Out Again for Another Season

Last year I got some cold weather gear so I could go out when it was colder.  So now I normally don't go out on my bike when it's below 40 degrees.  50 used to be my limit but now I could get out a little sooner in the year, on days a little colder. But then, last year, my season began in February and this year I thought, why not get out every month!  So as last winter turned out unseasonably warm, and the New Year holiday went by, I determined to make it out at least once every month in 2024. Alas, the weather did not cooperate.   

By January 29th I had not yet been out and the extended forecast didn't look like it was going to get above 40. So I decided to tough out the few degrees below 40 and get out anyway.  

We hadn't got much snow but there was still some left.  And the ponds around town were still frozen over.  But it was go or miss the goal.  So I went. I only got out once in January but I did get out.

February had a few more warmer days, I got out four times.  I even got Brombeere to go out with  me on one of those rides.  Still, there was plenty of snow and ice around.

When March rolled around it was still cold, plus we spent some time out of town visiting family, so I didn't get out a lot.  But I did get out some more.

When April got here we went on a big trip out to Oregon and had a great time. That was a longer trip so it took some time away from bike riding but it was well worth it. And, it was getting warmer at home.  I liked that!  I was even able to talk Brombeere into going out with me on another ride.  That was nice.

By the beginning of May the leaves were starting to get serious about coming on and the scenery was beginning to get nicer.

Once the leaves got started, they came on fast.  I liked that, riding gets really nice once the leaves are out.  In just a matter of a couple of weeks, the leaves were nearly fully out.

By the end of May, being out on the bike was very nice.

June was nice, mostly on the trails but sometimes out in the country, out of town.  Seeing more and more of the wildlife in the area.

During July I still got out a lot, even though it was getting hotter.  I also spent some time getting bikes for Schwarzbeere's kids working and going on several shorter rides with them. 

While they enjoyed riding their own bikes, they also liked playing on Brombeere's bike.  Mine was too big, they couldn't reach the pedals at all.  But it was fun going out with them when they were around and interested in going out.

We even got Schwarzbeere out with his kids a few times.  That was fun to see.  He fits Brombeere's bike much better than any of his kids. There was also one time when I was out with his oldest, racing to get back before it rained on us.  Yeah, One of us was more happy to have made it back than the other.

August was a nice month also.  Lots of pretty scenery, more wildlife.  Good times.

We also got in a fun ride with Blaubeere and her kids.  That was a challenge.  It began with scheduling difficulties, we had to reschedule a couple of times.  The ride itself also began with some mechanical troubles on one of the bikes.  But we got it taken care of pretty quick and got off to a very nice ride.

September was a busy month; Himbeere got married.  There was a lot of time spent getting ready for that and then enjoying the occasion, especially all the family that came for the wedding.  Every one of his siblings made it.  That was very nice.  But, despite all that was going on with the wedding, I still made it out several times.  Right at the end of September, Brombeere and I also took the time to go to a trail we'd been hearing a lot about. We made a little vacation out of it and enjoyed a real nice time.  

September also brought fall, the days were getting shorter, farmers were harvesting their crop. and the weather was getting cooler.  That was a nice thing.

October also brought the wonderful fall colors.  As fall was coming on we went back and forth about whether or not the colors would be good this year.  While they didn't make it to peak in time for the wedding, when they finally arrived they were spectacular this year.  Very nice to be out in.

The weather was also cooling down enough that I got my cold weather gear back out so I could keep riding.  Brisk but riding helps keep you warm.  

November arrived and I got out a few times but then winter arrived. It got cold and windy, more so than I liked to be out in.

We started getting frost in the morning ...

Then we started getting snow.  Not a lot, but it was definitely snow.  And wind.  Too cold to go out.  But the happy thing was, during November I reached 600 miles for the season.  A first! An all time best!

As December progressed and I kept watching the extended forecast, I began to wonder if I was going to evet get out; cold, wet, and windy day after day.  This December was looking like it was definitely going to be more like a normal December around here.  And I really didn't have the whole month to wait for a good day - we had plans that were going to make the last part of the month impossible to get out on the bike.

Finally a day came along that was warm enough but a bit more windy than I like.  It looked like I was going to have to "bend" the rules a little, just like I had last January.  So I planned a route that was long enough to qualify as a bike ride and minimized the time I'd be riding into the wind.

I wasn't the only crazy one out.  If you can see the water through the ice it's definitely not thick enough to be out fishing on it.  But there they were.

The route I had planned actually worked pretty good.  Only had to ride against the wind a little bit and for sure warmer than last January's ride.  There hadn't been any great accumulation of snow so that wasn't a problem.  It actually was a nice ride.  And it didn't need to be a long ride, either.  So I took an indirect route to the post office and back, and got my December ride in and some Christmas cards in the mail.  That meant I had been out every month all year.  Actually, I had been out every month since February 2023.  Not bad.  We'll have to see how January is to see if I am going to keep that streak going.  If this winter is going to be more normal than last winter was I may not get out in January next month.

It was a good season, got all my goals and enjoyed some very nice times out on my bike.  Not bad for an old guy.

Up Nort

We have a friend who is also a casual biking enthusiast who has been telling me for a number of years about how good the biking is in Vilas County, Wisconsin. He even went so far as to pick up a brochure, when he was in the area recently for business, and brought it to us. So, since we were looking for a short, relaxing trip, that also included a fun bike ride, we decided to go check it out.  I did a little research, we picked a date, and we made a reservation.  

Then, on the appointed day, we loaded the bikes and everything else into the car and took off!

This was only going to be an overnight trip but even at that, a bike ride was not going to fill all the time. So our research included things to see in the area.  The first stop we made was in Woodruff, to see what was billed as the "World's Largest Penny".  It has an interesting story behind it. Back in 1952 a local doctor had a dream of having a hospital so a teacher at the local school organized a fund raiser, collecting pennies, to help build the hospital. In just 107 days. over 1,700,000  pennies were collected from all over the world. The hospital was built, and because the pennies continued to flow in for a while, a scholarship fund was also established.  To commemorate the accomplishment, a concrete penny was put up as a monument to the event.  Since it was there, we had to stop and see it.

And since it was about lunch time, we also stopped at a local restaurant and had lunch.  It was yummy.

Then it was on to where we were staying for the trip.  Despite the fact that the main industry in northern Wisconsin is tourism, our favorite motel chain didn't have a motel in the city we decided to stay in so we rented an Airbnb in St Germain to stay at.  You're always taking a bit of a chance to do that, but this place turned out to be very nice.  We would stay there again if we were visiting the area again.

After checking in, we went right away to the point on the trail we had decided to do our ride.  The trail's name is The Heart of Vilas County Trail.  It is a 50 mile trail that runs from Mercer, through Manitowish Waters, Boulder Junction, St Germain (where we were staying), and on to Sayner.  It runs along one road or another for that whole distance, sometimes right next to the road, sometimes off through the trees a little ways away from the road. And it's paved the whole way. Sweet!

Along that way there are way stations, parking lots with restrooms, benches, picnic tables, maps, and what they called "fixation stations", where adjustments and minor repairs could be done, and air pumps were available if needed.  This trail caters to bike riders.  Pretty nice. Our ride was planned to be from one way station to the next, about six miles, at which point we would turn around and come back, a total of about 12 miles. The spot we were beginning at was called the North Creek Loop trail.

So we got to the way station, unloaded the bikes, and took off!

During our ride we crossed a number of bridges.  There are a lot of lakes and rivers in this county. It was a very nice ride.

An added bonus was the fall colors were a little more advanced in this area than they were at home.  Not yet as far along as peak, but still very nice.  

The one thing I have always found difficult is telling what the terrain is along any given trail before actually going there. And so it was with this trail also.  We started a little west of Boulder Junction and planned to go west toward Manitowish Waters. The best description I had been able to find was that it was "mostly flat". But in actually getting there and riding on it, we found that the further west we went, the more significant the hills got.  It finally reached the  point where the hills were too much, they were wearing us out.  So we turned around a couple of miles earlier than originally planned, at about four miles.  As we were on the way back we found that once again, even though it had looked like it was level or even downhill one the way out, it had actually been a little uphill the first part of the ride.  That made the return trip easier than we had been expecting.  That was nice. All in all, it was a very nice ride.  A little shorter than planned but still very nice, a very nice ride.  I'd be willing to go back another time and try a different stretch.

The way back to St Germain included going by "Marty the Musky", a giant fish located by the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce.  Of course we had to stop for a picture.  Then it was back to St Germain, where we got some supper and took it back to the Airbnb to enjoy a quiet evening, resting up from the ride (read: hills) we had just finished.  We had the TV on to an old movie, Heaven Can Wait, released in 1943.  It was entertaining, although not quite what we were expecting when we chose to turn it on.  We had thought it would be an earlier version of the 1978 movie staring Warren Beatty.  But it was still good. And an interesting way to end a very nice day.

Check out time was 10:00am so the next morning we were up, breakfasted, and out in time to make the deadline.  The plan today was to find Rustic Road 60 and drive from one end to the other.  

To be designated as a rustic road in Wisconsin, a road needs to be lightly traveled, have outstanding natural features, and be available to the public for travel by auto, bike, or walking, for recreational enjoyment.  We have found them to be quite enjoyable. There are currently 126 rustic roads scattered around the state but only one in Vilas County, Rustic Road number 60.

We found the beginning at the intersection of County Road K and County Road N, northeast of Sayner, WI.  We hadn't gone far when we came across an old mill site on Star Lake.

There's nothing was left of the mill except the sign at the turn-off. But was a small, nice little park, Centennial Park.  It was a very tranquil place to view the lake and enjoy the woods. 

We spent a while enjoying the lake and woods, a very clear lake.  We had the place pretty much to ourselves.

After leaving the park, we continued along the road, enjoying the forest and colors. The arrival of fall colors is a variable thing from year to year.  This year we were just seeing the beginnings of it this far north.  This would have been a glorious drive in a couple more weeks.  But even now, with the colors just off to a good start, it was beautiful.

All too soon, we came to the end of the road and it was time to be on our way.

On our way out we stopped at the Vilas County Historical Museum in Sayner to get a photo of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.  We had driven past it several times on this trip so we had to stop and get a picture.

Then it was back to St Germain to a little shop called Cathy's Ice Cream N Candy Shoppe.  They had some interesting rocks outside.

And, of course, we had to have some ice cream.  Some yummy flavors.  We also got some fudge and taffy.  Nice stuff.  

This was a short trip but it was very relaxing, which is what we were looking for.  Got in a bike ride on a trail that was every bit as good as we were told. Saw some sights, enjoyed each others company, and had a good time.  Nothing could be finer.

In Training

Schwarzbeere's kids have been with us often this summer.  His oldest is already proficient on a bike.  He also has a bike but it's not here with us so when he's here he's unable to ride it.  But Blaubeere took care of that for us.  Her kids had outgrown their bikes and they had already replaced them, a while ago.  Then their old bikes sat around taking up space at her house until it occurred to her that Schwarzbeere's kids might be interested in them.  So we brought them over here.  The biggest one was already in good working order and of a size that is well suited for him, so we suggested to Schwarzbeere's oldest that he might be able to ride it.  He liked that idea.   

And so we let him try it out.  He was sold.  Now he just needed someone to ride with him.  That brings us to the Schwarzbeere's other two kids.  Blaubeere had offered a total of three bikes, two of which had been sitting around longer.  They were smaller and needed a bit of work before they would be rideable. Plus, although Schwarzbeere's two youngest had already expressed interest in riding them, they also both felt they needed training wheels to be able to ride them. Alas, they did not have training wheels attached.  I looked at the local stores that carried bike supplies but nobody had them.  So I ended up ordering them online.

And, at last, they came.  It was a while before I had time to work on them but finally the day came.  First step, assemble the training wheels.

That was a relatively simple process, despite poor instructions.  Again, just pictures, no explanations.  What you going to do?  

But it didn't take long before I had the first set done and ready to go on the bike.  I picked the bike the youngest would use because that bike didn't have any flat tires.  

Once the training wheels were on I adjusted the seat to fit her and it was ready to go.

She had been monitoring the whole process pretty closely up to this point so she was only too happy to give it a try.

Riding a bike with training wheels is pretty basic but there are still some basics to learn. But she picked it up pretty quick and pretty soon she was riding around the driveway like an old pro.  She was pretty happy.

The last bike was a different matter.  It was also smaller so I had to adjust the seat as high as it would go.  But that was enough.  It also had a flat.  So that needed to be fixed.  Fortunately, fixing it only required pumping it up.  It held air over night so we were good to go.  But then the front tire. . .   

Try as I might, I couldn't even get air to go into it.  You could hear the air escaping as fast as you pumped. Very frustrating.  I finally stopped and took the tire off.

I took the tube out and inspected it closely.  I also had Schwarzbeere check real close.  He found a hole right by the stem.  Guess that explained it.  So we got a new tube.  I got the new tube in and pumped it up.  I thought I had been careful getting it back together but I must not have been careful enough.  I had it pumped and set it by the bike, ready to go back on, when the tube exploded.  This must be getting to be old stuff, Brombeere didn't come out to see what the noise was this time.  So I had to get another tube.  While I was waiting, I put the training wheels together and got them on.

With the new tube in, it pumped up much better.  With the training wheels on it was ready to go.

The young man sat upon it and was happy.  The bike was generally a bit small but, still, it worked. And it was what we had so I was happy.  

So, after trying it out in the driveway, he was all set, ready to go.  A happy kid. Now we just needed a time when they were all here and the weather was cooperating enough for all of us to go on a ride.  We also need to get helmets for the youngest two.

A few days later we finally had everything, helmets, good weather, and time to take everyone on a ride!

Everyone was out and ready! This was the first ride for the two littlest and, unfortunately, it didn't go as envisioned.  But it was good, very good for a first ride. Instead of a short ride around the block we ended up in a near by parking lot, where it went much better. They got in some good practice. And we hope they will get better and be able to have longer, more fun rides!