A Season of Bikey Fun

Well, it would appear that the biking season is over.  The weather cut it short, just like it delayed its start.  Cold and wet weather made it it difficult to get out very often.  And cold and wet cut the season short, making it hard to get out very much.  As a result, I ended up riding fewer miles this year than either or the last two.  It was better than it looked for a while, though.  At one time I wasn't sure I was going to get over 200 miles.  But in the end I did 282 miles, compared to 445 in 2015 and 460 in 2016.  I noticed that my total miles, since starting riding again, is just under 1,200.  That was disappointing, I had really hoped to get over 1,200.  Ah, well.

Because of various construction projects going on around here, most of the riding I did this summer tended to be out of town.  I normally do most of my of riding in town but some of my favorite routes were closed.  But I still saw some pretty areas around here.

It occurred to me that I tend to do a lot of my riding on the trails, using the roads mostly to get to and from the trails since none of them run right by my house.

I like to take my camera with me, you never know when you'll see something interesting.

For the most part, it never really got real hot this summer.  That was also nice.  It did get windy, though.  I don't like riding when the wind gets much over 10 mph.  I'm a wimp, what can I say.  And don't like riding in the rain.  My big objection with rain is the effect it has on bicycle brakes.  That, and the stripe you get up your back when you ride on wet roads.  My bike doesn't have fenders, or splash guards. So, yeah.  I don't got out when its real wet or raining.

At the New Glarus trail head of the Sugar River State Trail

I did manage to meet pretty much all my biking goals this year, except one.  That was how many miles I got in during the season.  I had hoped to at least meet the same number of miles I made last year. 

The north entrance to the Stewart Tunnel

One of my goals this summer was to ride the Stewart Tunnel, near New Glarus, WI.  That tunnel is about 1,200 feet long with a curve at the middle so that you can't see the other end when you start out. 

The south entrance to the Stewart Tunnel

That tunnel is on the Badger State Trail.  I did manage to get there and ride through it.  That was a bit of work but also a lot of fun.  It was a fun day.

On the Badger State trail a little north of its intersection with the Sugar River trail

There were some interesting sights along the Badger State Trail.  And the ride back to New Glarus was on the Sugar River Trail, also an interesting ride.

The Tomorrow River State Trail

I also rode on the Tomorrow River State Trail. That's another beautiful trail. 

The Tomorrow River State Trail

The Tomorrow River trail runs for 29 miles between Portage and Waupaca counties, through some very nice terrain.  And for the most part, the trail is level.  Most places where there are hills are small and gentle.  My kind of riding.

The Tomorrow River State Trail

I like the places along any of the state trails I've been on where the foliage closes in close to the trail.  There was one ride where I left pretty late in the day and traveled part of the trail after dark.  Good thing I have a good light, made it trip much nicer.  The only downside of riding after dark is I can't see what gear I'm in.  But that's a minor thing.

One other things I've been wanting to do was ride to a certain train trestle.  I had ridden to where I thought it was last year but it turned out to be the wrong crossing.  This year I made it to the right crossing.

There really isn't anything special about this crossing, its just one that caught my attention.

And the fun thing about the trip there is just as I was putting things away, getting ready to head out, a train went by.  That was unexpected and serendipitous. I like trains so it's always fun to have one go by up close and personal. 

Riding out in the country gets away from the urban areas, away from the city streets and sights.  And it brings its own set of smells when riding around.  Fewer fireplace fires, fewer barbecue cook outs, and less burning leaves.  More of the pungent smells of various barnyards and farm fields.  Freshly plowed fields, freshly mowed hay fields.  I've always loved the smell of fresh cut hay, since I was a kid and we'd go help my grandfather harvest his hay crop.

Saw plenty of deer while out on my bike this year.  In fact, there is one area that every time I went through it there were a number of deer.

On the trails around this area there will often be sections of boardwalk, places where the path goes through a wetland area.  In those places they will build a boardwalk to keep you up out of the mud and water. 

Whether on boardwalks or not, I think my favorite time to ride the trails is in the fall when the leaves turn colors. 

The variety of trees is amazing.  Lots of maple trees, which have the best colors when they turn.  That's where all the reds, yellows, and oranges come from.

The oaks make rusty browns that linger longer than the other trees.  The oaks never really drop their leaves, they will stay on all winter so that sometimes people have to rake in the spring as well as the fall.

Anyway, I really like riding out in the trees on the trails.  Lots of interesting things to see. 

I will often see animals and birds but not be fast enough to get stopped and get my camera out for a picture.  I almost always take my camera with me when I ride.  Never know what you'll see on the trails.

Sunset through the trees

One thing I accomplished this summer was something I've been wanting to do for the last couple of years.  There is a parking garage in the area that has a number of different levels and a circular drive between the levels.  Like a spiral staircase for cars.  I've wanted to ride down that since I began riding my bike again.  This year I did it.  And what's fun is I was able to get it on camera.  The light kind of played with the video quality, going from light to dark to light to dark from the lights in the garage.  But it still turned out to be a fun video.  Went pretty fast, even though I had the brakes on nearly the whole way down.

So that was my biking summer. Except for not being able to get out as often as I would have liked, it was a good summer.  One thing I found was that the Stewart Tunnel is not the longest bike trail tunnel in the state.  I was pretty sure I read somewhere that it was but later I discovered that Tunnel No. 3 on the Elroy-Sparta trail is 3/4 a mile long, quite a bit farther than 1,200 feet.  So next year I have to get to that tunnel.  That will be one of next year's biking goals.  Let the good times roll!