Travels With The Radler

Last night, while walking along the streets of downtown Iowa City, Robin and I were astounded to run into her Jamis that was stolen from our porch three months ago. Due to our detailed description in the police report, the cops sided with us, chopped the lock off, and let us walk away with it. You can read more about it here.

That was a very welcome surprise in general, but coming on the heels of a very nice Friday made it even better. Late that morning I took off on my new Brooks saddle (firmly affixed to the Pacer, of course) for a long ride. I had gone on a short ride with it on Thursday and it felt pretty good. I loved the smoothness of it, and my sitbones felt very secure on the back of it. The only thing that was a little different from my Selle Italia Flite was the higher and harder nose. So I continued to play with the tilt and the fore and aft adjustment, but I think it will continue to loosen up.

Back to the ride though. It was quite warm out, but not as bad as the few previous days. And I was intent on getting a long ride in. With a few snacks and three bottles of water and gatorade I rode north into the hills. My legs were a little sore early on because for some reason on Thursday's ride I thought it was a good idea to sprint up a bunch of the hills. Oh well. They loosened up shortly.

I took Sugar Bottom rode out towards Solon and then continued north and east on Sutliff Rd. I really enjoy this route to Sutliff. It is quiet, pretty, and hilly. When I neared the famous old bridge I resisted the urge to stop at the bar for a cold beer and turned north to ride up to Lisbon. I had never been to Lisbon before. It was nice. Upon riding into town I was greeted by a large banner welcoming me to Sauerkraut Days. The town was full of vendors and carnival rides, but none of it was starting until later that afternoon. So I had to pass on funnel cake and cotton candy and settle for refueling at the Casey's. I skipped on pizza this time and went with the potato wedges, cheesy crackers, and more gatorade and water.

I rolled back south towards Sutliff. Again the bar was calling to me, and it was stronger as I rode right by it this time. But it was really hot out and baking in the sun with beer or sitting in the smoky bar did not sound like fun. Instead I found myself on some dirt roads outside of Sutliff. I was hoping that I would be able to find a paved road that would lead me to Cedar Bluffs, but that was not the case. After a few miles of poking around on gravel I decided to head back to Solon, the way I came, rather than blindly picking dirt roads and ending up riding hours longer than I intended.

When I came into Solon I was hot. Damn hot. The kind of hot that makes your head throb. I had been riding for a little over three hours and I needed a short break. My mind was conjuring up memories of the Millstream pilsner that I had the day before at the brewery. This time I decided I did need a beer and sought out the Savvy Cafe that I had heard about but never visited. When I walked in it was cool and empty. I strolled over to the big beer cooler looking for the closest thing to a true Czech or German pilsner. The friendly owner mentioned that they had some beer on tap too and suggested I try a Leinie's Summer Shandy. I skeptically asked if it was a wheat beer, as heavy wheats don't wholly agree with me. She said it was a light wheat, but infused with lemons and was very refreshing. This description reminded me of the German beverage the Radler, which literally means bicyclist. In Germany and Austria thirsty cyclists would drink a mixture of about two-thirds pilsner and one-third lemon-lime soda. In England the term for a similar beverage came to be known as Shandy. The Savvy owner's suggestion did not disapoint. I quickly downed one and ordered a second to savor. The cafe is an excellent place to stop for cold or hot drinks, depending on the weather, and I have every intention of returning in the near future.

The rest of the ride home was still hot. And having only consumed beer and no food on my resent stop, I started to get the weak pre-bonk feeling. I quickly downed the rest of my cheese and crackers and bottle of gatorade and made it home five hours after I left, with four hours and fifteen minutes of riding. Oh, and my butt felt great too.

And here are the pictures I promised. Only a day or two late.