Jingle Crossing in Iowa City

The Iowa River, in Iowa City, Iowa

You gotta give it to the good folks in Iowa: They sure make some fine beer, and they know how to put on world-class cyclocross events. And that pretty much sums up my observations gathered during a quick four-day trip to the Midwest last weekend.

A bit greener than Lubbock, and just a few more undulations in the terrain.... Flying into CID

I had barely gotten back from Bolivia, with just an afternoon of unpacking and doing laundry, before it was time to pack up for another race. I literally go home on Tuesday and was back in the air on Thursday, flying seat 1A from Lubbock via Dallas to CID, the Eastern Iowa Airport, which sits half-way between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

Start of the Elite Men's first round of the 2019/2020 Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cup

For years I had heard and read about the Jingle Cross cyclocross race, an event that draws cycling aficionados from all over to the middle of what is essentially nowhere. The race weekend, which is put on by a non-profit organization made up of local volunteers, attracts not only local and regional athletes but for a few years now has been on the UCI's World Calendar in one form or fashion, and for 2019 it was the opening act in the season-long Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cup competition. That's quite an honor, when you look at some of the stops on the circuit: Tabor, Koksijde, Heusden-Zolder, and the finale in the myth-clad Hoogerheide. And Iowa City was the first stop, and I worked it.

That's about all I saw of the race action--riders winding down the serpentines from Mount Krumpit

As usual, I didn't see much of the racing itself since I was busy with training my staff, but as always I got to interact with some of the world's biggest cyclocross stars after their race had finished. And as always, I can't tell you anything else about that.

Cool taps at Re-Union Brewing ...

... and the rest of the Aguascalientes-like decor is pretty cool, too (remember the Calavera de Catrina?)

But I can tell you that I did get a chance to visit a few local breweries, and I have to say that the beer that I drank was above-average good. Dude, these brewmeisters are on to something! Maybe it's the water, maybe I was just really thirsty for good IPAs, it doesn't matter: Every single one of those quaffs deserved to be in the upper tier of beers that I have drunk all around the world. Fine stuff, and you know how critical I can be.

I did get a chance to walk around the university town of Iowa City one afternoon/evening. Pleasant is the word that comes to mind, even if there was some of the urban decay that accompanies lack of investment in infrastructure. You'd never know that the University of Iowa has more than 33,000 students enrolled for the fall semester--it all seems rather quiet and gentle. The campus' central visual focus is the old State Capitol, a beautiful building that is surrounded by green space and small faculty buildings. The evening I was out, members of the astronomy club had set up telescopes to allow passers-by to gaze at Saturn and later observe the harvest moon. Cute co-eds spiced up the landscape, elderly couples strolled across campus, and the adjacent short strip of restaurants and watering holes waited for customers who only trickled, but did not pour, in. If that's Friday night in Iowa City, what does a Tuesday look like?

I had a beer at Vue Rooftop, located in the tallest building in Iowa City, the Hilton Garden Inn. From the 12th-floor ultramodern terrace restaurant and bar I had a gorgeous view of Iowa City and the slightly hilly countryside surrounding it, and I watched the light fade away before I walked back to my digs at the Hampton. It was a nice evening that ended up at Big Grove Brewing (five minutes' walk from the Hampton), a spacious and sparkling brewery with a huge outdoor biergarten that welcomes kids, pets, and the occasional Texas hop-head.

I wish there had been more time or opportunity to embark on a little more sightseeing in the general area, but this had to suffice. On Sunday morning I drove back out to the airport, dropped off my rental car, and a few hours later was back home--just to unpack, do laundry, and get ready for my next trip.

Big Grove's mega biergarten

Jürgen