Visitors From the East

The week of awesome bike riding weather continues. Little chill in the morning, but rising to the 70s with sunshine and very light wind. Could stay like this for a while.

Kept the cell phone handy today as I was expecting a call from high school buddy and his wife - traveling thorough the area. They called just as I was about the head out on my bike ride. They expected to be in Council Bluffs in a little over 1.5 hours.

Perfect for my ride - Wabash Trace Trailhead to and around Lake Manawa, and back to the trailhead. I was NOT happy to see that it was gonna be another ride with my heart in A-Fib. Drank a little extra water and headed out on my ride.

Great ride. Racked and locked the bike onto the car and headed over to Village Inn at I-80 & Madison Ave. Don't you know - a detour. Delayed me a couple minutes. My visitors arrived at the restaurant a little before I did. My cell was ringing about the same time I saw a Wisconsin vehicle near me in the lot.

Had a nice visit and lunch with Theo & Pete Knigge. The were driving into Nebraska to attend the Wisconsin-Nebraska football game. Great to see you today!

Bike Rack Issue and Ride

Passed on Tuesday Coffee - tired and did not want to deal with the coffee group. Was late morning when I headed to town for my blood draw, stop at the bike shop, and bike ride.

Talked with Blaine and we looked at the problem with the Yakima rack. Forgot to take a photo while it mechanism was open on Sunday. From the photo here, you can see the right latch finger was broken off (red plastic piece). The rack is useable for now. See what Yakima says about the failure.

From the bike shop I headed to Wabash Trace trailhead for a ride on my road bike. From what I could hear, sounded like my heart is in A-Fib. Getting the bike off the rack and ready for my ride, the heart monitor verified my diagnosis. that, and i have been sluggish all day.

Monitor readings were steady but high (at about 130 when normally mid 60s when prepping for my ride). Decided to just ride to and around Manawa. By the time I was on the last 1.5 mile section of the ride, I was fading.

I had been keeping hydrated on the ride. It might have had something about that I did not eat much the last 2 days. Before departing the trailhead, I drank a quart of PowerAde Zero and headed to Freddy's for some food. Felt better after the food, yet heart is still in A-Fib.

Beautiful day to be out of the bike. Forecast is great weather the rest of the week. Hoping to get out some more rides.

Needed to Take a Bike Ride

Cool morning here - in the 30's. Headed out for normal Sunday breakfast at Panera. Finished my sandwich and refilled for my coffee. About to settle in to do some computer work.

On of the guys I have coffee there started jiggling the table my computer is on. He knows that this bothers me, so he was doing it on purpose. Well, I had enough. Closed the laptop and re-stored it in the case. No "sorry" from him, just "bye". Since I had just refilled my coffee, I just sat there and finished my coffee and left.

Getting warmer, so started getting ready for a bike ride. Kitten up, aired the tires in the road bike, and went to put the bike on the rack. Tried to change to rack orientation, but the bike carrier bars would not stay up.

Headed to town to the bike shop. If I didn't go there today, I would also be without the rack tomorrow as they are closed on Mondays. Latching mechanism was partially broken and a piece was jamming the internals. Rack is now "serviceable" but I would not trust it for the upcoming trip. Will talk more about the problems Tuesday and see what remedies are available.

Finally, back to the house, grabbed the bike, water, & PowerAde. Parked at the Wabash Trace trailhead and rode to the Trails Center. Sure happy to be on the bike - some time to chill out and enjoy a ride.

Today's photo was taken on the Lake Manawa Trail along Mosquito Creek. It is now clear that the construction involves additions ot the storm sewer.

Feel better after the ride. Could have used my light jacket (or long sleeve jersey) but generally comfortable.

Bike Bash 2012

Last night was the Psycowpath Mountain Bike Racing Series awards banquet, also know as "Bike Bash". The party was held at Platte River State Park. Many rode the trails before the banquet.

Thanks to the cooks and promoters for putting on the feed. Thanks to the race sponsors (a couple which were in attendance (and racers).

Turn-out was a little smaller than previous years. Of course, we had races out of the area at other races this weekend in Bend, OR, Cable, WI, and Iowa City, IA. Some of the podiums were missing winners. A couple were empty.

MCs for the evening were Roxy & Ryan. Psycow-Spirit award(s) went to "Em" Kenoyer and Dave Packard. Karl "Crash" put together the video presentation highlighting the season.

All-in-all. it was a fun evening. Photos I took during the bash are posted on my race and events photo web site: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com

River's Edge Park

With a wind out of the SW yesterday, it was a good day to ride Iowa Riverfront Trail. Wanted to check out the work being done along the river. And, the weather was great for a ride - sunny and temperature in the 70s.

Brought the road bike for my ride. Parked at Big Lake. Lots of folks out to fish and picnic. It had been a while since I rode that was. Where the Ramada Inn used to be, there's a residence house. Streets added on the area.

I crossed N 25th St and down along I-29. Opted to walk the bike where a new pumping station was built. Pavement ended there for a short distance. Just a little too rough for my skinny tires.

Up on the levee, there's a chain link fence along the trail. The fence separates the trail from a new "haul road" between the levee and the river. Looks like they are hauling dirt and rocks along the river chute. At coffee, I heard they may be adding a marina in that area.

On over to the Bob Bridge and River's Edge Park (under construction). The photo above is of the park construction, the iowa Riverfront Trail and the Bob Bridge in the background. Surfing, I found some illustrations of what the park would look like when completed. Of course, the question that brings to mind: What happens when the river flood next time?

Rode on to the Western Historic Trails Center. Visited there, signed the book. While there, a couple of my friends stopped in while on there ride. They were headed to the Bob Bridge to check on the new park.

Took some more photos on the way back to the car. Turned out to be a very good 14 mile ride (specially riding with the wind on the way back).

GnomeFest Photos

Photos I took at GnomeFest Nueve (Nine Mile Forest - Wausau, WI) have been posted on my events and race photo site. There are also photos I took that Sunday on the Mountain-Bay trail.

Comment: It is very difficult to contact the folks promoting Gnomefest. i would like to send them the link to my photos. The Gnomefest web site does not include any contact or "about" information. Facebook page is locked down so that visitors cannot post or comment, and the only contact info is the web site.

Link to photos: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com

Enjoy!

Mountain-Bay Trail

I just did not to get out of bed this morning. Felt so good to be horizontal. Finally, I got up and dressed for breakfast. Loaded up carbs (2 waffles with syrup) and caffeine.

Spent some time in the room resizing photos to post to facebook. Eventually I kitted up for my bicycle ride on the Mountain-Bay Trail. Was planning to park at the end of the trail in Weston, WI. But, there was no kiosk and trail use fee envelopes.

Internet search indicates Sprocketz is a bicycle shop in the area and the contact tab on their web site show they are open Sundays. WRONG - fall hours, closed Sunday and Monday per their door. Checked the visitor map again and found Municipal Drive off Schofield. There, I found the trailhead.

The information center was open. Paid my trail fee ($4 for day pass), grabbed the bike, and headed East on the trail.

Guess I have been riding paved trails too much - the crushed stone felt like I was always climbing. And the body has not recovered from yesterday. Legs were talking back to me!

Made it a little past Clubhouse Road, a little over 5 miles. Did not trust my legs to go further and still get back to the car. On the way back, I stopped to check out a place where there is a well with pump, a bicycle rack, and view of the Eau Claire River. When i got the the river, I found there's even 2 picnic tables.

For about 1.5 miles, there is a parallel paved trail. My legs thanked me for riding the paved trail! Glad i did not ride further until I turned over. Legs were about "toast" when I got back to the car.

Dinner at cousin & husband house with aunt, uncle, and my mom. Tomorrow back to Kenosha.

Bikes & Beer

Today was a day filled with Bike & Beer (with some singletrack thrown in). It was rough getting out of bed this morning. Had some breakfast at the hotel. The coffee did not seem to help.

Off to the festival, bringing the Fuel EX7. The first function was the Ladies Ride with MTB Hall of Famer - Jacquie Phelan. After the ladies headed out, the guys (me included) hit the trails.

I rode up to behind the chalet. Found number 4 singletrack trail. The area is full of Nordic ski trails. Many of the ski trails also had sing;e/double track trails down them.

From Trail 4, I turned right onto Trail 7. Rode this loop trail back to the intersection with Trail 4. Back on Trail 4 to the chalet. Was a good 2.7 mile ride. Most of the trail I was able to ride without problem - Blue trails. Had to walk sections where heavy rooted and specially rooty climbs.

Next, we met the Ladies Ride at another parking lot. That's where the Dirt Cat started (ending back to GnomeFest City Hall). After the group departed, I went back to the hotel. Picked up "good" beer for the Beer Pot Luck. (I selected Totally Naked by Glarus Brewing - figure the Penske truck)the name was at least appropriate for the function) Then some food at Texas Roadhouse.

Was thinking of maybe riding again in the afternoon - but we were hit with a shower so put the bike in the room and headed to Awards and Chili Cook-Off. The storms were brewing in the West, so moved things into the chalet (thanks to Marathon County for letting us use the chalet).

We got a couple of deluges just before and during the awards. Was a bit noisy in the chalet, but I suffered through. shot photos, ate some chili, drank some beer, and hoped to be a winner in the raffle. Winning a raffle prize was a bust.

Back to the main meeting area with the evening's bonfire. Chatted and took a few photos. Drunk O’Clock (dark) – The Dwarfcycle Figure Eight Death Races was on the schedule. This old body had just had enough, to headed back to the hotel. Downloaded photos and wrote this blog posting.

Watch for photos posted on my race/event photo site - Win-Photo.photoreflect.com

GnomeFest Nueve

The party is on!

About 6:30 I made my way over to Nine Mile Forest to register for the festival. When I got to the registration truck, I saw my FORC friends Carol & Dave. Visited a little while in the line. Stopped by their group campsite after registration.

Soon it was getting dark. The bonfire was lite and the first 2 kegs were tapped (Oktoberfest & Pilsner). (see photo).

Little tired from the driving, I called it an evening early (8pm). Folks were getting ready for a night ride. In the morning i will check on trail maps and recommendation for riding.

Its getting to be bed time. OH, in case you are wondering where the festivities are being held (where is Nine Mike Forest?), I am in the Wausau, WI area.

Detour!

The last week, I just didn't feel like riding. Today, I HAD to get out. Did our Sunday Morning coffee at Panera. Had the road bike with me.

I was not the only one out for a bike ride. Johm rode his bike to coffee. When I got to the Wabash Trace Trailhead, the parking lot was almost full with cars with bike racks.

It was about 9am when I headed on on the trail. Temperature was in the upper 60s, sunny, with almost calm winds.

At Mosquito Creek, I encountered the detours. As mentioned in a earlier post, it looks like they are doing storm sewer work. Today's photo is taken from one of the detours. You can see that the levee had been cut - same point where there is a manhole. Rocks have been places at the slope to the creek.

Rode on over to the Western Historic Trails Center. Visited, consumed my Gs and a granola bar, and headed back. Lots of other folks out on their bikes today. By the time I was back at the car, it was almost 11 and 80 degrees.

Tired, but glad I was out to ride.