Chuck's Big Ride

Ride Day Twenty-Nine: Manchester Center to Woodstock, VT — 59.8 Miles

It was a perfect morning to ride and the first 17 miles were pretty flat so it was a good warmup for what was to come later.  The geology along route 7 going north was spectacular.  Here are a couple of examples.

A short distance north of Manchester Center in the town of Dorset I spotted this sign.  You know my fascination with odd signs and street names.

One could certainly make up some good stories about how that road got named, but the real story, which I don't know, is likely better. Once I made the turn off of route 7 the climbing began, so there aren't a lot of photos.  Getting started on uphill slopes, particularly on some of the (not so) packed gravel roads I was on is a challenge, so I chose not to stop often.  As I got higher the colors began to be more dramatic, but the trees still have a ways to go to be in full autumn splendor.

And, shortly after turning onto Gorge Road I discovered the Kingsley grist mill and covered bridge.  Here are photos of the sign marking the historic spot and the covered bridge nearby.

According to Blood, Sweat, & Tears "What goes up must come down, Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round."  And so it was today.  After more climbing than I'd done in a single day on this trip, I went over the top and had a long downhill ride.  Too bad that much of it was on a gravel road with washboard and potholes at times.  It was a little hard to let the "spinnin' wheel" max that downhill.  Once on route 4 it was an easy flat and downhill pedal to our destination, but we really needed to stop in Bridgewater for a Maple Creamee — a soft serve maple ice cream cone.  When in Vermont...

Just across the street from the deli where we got the cones was this unique building. 

It was a store that sells handmade drums and other crafts.  I just love the trees on the front of the building.

I thought I would be taking route 4 all the way into Woodstock, but just about four miles out of town the voice in my head (GPS talking through my Coros helmet) told me to turn right and take another road, which took me through this covered bridge.

Once again I was on a somewhat hard-packed gravel road, but with very little traffic.  The road was supposed to lead me into Woodstock.  Then I saw the Road Work Ahead, then a large piece of equipment blocking the road (I rode around it).  I finally arrived at a spot where there were at least 15 men with hardhats standing.  I said hi and asked if I could take the bridge to my left.  One of the guys said I could, then said, pointing, "they're packing dynamite."  I laughed, thinking he was making a joke.  Then he said.  "No, they're packing dynamite." I told them I was "outa there," and quickly rode across the bridge, rejoining route 4 about a mile and a half outside of Woodstock.

Woodstock is a lovely little town and was crawling with "leaf peepers" this afternoon.  There was traffic everywhere and the sidewalks were packed with people going in and out of shops, including The Yankee Bookshop, the oldest independent bookstore in Vermont.  We stopped to say hi to the new owners Kari and Kristian, who took over the shop in February.  They're the eighth owners since the store was opened in 1935.  We talked a bit about the business and about Binc.  Here's a photo in front of the shop.

After saying goodbye we headed off to our campsite at the local KOA and were greeted by this Halloween decor.

It's one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed in.  Not only is the shower house spic and span, but they've even hung art on the walls. 

Ride Day Twenty-Nine by the numbers:

59.8 — miles ridden

3218.5 — feet in elevation gained (the most of any day on this trip, but it pales by comparison to day two, over the Cascades, on the 2015 ride)

5985.13 — calories burned

2 — fall-free days

0 — dogs

Ride Day Twenty-Seven: Ilion to Saratoga Springs, NY — 80.9 Miles

The morning was, once again, cool and there was "steam fog" rising from the river.  If you've never heard of "steam fog" check this out.

I decided today was a music day and that I'd listen again to some music I haven't heard for a while.  I began with Frank Zappa.  Zappa, who may be best known for his satire of American culture, created more than 60 albums spanning rock, jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and orchestral music.  Rolling Stone magazine not only named him one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, but also placed him at number 22 of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.  Next came Jimmy Buffet and some feel-good, island-escapism tunes, with a little social comment thrown in for good measure.  I couldn't help thinking of our good friend Ray Dunn, who is an avid Buffet fan.  K.D. Lang was next up with the soundtrack of the movie "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues." The movie, in spite of a stellar cast — Uma Thurman, Keanau Reeves, Angie Dickinson, Buck Henry, John Hurt, etc., etc. was a flop, but the soundtrack was not.  And, the book is still a favorite and available here.  I moved on to K.D. Lang's album "Shadowland." After all, "too much K.D. Lang" is an oxymoron. Her classic rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympics bears re-watching here. Next came an old Billy Joel album I haven't listened to for ages.  I wrapped up the morning listening to one of my favorite local bands, the Prozac Mountain Boys, who have been guests on the Chuckanut Radio Hour several times.

Speaking of the Chuckanut Radio Hour, this Thursday evening's CRH will be a special Whatcom Community College 50th Anniversary celebration.  The show will feature Nathalia Holt, author of The Rise of the Rocket Girls.  Go here for information about the show.  Whatcom Community College is one of the organizations for which I'm raising money.  This would be a great time for you to donate here.

I've often mentioned the wildlife I've seen along the way.  Over the course of the ride I've only seen a few rabbits, but today attempted to make up for that.  I actually lost count, but I saw three within just a few minutes and others during the day.  Here's one that sat still long enough for a portrait.

Before I hit the trail I had one encounter with a dog.  It was standing in a driveway as I rode up and began moving toward me, looking more playful than vicious.  I yelled NO! NO! and the dog stopped in its tracks. 

The ride today was a mix of roads and trail, with an assortment of trail surfaces as before. There were some interesting features on the trail today.  At one point I was riding in a fairly narrow "canyon" and spotted this tunnel ahead.

Looking back from a ways down the trail the "canyon" looked like this.

The canal trail was along the Mohawk River much of the time.  I spotted this mile marker, but the trail was far enough from the river at that point that I suspect it was a road or railroad marker.

Shortly before lunch in Amsterdam (no not THAT Amsterdam, or the ones in California, New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, Texas, or Virginia. The one in New York) I had nearly seven miles of paved trail that was fairly smooth, except for the usual root bumps at times.  But, just over a quarter mile of the trail was the most unusual I've ridden.  Take a look.

That's right, two lanes and my own bridge.  I was hoping this ran all the way to Amsterdam, but no, the trail resumed just the other side of the bridge.

After riding the first fifty miles I ate a big meal at Shorty's Tavern — hot beef open-faced sandwich, with fries soaked in gravy.  I should have taken a picture.  I couldn't finish the fries.  It was just too much.

I needed some strong beat music for the after-lunch, hill-climbing, road-riding, segment of the day so I put on "Rock Anthems, Vol II", Lazlo Bane's "Guilty Pleasures" (covers of rock classics),

The last thirty miles to Saratoga Springs was on roads, the first few miles of which were in the city of Amsterdam.  Boy could these folks learn a bit about bike lanes from their namesake — they have none.  I was riding on busy highway 67 with a very narrow lane...in some places, and none in others. Once I got out of town, bless the state of New York, the shoulder was wide and smooth and the rest of the ride was good.

About four miles from tonight's campground I came to a road where I thought I should be turning, but the voice on my GPS didn't tell me to turn.  So I came to a stop, but I once again experienced the "failure to unclip" syndrome and fell over, skinning my right knee and calf. And I'd gone so long without a fall.

Yesterday I mentioned finishing Sunil Yapa's Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist.  Here's a link to a great interview with Yapa, conducted by Christine Perkins, Director of Whatcom County Library System.

Ride Day Twenty-Seven by the numbers:

80.9 — miles ridden

2923.1 — feet in elevation gained

8106.1 — calories burned

1 — fall (see above)

1 - dog (see above)

 

Thanks to Beth Golay, who does the blog "Books and Whatnot," you can also follow the journey on Story Map.

 

Ride Day Twenty-Six: Green Lakes State Park to Ilion, NY — 65 Miles

It was a little warmer this morning when I began the ride — 47 vs. 40 yesterday.  It still felt a little crisp, but it was a beautiful fall day here with lots of sunshine.  Trails today varied from several miles of smooth asphalt, to asphalt with many root bumps, to packed limestone, to loose limestone, to single-track packed earth, and a few miles of 0n-road.  One was regularly surprised by sudden changes in the surface. The canal also changed quite regularly from very clear and apparently navigable to this, and worse.

Apples and walnuts and pine cones, oh my.  Often in the past few days, today included, I would come upon a cluster of apples, walnuts, or large pine cones littered across the trail, making forward navigation difficult at best.  Trying to bob and weave and not hit the little trail-blockers was a challenge, but it did keep one alert.

I've seen hundreds — perhaps thousands — of Canada Geese in the past couple of weeks.  This morning was no exception.  I heard them first, then saw them circling, then saw them landing on the water.

At one point I spotted what I assumed to be grain elevators.  At least they looked like those of my youth in the Midwest.  Then I remembered being told that coal towers looked like this as well.  So, I'm not sure what these are, but they were right along the canal.

Because much of the ride was along isolated trails with little distraction — other than the aforementioned "trail-blockers," I decided to continue listening to Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa. I mentioned the other day that the book is the 2017 - 2018 WhatcomREADS selection and that Yapa will be in Bellingham March 8 - 10.  The audio version of the book is available here, and the print edition is available here.

As I mentioned before, the story is set at the time of the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.  It focuses on seven characters and their interactions, bringing many perspectives forward. I was stunned by the book, and nearly sobbed as it ended, overcome with a deep sadness.

I spent the next couple of hours in silence, thinking in part about the book I'd just listened to and in part letting my mind wander.  Later in the day I put on some more tunes — Paul McCartney, Patsy Cline, and Billy Joel.  There's a mix for you.

Earlier in the trip I took a photo of a 1956 Ford.  Here's another that I came across today.

There were lots of historic markers and story boards along this section of the canal.  One of the first talked about the "long level," the section of the canal that was built first because it had little rise and required no locks.  Here's the marker describing that section.

This storyboard was about Dewitt Clinton, Governor of NY during the building of the canal, and the man considered most responsible for its construction.

Rome (no, not that Rome, or Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa, or Maine — the one in New York) was where construction began on the canal, and this plaque marked that place.

Tomorrow will be my last day on the canal.  I've modified my route a couple of times now.  First, enjoying the canal, I decided to ride its entire length.  Now, I've decided to ride to Amsterdam along the canal, then head off to Saratoga Springs, where our friend Chris Morrow has a bookstore.

Ride Day Twenty-Six by the numbers:

65 — miles ridden

813.6 — feet in elevation gained

6510.2 — calories burned

0 — falls

0 — dogs

 

 

 

Ride Day Twenty-Five: Newark to Syracuse, NY — 48.5 Miles

It was a cool enough morning that Matt and I put on some cool weather gear.  We may have been exaggerating in this photo, but it was only 40 degrees when we took off.

Much of the early part of the ride was on roads, including along bicycle route 5.  The shoulders were wide and smooth and allowed us, at most times, to ride side by side and converse.  I should mention that Matt also has a Coros helmet, and like I, loves the audio features — listening to music, taking phone calls, getting directions from Google (though I don't think he's used that feature much).  So, today we both played music much of the time.  One of the things I really love about the helmet is that with ears free one can still converse with a fellow rider, as well as being able to hear Matt sing along to Queen's "Bicycle Race."  Here's Queen's official video of the song (Rated R for nudity).

We were also on some very quiet and smooth back roads.  Most directions were clear so we did very little "exploring" today.  However, there was the occasional perplexing instruction, e.g. "turn onto Tyre Road."

HUH?

We stopped for lunch today in Port Byron, which was a real coincidence since I taught at a high school in Port Byron...Illinois.  We had a great lunch, including my latest addiction, chocolate milk (more on that later).  When we came out Dee pointed out this sign at the house next door.  We hadn't realized we were eating in such an historic place.

Just a few miles down the road we spotted this great mural, painted on an abutment of a defunct bridge.

 

Did you notice Fala in the last photo? 

Farther on we noticed the sign for a side road that, having grown up in a Baptist church, I just couldn't pass up. 

Matt was fascinated by what he termed "an ocean of corn" and snapped this photo of me riding between two large fields.  Having grown up in "corn country," I was not quite as impressed as he, but it was a lot of corn.  I've yet to see any being picked, and today was only the second time I've seen evidence of field corn having been picked.  Some has looked ready, but these fields on both sides of the road still looked pretty green.

Later in the day we were back on the canal trail and it presented a wide variety of surfaces.  Some was very rough and our bikes were rattling as we rode.  This surface is what is referred to in the guides as "natural."  It reminded me of the one section of trail back in Michigan that was like this.

Much of the canal along which we rode today is unnavigable.  This was among the least overgrown and stagnant.  In some areas the water was extremely malodorous.

We did have one brief dog chase incident today.  Passing a farm house a fairly small dog began barking and running toward us on the road.  I stopped and barked back at the dog, stopping him in his tracks.  It was only after riding on that Matt pointed out that there had been another, slightly larger dog sitting in the yard, looking a little perplexed by my barking.

When we arrived at the outskirts of Syracuse we loaded up the bikes on the Rialta and took Matt to the bus station, but not before drinking some amazing chocolate milk (remember my addiction) — a gift from my friend Chris Wirth from the Pittsford Dairy.  Matt had left his car at the station after driving from his home in New Jersey and taking the bus from there to Rochester.  I'll miss riding with him.  It was a great two days that passed way too quickly.  We had a great time swapping stories about publishing and bookselling (he's been in the business for more than 25 years), and of course, biking, and a few bad jokes.  I really appreciate his coming to ride with me, and tolerating my pace.  He was a great riding companion.

Ride Day Twenty-five by the numbers:

48.5 — miles ridden

1466.6 — feet in elevation gained

4856.75 — calories burned

0 — falls

1 — dog chase (see above)

several — dogs heard but not seen

 

Thanks to Beth Golay, who does the blog "Books and Whatnot," you can also follow the journey on Story Map.

 

Ride Day Twenty: Conneaut, OH to Ripley, NY — 48.9 Miles

It's still very warm for this late in September.  I'm not complaining, just noting.  Though trying to cool off here tonight reminds me of days gone by in Midwest summers — take a shower and never get dry.  The ride today was pretty easy with little elevation gain, but enough hills to keep me active.  Within about twenty minutes of getting on the bike I was seeing this sign.

But an even more welcoming sign for a biker was this one...

...a sign designating a bike route, with an accompanying smooth, wide lane.  This was going to be a good day.

I decided that my playlist for today would be music I hadn't listened to recently, so I searched my music library for candidates. I began with Pat Benatar.  I've never been a Benatar fan.  That doesn't mean I don't like her music.  I just don't listen to her much, in fact, I'm not sure when or why I added this to my music library.  Had Dick Clark asked me to rate the music I'd tell him the beat is easy to ride to. I followed with Simon and Garfunkel.  I am a fan, it's just been a while since I've played this one.  It begins with "Mrs. Robinson," a bit of a nostalgic tune as Dee and I were student teaching when it was playing quite often on the radio, to the delight of her students. Others on the list today were the Yardbirds, Steely Dan, and "The Best of Doo Wop."

Wildlife, other than those slow-road-crossers, was a bit scarce today.  I did see this flock of wild turkeys (look closely in the shadows on the left) right by the welcome to Pennsylvania sign.  I just couldn't get the phone camera ready quickly enough.  It would have made a great statement.

The other "wildlife" I spotted were floating on a pond beside the road. Look closely.  I could have taken all day to get the camera because...

...they're decoys.

Crops here have changed greatly.  While I still see some soy beans and corn (more sweet corn than field corn), the landscape is dominated by grape vines — acres and acres for miles and miles.  I could even smell the grapes as I rode.  It was like riding in a grape jelly factory.

You likely know by know that I'm a bit obsessed with the nostalgia of baling hay.  I mentioned that from Bellingham, most of the way across the country, I've only seen the round bales or very large rectangular ones, except on one occasion.  Today I spotted this hay rack and it once again brought back good...and not so good...memories.

One of the historic signs along the way pointed out the old state line.

This was the sign I saw just before arriving at tonight's campground.

Today was the first time that I beat Dee to the campground.  The Rialta required some repairs to the holding tank system and Dee cooled her heels (and read, of course) at the dealership in Erie, PA, while I pedaled my way to tonight's spot. Erie was a bit of a challenge.  On the Adventure Cycle maps there's a bike trail pictured, but I somehow seemed to miss it.  The ride was interesting, but a bit odd.  I did have one near encounter with a car coming from a side street without looking.  Loud shouts of "WHOA, WHOA!!" from me brought her to a stop.

A three-state day.  Pretty good.

 

Ride Day Twenty by the numbers:

48.9 — miles ridden

1007.2 — feet in elevation gained

4894.72 — calories burned

0 — falls

0 — dogs

1 — car encounter (see above)

Thanks to Beth Golay, who does the blog "Books and Whatnot," you can also follow the journey on Story Map.

Ride Day Nineteen: Willowick to Conneaut, OH — 62 Miles

Yesterday morning we said goodbye to our dear friend Richard Hunt at his boyhood home in North Royalton, Ohio.  He was heading home to family...and work.  We had a great five days together from Grand Rapids, Michigan to the Cleveland area. Here's the photo of the two of us on the first day.

I don't know who is going to pull me up those long hills now.  A true Ohio native son, Richard couldn't resist giving us each a symbol of his home state.

The Buckeye.

Yesterday Dee and I had an (overly) ambitious plan to take advantage of our rest day in Cleveland.  We were going to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  We arrived at the Rock Museum just at opening at 10am and, had we spent as much time as we really could have, would have been kicked out at 5:30.  As it was, we stayed until a little after four and then headed off to get "lunch." I couldn't resist this pose on our arrival.

There was a Bellingham connection here.  I forgot to take the photo of the poster, but I did get a very bad photo of the description, which is very hard to read, but it's about the Posies, the band that was fronted by Bellinghamsters John Auer and Ken Stringfellow, who, both now living in Europe, continue to perform both individually and together.  It was great to see them mentioned in the museum.

On our way out we had a chance to tour the bus that Johnny Cash toured in for years.  He, June Carter, and their son, John Carter Cash, each had separate compartments in the bus.  Johnny's was lined with illegally imported hardwood from Jamaica that was smuggled in especially for the bus.  We tried to trade our Rialta for it, but weren't successful. 

Just because we missed seeing the Cleveland Museum of Art, I wouldn't want you to think we missed seeing art.  First, there were many great concert posters at the Rock museum, including this one that promotes a show with the Doors, Chuck Berry, Big Brother and the Holding Company and others.  The reason we were so interested in this one is the groups performed for six nights, including December 30, 1967, the night of our wedding.

A few blocks away, on our way to the Urban Farmer restaurant, a place where I'd eaten when I was in Cleveland three years ago for a community foundation convention, we spotted this sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. 

I've been a big fan of their work for years. Seattle has the Typewriter Eraser Scale X at Sculpture Park, and Minneapolis has Spoonbridge and Cherry.  I'm not sure this qualifies as art, but this sign got our attention and might really be considered satiric art.

The early part of this morning's ride was on quiet, suburban streets, followed by a sign any biker loves to see, especially when accompanied by a well-marked, well-paved lane.

The roads varied greatly today.  Some had very narrow and rough shoulders.  Others were wide, quiet country roads with varying surfaces. Once again, most drivers were very respectful and gave a wide berth.

I chose to ride without music for the first part of the day, maybe two and a half hours.  I spent the time thinking about the past few days, our Cleveland visit yesterday included.  As one comment noted the other night, "Cleveland is no longer the mistake on the lake."  We really want to come back to visit here again, and to see the art museum.

Later, perhaps in honor of yesterday's visit, I cranked up a Rock Anthems album, then Linda Ronstadt, a longtime favorite who we saw in concert in L.A. back in 1977.  I ended the day with Jake Shimabukuro, my favorite ukulele player.  I own three ukes, which I don't play often, and I vacillate between being inspired and totally daunted by his playing.  Either way, I love to hear him.  I think I went through the album at least one and a half times before arriving at the campground.

Fairly early today I spotted this gaggle of geese on the grounds of an elementary school.  They are sure pretty birds to see, but they leave a real mess.  The photo only shows about half of the geese that were in the school yard.

As far as other wildlife, most of what I've seen in Ohio are those that haven't made it across the road.  I've seen many raccoons, several possums, and a number of carcasses that were unidentifiable.  I imagine that the urbanization of the area has concentrated these smaller animals in places were there is a lot of traffic to contend with.  It's not such a pleasant sight, and sometimes not such a pleasant odor.

There were two semi-encounters with dogs today, very close together.  In the first case, a medium sized black dog came straight at me.  I yelled "NO" and pedaled faster, leaving him behind.  In the second case, a ways farther on, a dog who could have been the first dog's cousin began to rush toward the bike then ran along side a bit, barking as we went.  I also left him behind.  So, no harm, no foul.

 There were often views of Lake Erie today as much of the route was near the lake.  That will continue tomorrow when I have the chance to ride in three states in one day.  I'll begin here in Ohio and in about quarter of an hour ride into Pennsylvania.  Later in the day we'll end up in New York State.

Ride Day Nineteen by the numbers:

62 — miles ridden

1036.7 — feet in elevation gained

6200.89 — calories burned

0 — falls

2 — dogs (see above)

 

 

 

Ride Day Twelve: Near De Pere to Manitowoc, WI - 35 Miles

It's been fifty years since Whatcom Community College began with the intention to provide access to higher education for all students. The school began as a "college without walls" because, as coordinator Everett Sanders said, “since capital funds are not available, it seems that District 21 will operate without a campus … We can serve people, not buildings.”  Things have changed greatly in the past five decades.  The college now sprawls across a 72-acre campus and serves more than 11,000 students annually.  What has not changed is the school's mission to provide access to higher education for all students.  Part of providing that access is making sure that all students have the funds to attend the school.  That's where we all come in.  You can donate here to help provide scholarships to deserving students.

We experienced another "small world" coincidence last night.  Though I posted that we were near Appleton, which we were, we were close to the small town of De Pere.  When I emailed my friend, Steve Swan, recently retired WWU VP and chair of the Whatcom Community Foundation, to find out where he grew up he responded — "De Pere."  In a later email Steve said that he had "created many divots" at the Mid-Valley Golf Course, right next to our campground.

I had slightly overestimated the distance of today's ride.  Last night I'd said the ride today would be a short one — 40 miles.  After posting that I had to laugh at myself and ask, "since when is 40 miles a short ride?"  I guess all things are relative.  After riding 82.6 miles the day before, 40 seemed like a breeze.  It turns out it was only 35 miles to where we loaded up the bike to prepare for our ride across Lake Michigan on the Badger...but, I'm getting ahead of myself.

The day began very pleasantly.  At 8am, just about 4 miles into the ride, it was 59 degrees.  A short distance later I crossed the Fox River and this slightly foggy sight greeted me.

A ways farther along the fog became much more dense.

After a short time of riding on the shoulder of busy roads I was off on quiet county roads that were fairly smooth.  There was a bit of breeze coming from the south.  I was riding southeast.

Inspired once again by the audiobook Bored and Brilliant, I decided that today would be a silent contemplation day, with no playlist.  Ironically, the first thought that came into my mind was a song lyric from yesterday's Beatle bash —"I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wandering where it will go."  I was much more aware of the sound of insects and birds, and my mind did wander.  I haven't been meditating on this trip, which I usually do every day.  This was the closest I've come to meditating, except I didn't close my eyes.

On one of the quiet back roads I spotted this sign and was fascinated.  It obviously serves a good purpose, but you sure don't see this often.

Wildlife spotting began slowing — lots more grasshoppers, some birds, and a couple of butterflies.  Then another White-Tailed Deer leapt across the road, much closer to me than the one yesterday.  Once again I didn't have time to get to the camera, but for those who've never seen one, here's a photo.

I came upon this collection of flowers and weeds (who knows the difference?) that looked like a fall bouquet.

A while later I came across this nice bit of landscaping.  My eye first caught sight of the buggy.  Dee saw one of these on the road the other day.

I wanted to mention an accessory that I've come to love, especially on narrow shoulders in traffic.  It's a mirror that my friend Janet Ott recommended.  She's used hers for six years.  Fairhaven Bicycle carries it.  I bought mine at the Bike Spot in Anacortes from friends Carolyn and Nick (Carolyn used to be Village Books' children's book buyer.) Here's a front view and a back view.

I know this won't work for racers or for those more concerned with aesthetics than safety, but a quick glance warns me of anything behind me.  It's called an EVT Safe Zone Mirror.

At about 22 miles I came to the Devils River Trail.

This was again a crushed limestone trail that was better in some spots, where the gravel was heavily packed, and not as great in places where loose gravel was on top.  The greatest surprise was that these signs appeared every 1/4 mile from the time I entered the trail until the trail ended.

It was certainly very clear when the trail ended.

At an intersection just a mile beyond this point I spotted this sign and was so pleased that there were Seattle fans around.

After packing the bike into the Rialta we drove to the Manitowoc ferry dock. Dee snapped this photo of the Badger arriving from Ludington.

 

Once checked in an attendant drove the Rialta onto the ferry and we boarded.  Here's the office and boarding area.

The Badger is the last of the many historic ferries that ran out of Manitowoc during the heyday of train car ferries.  Here are a couple of signs that explain that history.

 It was a pleasant ride across Lake Michigan.  Much of the time was passed in talking to Jim Dickinson, a retired Forest Service firefighter who began a cross-country ride a week after retirement.  He's 68 days into the ride from South Lake Tahoe to Portland, Oregon, and across to this point.  He's riding to Portland, Maine, and will be riding with us tomorrow.

Our friend Lori Tucker-Sullivan joined us at the Ludington Pub after we'd eaten.  She's the chair of the Book Industry Charitable Foundation board and will be joining me on the ride to Reed City tomorrow.  It should be a fun day.

Day Twelve by the numbers:

35 - miles ridden

902.2 - feet in elevation gained

3500.04 - calories burned

0 - falls

0 - dogs

 

 

Ride Day Eleven: Near Plover to Near Appleton, WI - 82.6 Miles

There are lots of things that excite me about the Whatcom Community Foundation, but there's very little that is more exciting than Project Neighborly.  In the 2017 program WCF granted more than $100,000 to projects that brought people of diverse backgrounds and experience together.  Take a look at this list of projects.  And, if you or a group you work with wants to be part of the 2018 round, here is the grant application page.  Of course, you can also donate to the Foundation for Project Neighborly or the wide range of other community projects in which WCF is involved. I'm proud to work with the Whatcom Community Foundation, and was once again proud to wear the WCF jersey today (it got a little sweaty at 80 degrees).

I also want to give a big shout out to our friend, Garth Stein, who matched my donation of one dollar per mile to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.  Garth, as most will recognize, is the author of A Sudden Light, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and a number of other books. Thanks Garth!!  I just hope I don't have to learn the art of riding in the rain.

The first six miles or so of this morning's ride was on quiet county roads.  The morning was cool with a heavy layer of dew.  Here's a photo I took a short distance from our campground, with morning dew heavy on roadside weeds.

I decided that today would be an "all day, all Beatles" playlist.  Yes, I have plenty of Beatles music to last for an 80+ mile ride...and some to spare.  I began with two of the Anthologies (2 & 3).  I like them a lot because there are cuts of the group in rehearsal being very playful.   I then listened to "Love," the album that accompanies the Cirque de Soleil show from Las Vegas — our favorite Cirque show (and we're sort of groupies), and ended with "With the Beatles."  It's hard to get too much of the Beatles, even with the repeats between the albums.

A short distance into Plover I began a 30-mile ride on the Tomorrow River Trail.  Here's a shot of one of the trail signs.

The trail is primarily crushed limestone.  At some points it is fairly smooth and at others a bit rough.  In shaded areas there is often grass growing, but a couple of tire paths usually find their way through.  The ride was pleasant, but the loose pieces of gravel on top of the trail tended to slow the pace a bit.  I did think sacrificing time for the solitude of the trail was worth it.  Later in the day I decided not to ride on another similar trail.  It paralleled the highway so there was not view or solitude advantage, so I stuck to the highway shoulder and made much better time.

There was a point along the trail when I saw this sign and became discouraged.  I couldn't believe someone was trying to slow me down.

Truth is, of course, these signs are posted for snowmobiles, the only motorized vehicles allowed on these state trails.

For much of the day I was in relatively flat, Wisconsin farm country with lots of corn and beans.  There is very sandy soil here and heavy irrigation is needed, as explained in this sign.  The second photo is of an irrigation system at work.

I had to speed up to avoid one of the rotating sprays that was going out across much of the trail.  Here's a pretty typical Wisconsin farm.

Most of the wildlife I saw today were repeats of previous days — ground squirrels, snakes, frogs, grasshoppers, crickets, birds.  But just after lunch in Manawa a white tail deer leapt (and I mean leapt) across the road about half a block ahead of me.  I didn't have time to get my camera out.

I mentioned crickets.  Many of you know that you can tell the temperature by listening to cricket chirps and doing some math.  Here's the formula:  count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4 to get the temperature in Celsius.  If you want to know the temperature in Fahrenheit multiply the temperature in Celsius by 9/5 and add 32 degrees.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to stop and listen to the crickets today, so I just had to trust the Weather Channel.

There were some beautiful purple flowers along the trail, sometimes in small clumps and sometimes in fairly expansive display. Maybe one of you know the name of these.  I don't.

I had one (almost) encounter with a dog along the trail today.  There was a home off to my left through the trees along the trail.  I spotted a large Rottweiler racing along the same direction I was going, without making a sound.  I couldn't tell if there was a fence so I dismounted and pulled out my water bottle.  Then I saw the tall fence.  The Rottweiler stopped on the other side of a gate and began barking at me.  I just stood for a while (likely waiting for my pulse to return to normal).  Finally the dog just stopped barking and stared at me.  Maybe he just wanted to play.

There are many rivers in Wisconsin, as you may have gathered from the names of the trails.  I've seen the Black, the Yellow, of course, the Tomorrow, and the Wisconsin.  Perhaps the most interesting name was the Embarrass River.  It was named by French explorers who often found their passage blocked by fallen logs.  Embarrass is French for obstruction.  Because of the rivers there are many swampy areas and wetlands so cattails are prevalent.

This area was heavily glaciated and large rocks, left by the receding glaciers are ubiquitous.  Here are two pictures.  The first is one where rocks have been moved to form a border on a property.  The second is one of many places I saw along the trail today.

I didn't realize before setting out on this bike trip that I would be in Scandinavia for a second time this year.  In this case it was the town of Scandinavia.  The trail crossed a bridge that bisected the village's main street.  I got this shot of the Scandinavia Co.

For several miles after the trail the ride was along highway 54.  While it was very busy and the shoulder was not extremely wide, it was smooth and the speed picked up quite a bit.  The last 20+ miles was along quiet country roads, mostly smooth.  The wind today was fairly calm.  The breeze was in my face, but with little speed it was quite pleasant.  You know that it's bikers who understand why dogs stick their heads out the car windows.

One of the last towns I went through today was Freedom.  Just to think, some folks search for freedom all of their lives, and here it was in Wisconsin all this time.  I do think there's an important political statement under the name of the town.

 Tomorrow is a short ride day, only about 40 miles to the ferry at Manitowoc.  Then a four-hour cruise to Ludington, Michigan, where I'll meet our long-time friend Lori Tucker-Sullivan, a member of the Binc board.  She'll ride with me the next day to Reed City.

Day Eleven by the numbers:

82.6 - miles ridden

1742.1 - feet in elevation gain

8262.49 - calories burned

0 - falls

1 - dog (see above)

 

Ride Day Ten: Near Neillsville to near Plover - 67.3 Miles

There's some good news out of Florida.  Things weren't as bad as many expected, except in the Keys.  Miami's Mayor said they hadn't dodged a bullet, they'd dodged a cannon. Our friend Mitchell Kaplan, who has several Books & Books stores in the Miami area reports that he and his booksellers are safe, but that the stores are without power.  Some other stores in Florida were, according to the leading book industry news source, Shelf Awareness, able to open with or without power.  That said, many booksellers will be out of work until power comes back on, and that will certainly cause a financial strain for some.  In the Houston area some booksellers lost homes, vehicles, and possessions, and others were rendered homeless by Harvey.  You can help Binc help booksellers in need by donating here.

The ride today was nearly entirely on the shoulder of Wisconsin route 73.  Interestingly, the first 15 miles entailed as much climbing as the next 35 miles, and neither was a great elevation gain — 456 feet. While the wind was not in my favor, it wasn't very strong today.  A couple of days ago I posted a photo of a beautiful red tree as evidence of the beginning of fall.  This photo provides much stronger testimony.

Other than trees and farms there wasn't a lot to see along the ride today.  One exception were several places like this.

They say there are only two seasons in the Midwest — winter and road construction.  There were a few rough sections to ride through, a one-lane area monitored by a stoplight, and a section with a pilot car.  In all cases it only put a slight damper on forward progress.

Though I saw no evidence of fruit farming I did come across two very large cold storage plants, the first of which had a sign indicating it was a fruit growers coop.  This is a photo of the second one, less than two miles from the first.  I suspect it may be tree fruit rather than the berry crops we see in our home area.

My sound track for today began with two iconic mid-sixties albums — Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  As you may know, there's a very strong tie between the two albums.  Brian Wilson, inspired by the Beatles album Rubber Soul, wrote Pet Sounds, and according to Beatles producer George Martin, ""Without Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper never would have happened ... Pepper was an attempt to equal Pet Sounds."  It was a great way to begin the day.

I then moved on to listen to the group Nickle Creek, who were recommended to us by our friend Art Carson.  Art lived in Nashville for years, working for the Ingram Book Co. and loved bluegrass music.  Creedence Clearwater Revival came next, a group I never saw play, but did fly with once.  I rounded out the day with the Doors.

The last part of today's ride was the most scenic, along the Wisconsin River.

In several spots there were vacation homes and cabins, and some permanent homes.

I've always like the clever names some folks give to their cabins and vacation homes — "crazy acres," "point of view," and one of my favorites today, "shore enuf."  The other sign I really liked was one that said "The Johnsons; One more thing Dick 'needed.'"

Much of the day today I was being passed by log trucks, who gave me a wide berth (unlike some recreational trailer folks) and I wondered where they were going.  Mid-afternoon I came across the Brion Mill, owned by Catalyst, a large paper producing company.  Outside the mill there were stacks and stacks of logs like those I'd been seeing pass me on trucks.  Here's a photo of just one of those stacks.

Shortly before arriving at the campground I came past a very large factory and wondered what it was producing.  Then I came across this sign.

Of course, I'm in Wisconsin.  There's a reason they call folks here "cheese heads."

Day ten by the numbers:

67.3 - miles ridden

1256.5 - feet of elevation gain

6744.05 - calories burned

0 - falls

0 - dogs

 

Ride Day Nine: Menomonie to near Neillsville, WI - 76.1 Miles

As I began my ride today, wearing my Whatcom Community College riding jersey, I couldn't help thinking about the start of an all new academic year at WCC.  Classes begin a week from tomorrow and, once again, the campus will be abuzz with activity.  I learned so much about WCC in my ten years as a trustee there, and much of what I learned came from the amazing students.  On more than one occasion the student government president was a Running Start student, meaning they were high school age.  They were so articulate, and it was clear that they highly valued the education they were getting at WCC.  In spite of the much lower cost to attend a community college than a four-year school, many students need assistance.  That's a major reason I chose Whatcom as one of my fundraising choices.  I hope you'll consider making a donation today to help students be the best they can be — Donate Here.

Today began on the Red Cedar River Trail, just about a quarter mile from the campground where we stayed last night.  The route from Menomonie to Eau Claire was longer than it needed to be (intentionally this time).  I chose to ride on two trails — the Red Cedar and the Chippewa River Trail.  The Red Cedar River Trail is packed dirt and gravel and most often has trees on both sides, nearly forming a tunnel, like this.

The trail could be a bit rough in spots, but for the most part was not too difficult to ride.  There were signs alerting one to each upcoming bridge crossing — there were many bridges across small streams flowing into the river.  The best sign I saw on a bridge was this one.

Shucks!

I began the morning thinking I would listen to more of Thinking Fast and Slow, but soon discovered that it took far too much concentration on a trail where one needed to be alert for fallen branches and big holes, so I switched to music.  My playlist today mostly has personal connections.  I began with the Lady Crooners.  They're a folk / pop / 'almost country' band from San Francisco, CA, fronted by siblings Nadia, Joseph, and Megan Krilanovich, with Kevin Conness, Jason Braatz, and John Smart.  But, they used to be from Lummi Island.  Nadia is also a children's book author — Moon Child and Chicken, Chicken, Duck.  The Lady Crooners have been guests on the Chuckanut Radio Hour several times, and we hope they'll return for another gig.  Here's one of their videos.

There was a bit of a theme in the playlist today — the Chuckanut Radio Hour.  I listened to The Senate, frequent guest on the CRH, including the show on which Garrison Keillor was a guest — he loved them.  I also listened to The Walrus, the CRH's original "house band."

I also listened to The Roches, a three-sister group from the 80's, who I saw live on Garrison Keillor's show in NYC.  The list became a bit more eclectic when I played a country western compilation called "On the Road Again" (appropriate for my ride).  It did include the iconic Willy Nelson rendition of that song as well.  Maybe the theme is actually "groups I've seen in person" because we saw Willy at the NW Washington Fair a few years ago and the next group was The Rolling Stones, who Dee and I saw in concert in Kansas City in 1973.  Sitting to the side of the stage we spied Truman Capote and Lee Radziwill walk down the little alley between us and the stage.  Capote joined the Stone's tour at that point and covered it for Rolling Stone Magazine.  I finished out the day listening to a cardio version of ABBA and the Best of the Band, neither of whom I've seen in person.

Small wildlife was abundant today.  In addition to many, many grasshoppers and crickets, there was a toad and a Garter snake, both of whom I nearly hit — similar to the tortoise I saw a few days ago and only missed by a hair (groan).  There were a lot of small birds, and late in the afternoon I saw a small, green snake coiled on the road.

Here's the sign I saw when I arrived at the Chippewa River Trail.

Though it's difficult to read, the smaller sign just below the distance sign indicates that the Chippewa trail is part of the Aldo Leopold Legacy Trail System, a 42 trail system in the state of Wisconsin, totaling 1728 miles.  Leopold was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and the author of the highly acclaimed classic, A Sand County Almanac.

The trail also changed from packed gravel and dirt to chip seal, or should I say Chippewa seal?

It was smooth in many places, but one still had to be aware of cracks, holes, and tree debris in the more sheltered sections.

There were a number of historic markers along the trail, including this one.

This one indicated a town that once stood nearby.  A climb up the bluff, suggested on the sign, yielded little view of any town, but turning around it did give this good overview of the river.

The ride on the trail was the most interesting part of the day.  Most of the rest of the ride was along a narrow shoulder of a busy highway, and though the landscape is beautiful, there was little to photograph, until I came upon this sign.

Dee's Great Grandfather Otis was in the Iron Brigade and survived all of the major battles of the Army of the Potomac.  In the Battle at Gettysburg, according to the history of the Iron Brigade, due to death and injury of officers, "command devolved to Lieutenant Otis."

A switch from U.S. Highway 12 to U.S. Highway 10 brought me to tonight's campground.  Tomorrow will be another riding day.

Day Nine by the numbers:

76.1 - miles ridden

1305.8 - feet in elevation gain

7518.59 - calories burned

0 - falls

0 - dogs