever since. This is my third year participating. The rules have changed this year, so it requires eight rides instead of seven, and seven unique places instead of six. Minimum ride is two miles round trip, with no maximum. Last year my longest ride was to Apple Creek Coffee in Center Point, and memories of the gale force wind in my face the whole way back still cause me to shudder. I don't know how ambitious I'll be this year.

Opening day was Saturday, and I was inspired to add some cycling and coffee to our weekly quest for bagels. I followed side streets there, and locked my bike to this contraption in back of the store:

Where to put your bicycle at Bruegger's

It was okay to sit there for a while with coffee from Caribou and a book, but I'm calling it "ride zero" because I'm hoping for better. I honestly don't know if I was fully in the "spirit of coffeeneuring," which would fall afoul of Rule #11. (Regardless of when or how you choose to coffeeneur, you must always abide by the Spirit of Coffeeneuring. What is the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, you ask? The answer is inside you.) Today will do for practice. Possibly renumbered later.

My Saturday morning set up at Bruegger's

Week Two

1. Tuesday, October 13 (Morning clouds, 74F)

Coffee at: Dash Coffee Roasters, 120 3rd Avenue SW [6.5 miles round trip]

This morning with coffee, pumpkin muffin, and library book

Now I'm underway for real! Our ridiculous warm spell is over, and fall is on; this is the last day in the 70s for possibly a very long while. I rode to Dash, one of our town's most popular coffee houses, via the Coe College library and a circuit of Cedar Lake. The trail north from Cedar Lake is still being rebuilt, so I turned south, negotiated the trail closure at 1st Avenue where the railroad crossing is being repaired, and landed here. It was crowded when I arrived, as befits its popularity. And they had pumpkin muffins; in this season of controversy, I am unqualifiedly pro-pumpkin! Among today's Dash patrons was Rina Jensen, a life coach specializing in women entrepreneurs.

I was pleased to see another bicycle in the rack when I arrived.

My bicycle and its friend in front of Dash

It was still there when I left, so I'm guessing our barista rode to work today. Good for them! Still another rider arrived while I was there, a woman I didn't know carrying her bicycle helmet. I thought I should tell her about #coffeeneuring2026, but I'm really crap at evangelism.

2. Friday, October 16 (Cloudy, 52F)

Coffee at: Cafe Deja Vu, 3655A 1st Avenue SE [7 miles round trip]

My head stayed warm on a chilly damp morning,
but couldn't help my "selfie face" 

A newcomer to the coffeeneuring scene, Cafe Deja Vu opened this year in the Town and Country Shopping Center (so named because when it was built in 1956, it was on the edge of town). It is a rather dreary strip, especially on a cloudy day, but it's mere blocks from the Cemar Trail, which I rode from near the cafe to near my office. Bike parking at the Town and Country is between the Fareway and the Dollar Tree.

No other bicycles today, but last summer I saw
a couple of middle schoolers at the cafe on their own

Cafe Deja Vu is a traditional (though how would I know?) French bakery, with an astonishing array of baked creations that have tempted me out of my muffin comfort zone. Today I had an apricot chausson with a Viennese coffee. 

Does it really look like a slipper?

I was some time devising my coffee drinking strategy, specifically how to access the coffee around the whipped cream. In time I removed the whipped cream to my plate for the first few sips. I hope the Viennese are not offended! 

Cafe Deja Vu may also be the only French bakery in North America with an Eiffel Tower made of Legos.

I didn't bring a book to Cafe Deja Vu, but I should have done, because the friend I was planning to meet overslept. So, pas de chaussons for him! Truly it is said that if you snooze, you lose.

More cycling today, more fall drinks!
Lion Bridge Brewing Co's marzen "Oktobot 3000"

Later today I read about a cyclist killed by an SUV in Seattle. A friend posted on Facebook that two cyclists he knows have recently suffered brain injuries (one struck by an SUV running a stop sign, one losing his balance riding on the shoulder of the road). I doubt there's a magic answer to this, but we could all take more care however we're getting places. "We're all in this together," as Red Green used to say.

Week Three

3. Sunday, October 18 (Mostly sunny, 66F)

Coffee at: Roasters New Bo, 1120 2nd Street SE [4.8 miles round trip]

An old friend in a new location! Roasters has moved from New Bo City Market to a small storefront on 2nd Street near 12th Avenue. I met some friends here for urbanist conversation, and saw another group of cyclists in from a ride on the Sac and Fox Trail, to which I preached the gospel of coffeeneuring. 

Roasters has the daily print edition of the Wall Street Journal on hand,
and the New York Times on Sunday

my order at my usual seat

It's warming up here, but was still brisk in the morning. I wore my skullcap and gloves and was fine, but the jacket over my t shirt was inadequate to keeping the wind from blowing through the sleeves of the jacket and up my arms. 

bicycle parking at New Bo City Market (one block away)

I had to break the law at one point. I understand stop lights are an open issue among cyclists, but I am a compulsive rule follower who likes frequently to rest, so I honor all stop lights and stop signs. However, trying to cross 8th Avenue at 6th Street proved impossible without running a red. I waited through two cycles of cross traffic, and when the street was clear, I crossed. You can @ me if you wish, but I might still be at that intersection if I hadn't done that!

On the way to Roasters, say hi to the Goldfinch Cyclery cat!

4. Tuesday, October 20 (Partly cloudy, 71F)

Coffee at: Stillwater Coffee Company, 1275 North Center Point Road, Hiawatha [13 miles round trip]

View from Stillwater

The day started chilly but soon became lovely, good for a more ambitious ride. I caught the Cedar Valley Nature Trail at McLeod Run Park on J Avenue north of the Coe College campus, and rode for several miles into the adjacent town of Hiawatha. There are a couple of pinch points on the way: 42nd Street, where we share space with a highway offramp; and Blairs Ferry Road, where the trail lands at a busy intersection. I made it across without complication, both places and both ways. 

North of Blairs Ferry, the trail leaves Center Point Road and heads into nature. The bike infrastructure on Center Point includes a buffered bike lane and a sidepath; I followed the latter.

First, a flu shot

Stillwater features a monthly story hour with a librarian from the Hiawatha Public Library. Today was nice enough for them to meet on the patio, while I sat inside with the Cities for Everyone webinar. But I saw all the parents and tots on their ways in and out.

bike locked by the patio

I watched Gil Penalosa interview Jen Angel and Lois Lindsay of the Toronto firm Evergreen, about several of their projects including a long nature trail called The Loop. Later, I heard The War on Cars podcast discuss efforts to counter Ontario premier Doug Ford's (costly, contentious and unproductive) elimination of bike lanes. A lot going on in Toronto the Good, not all of it good!

Setup at Stillwater

Week Four

5. Thursday, October 29 (Sunny, 66F)

Coffee at: Kismet Coffee and Bloom, 1000 3rd Street SE [4.7 miles round trip via Coe College]

The day started cloudy, then suddenly the sun came out. Bicyclists like me and whoever else was parked at the bike rack in front of Kismet had it both ways: A cloudy night meant it didn't get that cold overnight, and a sunny morning made the ride extra-pleasant!

Waning gibbous moon above the Bottleworks Loft Condos

Kismet is full of flowers and coffee, but catching them with baked goods makes for a very good day. Last year, I enjoyed a maple scone with my coffeeneuring, but today! Today they had molasses coffee cake. (I prefer dark roast as well as dark pastries, and for the record, dark beer.)

Sitting by the window at Kismet

I'd brought the Living section from Sunday's Cedar Rapids Gazette because my coffee companion, Randy, was featured in a long article. Wizards don't require print subscriptions to newspapers, but sometimes a clipping is nice to have.

Kismet has great outdoor seating, but this morning was too
chilly to enjoy it

John Simmerman's latest Active Towns video podcast rides along the Razorback Greenway from Fayetteville to Bentonville, Arkansas. Intercity trails are critical for active transportation, and we're about to get a key link connected. (Read on!)

6. Friday, October 30 (Light morning rain, 55F)

Coffee at: Craft'd Coffee Shop, 333 1st St SE [3.6 miles round trip]

When I walked into Craft'd this morning, "Another Brick in the Wall" was playing. When your humble blogger was a humble college student, the hipsters who were into Pink Floyd (i.e. not me) were rather badass. Today they are background music at the coffeehouse. Time is indeed relentless and cruel.

Redmond Park in the rain

So, sometimes, is the weather. This morning's light rain would have kept me off my bike, but for my own relentless pursuit of a coffeeneuring patch. With finite time to complete my labors, and next week's weather looking even wetter, I rode through the slop, which by then was more on the streets than in the sky. I arrived downtown with a stout heart but a wet butt.

I met a friend and saw several other friends, so it was a third-place kind of morning. John and I both ordered scones with our coffees, which were memorable. The management of Craft'd has contracted with the northeast side bakery Feedwell for baked goods, and they are unbeatable.

We sat underneath art, the market for which seems to be tough.

An excellent and cozy morning, and I can see the finish line from here!

Week Five

7. Tuesday, November 3?? (Rain, 65F)

8. Thursday, November 5 (Partly cloudy, 54F)

SOURCE: Mary G., "Coffeeneuring Challenge 2026 and We're 16: Back to Basics," Chasing Mailboxes, 3 October 2026

LAST YEAR: "Coffeeneuring Challenge 2025," 14 October-6 November 2025

COFFEENEURING IN ATLANTA: Brent Lineberry, "Coffeeneuring 2026, Early Bird Friday: Colada at Buena Gente," Brent Lineberry, 9 October 2026

Week Without Driving Diary (III)

A very walkable block!

(10/5/2026) For most of its one mile length, Washington Avenue SE is the very model of a walkable residential street. It's a little out of my way, but on such a pleasant day as this, it's a nice way to walk from my home to my church or my office. It has houses close to the street, fronted by windows and doors not blank walls, and such trees that survived the 2020 derecho provide a comforting canopy. It's not long on destinations for a purposeful walk, but there is an elementary school and another church along my way. For those challenged by circumstance or (as in my case) curiosity to participate in Week Without Driving, streets like these make such a project thinkable. On the other hand, I didn't meet anyone else walking down this street this mid-morning.

America Walks rates Cedar Rapids's walkability higher than the national average, which suggests walking is available for people who can't or prefer not to drive ("How Many Americans Live in Walkable Neighborhoods?" 2025).

	NATIONAL	IOWA	CEDAR RAPIDS
Least Walkable	22.90%	26.30%	13.90%
Below Avg	36.60%	47.20%	27.50%
Average	29.80%	22.20%	46.50%
Most Walkable	10.70%	4.30%	12.20%

Monday, October 5 (sunny, 73F)

Bused/walked to: Ground Transportation Center, St. Paul's United Methodist Church

Biked to: Dairy Queen #4 [replaced car trip], CeMar Trail

Try Transit display at Ground Transportation Center

City employees are getting into the swing of Week Without Driving. Haley Sevening and Trevor Sippel were at the Ground Transportation Center at 7:00 this morning with coffee, juice, doughnuts, bagels, bananas, and apples. By the time I got there on the #2 bus a hair past 8, most of it had been gratefully consumed, but I did score a banana and some coffee.

Haley Sevening, Trevor Sippel, a bus rider, and the last doughnut

They reported crowds heaviest early in their shift--all buses arrive about 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00, and depart 15 minutes later--and judged that most morning riders were staying downtown rather than transferring to a different bus.

Days like this are less of a challenge to non-drivers than those featuring bitter cold, excessive heat, rain, or snow. Most bus stops in residential areas consist merely of a sign:

4th Avenue at 12th Street SE

I can see why someone wouldn't want a full-fledged shelter on their parkway, but a lot of stops could be more comfortable and dignified than they are.

My bike and handy freezer bag at Dairy Queen

This afternoon I went on two short bike rides. The first was to the Dairy Queen, which can be a challenge without a car, even though it's less than a mile from my house. Today the weather was near-perfect for ice cream transport in a freezer bag (see above), though the interface of 16th Street and 1st Avenue remains tricky in any weather.

CeMar Trail from Mt. Cavalry Cemetery

Later in the afternoon, I rode over to take pictures of the CeMar Trail, which was supposed to open officially today, but a rainy September intervened.

More Week Without Driving coverage coming! Check back daily!! And if you're in town, take advantage of free transit rides, and/or a $5 credit on rental of a Veo bicycle or scooter with code CARFREE26.

Tuesday, October 6 (sunny, 78F)

Bused/walked to: Craftd coffee shop, Bentley Watch Repair

Smulekoff Building, home of Craftd

I got around town by bus today, until I didn't. I began taking the #2 bus from the stop a block from my house to the Ground Transportation Center, which is across the street from Craftd, where I was meeting a friend for coffee. I walked around Downtown while I waited for John, including going across the river and by the Mott and Chelsea buildings, which hold a weird fascination for me. While we were having coffee, I got a phone call from Bentley Watch Repair in suburban Hiawatha to say that the watch I'd left there awhile ago was ready to pick up. So after our coffee, I took the #5 bus to the Twixt Town transfer point, where I met the Northeast Circulator, which dropped me practically at the doorstep of the watch shop. The trip took about 40 minutes, as opposed to maybe a ten minute trip in a private car, but otherwise, so far, so good.

What I'd planned to say today, before I added the trip to Hiawatha to the itinerary, was that the bus works well for me because both my house and my major destinations are close to the center of town. Conversely, the farther you are from downtown, even if you're near a bus route, the less functional the bus is, because of the infrequency of buses and the circuitous routes. (This is not a hard and fast rule. John lives at the Roosevelt Apartments downtown, and occasionally needs to go to Mercy Medical Center, which is less than a mile away, but because of the way the routes are laid out there is no bus route that serves that trip.)

So when I left the watch shop after my brief business, I was prepared for less than ideal transit choices. I could wait nearly an hour for the next circulator, or walk a few blocks and get the inbound #6 bus towards Downtown Cedar Rapids, which was due in about 40 or 45 minutes. Happily, the Hiawatha Public Library was nearby and is always a good place to kill time. Then I went to the bus stop on the #6 route, and waited. Cedar Rapids uses the TransLoc app to track buses, so I was able to follow the bus's progress on my phone. When the bus was only two minutes away, it suddenly detoured onto I-380, around my stop and two other stops. If this was a planned detour, there was no notice at the bus stop. Presently TransLoc informed me that the next bus was due, not in two minutes, but in 58. Because I am both retired (lots of free time) and able bodied (can walk), I walked the nearly four miles home (with a little relief from the #5 bus on 1st Avenue).

So, no big deal, and my step counting app is very happy today. But what if I were frail? What if I'd had children with me? What if I were counting on the bus to get to work on time? What if it had been raining? What if I were taking this week's challenge to Try Transit? You'd never get me near a bus again.

Speaking of the frail elderly, people with children, and anyone walking in the rain, this...

...greeted me when I debarked from the #5 for the last half-mile's walk home. It took me less than a second to step around the obstruction, but the point of this week is to remember that not everyone can do that.

On today's War on Cars podcast, hosts Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon interviewed Nora Leerhsen, acting president of the Chicago Transit Authority. It was a wonderful, serious discussion of running a transit system in America's third largest city, and keeping constantly at the forefront of her mind the people for whom she's working. The pull quote: "When you take a transit vehicle with strangers, there's an inherent trust you're giving to one another, and that trust in each other is so essential to the health of our larger society and our democracy. When we start to send messages that that shared space is not a place to be, you're going to see our institutions and our societal structures start to dismantle. I believe in CTA, not just for Chicago, but really for our country."

Wednesday, October 7 (partly cloudy, 77F)

Bused/walked to: Gravitate Coworking Space

Walked to: Healthiest State Lunch at Greene Square

Healthy state residents gather at MedQ Park

While Haley and Travis--remember them from Monday?--took their Try Transit act up the road this noon hour to the Twixt Town Road transfer station, I joined the Healthiest State Walk group downtown. My first Healthiest State Walk was in 2022, back in the olden days when our town was observing Move More Week instead of Week Without Driving.

walking down 1st Street SE, October 2022

This year we started from two different places, MedQ Park and the McGrath Amphitheater. I was part of the MedQ group, led once again by Phil Wasta, executive director of the MedQuarter. 

Phil Wasta explains the rules

MedQ Park is only three blocks from our destination, but healthy people walk a mile, so that's what we did. On the way, we crossed seven streets; five of the intersections were four-way stops or traffic lights, while at two points we had to move quickly through the gaps. The drivers were always courteous, even though lunch hours are short. Also, there is strength in numbers, which number was about two dozen in our case, making us hard to ignore.

The sandwiches and sides, once again provided by Craftd, were great and made for a convivial lunch. (Unlike last year, the McGrath group got there ahead of us, and most of them were already gone by the time we got there--not very convivial!) The women nearest me had both driven to the walk site due to time constraints, which I am in no position to judge. One of them suggested that the expectations of Week Without Driving might deter some people, and that a Week With Driving might encourage people to leave their rec rooms in search of company.

Actually, Week Without Driving is not about discipline so much as mindfulness. I'm about 24 hours from needing to drive, so I will drive tomorrow, but I'll pause to think about what I would do if I weren't in such a fortunate position.

In other news, the trail through New Bohemia is taking shape

I returned to New Bohemia after lunch, writing at Gravitate Coworking Space. Then, since today was at least as nice as yesterday, I walked home instead of taking the bus.

John Simmerman's Active Towns interview this week is with Hawaii-based ironman Bob Babbitt, who among other things talked about sports programs for people with physical handicaps. Remember that any town that is good for people with handicapping conditions to navigate is good for everyone!

Thursday, October 8 (partly cloudy, 74F)

Bused/walked to: Kismet Coffee and Bloom, St. Paul's United Methodist Church

Biked to: Ground Transportation Center

Drove to😒: Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, CSPS Hall

After school with city staff at the Try Transit table

I've made as far as day four, but now there's been driving in my Week Without Driving. Tonight I was a volunteer bartender at Revival Theater Company's performance of 1776. 

I could have taken the #2 bus there in time for the start of my 6:30 p.m. shift, but the buses stop running at 8:00. I could have walked home--it's only two miles from my house--or biked, since my bike has lights. I could have asked someone for a ride. (Jane has a night class tonight, but it would have concluded.) I could have called a cab or a rideshare. (Yes, we do have rideshare in our small city.) I wasn't drawn to any of those means of 10:15 p.m. transport, even though a more adventurous trip home would make for a more interesting blog. Maybe next year?

I compounded the situation by driving to my late afternoon guitar lesson. My teacher has moved his lessons from a house down my street to the former Arthur Elementary School now occupied by the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy. It's located only two blocks off 1st Avenue, so easily attainable at that hour by the #5 bus--I've done it--but with only 90 minutes between the end of my lesson and the start of my bartender shift to get home and get dinner, I didn't want to spend too much time waiting for a bus and then walking home from the stop. So I drove there, too.

I did take the bus to coffee this morning. Later, on the bus ride home, the #5 passed the remains of a serious looking car crash on 1st Avenue East just above 10th Street. A crumpled sport utility vehicle was in the westbound lane, surrounded by three police SUVs. It was hard to figure out how it got into the position it did, unless it was towed there. It reminds us that auto driving is not only not possible for a lot of us, but it's dangerous for both drivers and non-drivers. Two wide streets meet in this intersection, but it's in the MedQuarter district and blocks away from Coe College and Downtown. (We were one block away on our Healthiest State Walk yesterday.) Traffic is further complicated by a construction project which closed one lane of 1st Avenue from 10th Street to above 12th Street. It's not hard to imagine a pedestrian getting caught in that intersection when the wreck occurred.

Another way our societal dependence on motor vehicles endangers all of our community is the practice of putting highways through towns, severing communities. On this week's Bottom-Up Shorts from Strong Towns, Norm Van Eeden Petersman interviewed Kim Mitchell, a consulting planner with Allendale Strong, a group that formed to defend the Shreveport, Louisiana neighborhood of Allendale from repeated incursions by the Louisiana Department of Transportation (cf. also Cortright 2026). 

boarding and unboarding the #5

Friday, October 9 (morning thunderstorms, 76F)

(Source: clipart.com)

Biked to: Coe College, Parlor City

Late in our city's third annual observation of Week Without Driving came our first-ever rain. It started right before sunrise and continued through the peak commuting times. It was pretty much over by 8:30, and completely over by 9:00. There was lightning and thunder, but so very occasionally that it was difficult to say whether or not we were experiencing a thunderstorm. The weather apps said it would end soon, so being a retired man of leisure I waited it out before riding to my college office. I wore a raincoat to keep the splatter from the streets off my shirt.

So, a short rain did not cause me to drive. Had I needed to, I could have walked or cycled with proper rain gear. The bus would not have helped. Coe is served by two bus routes: the #5 heading downtown is the one that comes closer to my house, but the stop is five-plus blocks away across busy 1st Avenue, and is unsheltered, so even assuming I successfully dodged the traffic, by the time the bus arrived I would be wetter than if I just walked. Same goes if I take the #2, which stops a block from my house, but four blocks from campus.

Cycling UK (Armstrong n.d.) offers this guide to rainy day cycling. They do their best to be encouraging and reassuring. If there's one thing we can guarantee for a British winter it's rain... and a British summer, autumn and spring for that matter. Many people are put off riding in the wet, but there's no reason not to cycle in the rain (bold type in original). They advise wearing (1) a rain cape, not a jacket like mine, but one that offers both more coverage and folds up easily when and if the weather gets dry; (2) waterproof cycling shoes and gloves to keep feet and hands dry; and (3) something to protect your eyes, like a peaked hat or glasses with clear lenses. Bring a change of clothes. Use your lights. Avoid puddles. Interestingly, their first two recommendations relate to maintenance: clean the slop off your bike after you ride in the rain, and learn to change your tire because some of that slop might be pointy. The very thought of changing an inner tube in the rain puts me off a bit. I've been lucky so far!

(Wikimedia commons)

The folks at Cycling UK don't say anything about thunder and lightning, or how heavy the rain can be and still allow for safe riding, possibly because they're in Britain not the U.S. Midwest. Biology Insights (2026) warns: "Riding a bicycle is genuinely dangerous, and no amount of riding skill or rubber tires makes it otherwise." 365 Cycles (2025) titles their post "How to Ride Safely through Late-Summer Thunderstorms" but begins by noting lightning strikes are "rare but deadly," heavy rainstorms are "traction and visibility killers," and strong winds and flash floods are also potentially catastrophic (cf. also Atanasov 2021). Maybe that's where I phone a friend for a ride if for some reason I can't wait it out. But, depending on the severity of the storm, even driving can be dangerous (DriveSafe Online Staff 2024).

A sunny afternoon led to the patio at Parlor City...

...and Cider Stroll in Czech Village and New Bohemia!

Saturday, October 10 (mostly sunny, 83F)

Coffeeneuring begins!

Biked to: Bruegger's Bagels, CSPS Hall

Drove to😒: Siamville Thai Cuisine

Got driven to 😏: Hy-Vee Grocery Store

The end of Cedar Rapids' observance of Week Without Driving coincided with the beginning of Coffeeneuring, a bicycling-to-coffee tradition in which I enthusiastically partake. Today I combined my ride with our usual purchase of bagels for our Sunday breakfast, and brought David Sedaris with me while I drank my coffee onsite. This afternoon I was back at CSPS Hall for more bartending and 1776. On both trips I had people jump in front of me: pedestrians on Knoll Street on the way to Bruegger's, and a stoned-looking bicyclist on 3rd Avenue on the way home from the play. Traffic is so light on weekends that I was able to avoid them without endangering myself. Of course, any encounter not involving a motor vehicle is less fraught than when motor vehicles are involved.

CSPS Hall

Tonight, we went out for dinner and grocery shopping. I drove once, and Jane drove once. The alternatives for the restaurant were pretty much the same as Thursday night, available for the adventurous but unattractive. The buses stop earlier on Saturday--they don't run at all on Sunday--so even one way was not available. The grocery store is, as they are these days, located at the edge of town on a high-traffic road, and especially at night anything other than a car is not advised.

SEE ALSO: "Week Without Driving (II)," 29 September 2025

America Walks Week Without Driving Page: Week Without Driving - America Walks

City Week Without Driving Page: Welcome to the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Disability Rights Washington page: Home page - Disability Rights Washington

Kai Hall, "We're Organizing the 2026 Week Without Driving," Greater Greater Washington, 26 September 2026

Rocco Pendola, "America Chose Cars Over Quality Of Life," How It Works (and Why It Doesn't), 13 September 2026