Daily Biker

Kurt Gowdy State Park, Wyoming

2011-10-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

This state park is between Cheyenne and Laramie. This was my first mountain bike ride of the trip, and a most excellent one. I wanted so bad to repeat the ride and expand it but it poured right after I got back so I had to stop. I love this park. It's designed by mountain bikers for mountain bikers. The hikers love it too and are grateful to have the new trails. There are other nice mountain biking spots in the area (see this and this post), but this is my favorite. However, I could spend a week here and do them all!

According to my GPS watch, the ride was a mere 3.89 miles, starting altitude was 7307 feet, highest was 7708 feet, so 400 ft climb. Total ascent was 762 feet (not sure how much I trust this since I'm not sure how the GPS accounts for errors in altitude).

Here I am starting up the trail

nice single-track:

lots of rocks to climb over. some I had to walk.

a couple of "play areas" to practice climbing over rocks:

nice scenery

just the right amount of challenge:

pretty trees

more pretty scenery

I wanted to do it again, but then came the rain and thunder. oh well, I was lucky, because I started just after a rain storm and got back before the next. The first rain was not that heavy so the trail was not muddy.

This was an awesome ride.

Mountain biking out west

2011-09-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

I took my bike on my vacation trip and have had some outstanding rides in Wyoming and Utah, with California and Moab still to go. I will post about the individual rides as soon as I have some time. I am having so much fun mountain biking! We started taking pictures of the bike in various places. Here it is in Yosemite--no mountain biking here as national parks don't like us so much, so the bike stays on the car. poor bike.

Dorked Out

2011-09-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've broken an elbow and kneecap in the last 5 years and I don't want to break anything ever again. I don't want to hurt anything either. So obviously I shouldn't be mountain biking but I can't help myself. So I finally bought some fancy elbow pads and kneepads. I am the only one who wears them! I feel like a dork! But...I want to keep riding. Here I am, dorked out and ready to ride at my two favorite (local) places: Camrock,

and John Muir:

Badger Trail

2011-09-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here's Marilyn on the Badger Trail, which we rode for the first time a few weeks ago. This hooks up to the Capital City trail, or you can catch it at MarketPlace just off Seminole highway. The trail is asphalt for about 5 miles and then turns into gravel. The gravel was pretty coarse and Marilyn didn't like it so we just stayed on the asphalt. It was a beautiful day. This trail is great, much needed because riding on Seminole highway and roads south is not fun to me. There is no shoulder and lots of traffic.

Mountain Biking Kansas City area

2011-08-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

I visited my family last weekend and rode a pretty good mountain biking trail. I would definitely do it again. This was the Smithville Lake trail. One reason to do it is that my sister and brother-in-law like to take their fishing boat there so I can ride while they fish, which is what we did. Actually it was kind of humorous: we went for a ride in the boat, then realized the mountain biking trails were in another place, so we put the bike in the boat and went to a dock close to the trails (sailboat cove). Here's a link to the biking map:
http://www.northlandtrails.org/maps/smvmtb.htm
I rode most of it except for lakeside speedway which was closed because it was too wet. One irritating thing that I suppose you could say was amusing in retrospect was that I was the first one on some of the trails in a 2 days probably because of the big rains they had (2 days previous), and I got "attacked" by spider webs. oh my god, it was awful. giant spider webs. Obviously I ran into them but it felt like an attack. Then this guy passed me and I said, "oh good, you get to eat the spider webs now!" and sure enough, my attacks ceased, for a little while anyway, then he must have veared onto another path.

We also drove to Stocksdale park in Liberty, which I would like to try next time. It is not too far from my parents or my sister's house.
Here is a link to the trails in the area:
http://earthriders.com/trails/trails.php?mo

Levis/Trow Mound Recreation Area

2011-08-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great mountain biking area, but it's a 2.5 hour drive from home, so I think I'd just go here once a year. Here's a description of the area: http://www.co.clark.wi.us/ClarkCounty/Departments/forestryparks/LevisMound/Bike.asp

with a link to the map.

I took snodgrass, lower glen, yellow jacket, out to trow mound, then the sidewinder and upper hermosa which were the most fun and technical. Followed lower hermosa back, got on to lower glen, intended to take upper glen to do part of levis mound but missed the turn and ended up back on snodgrass to return. Next time I think I'll start out the same, but come back on dead turkey after lower hermosa, and get on some of the technical trails on levis mound.

This is supposed to be some of the finest mountain biking in the midwest. I thought it was great but not a heck of a lot better than my favorites close to home: camrock, and john muir.

camrock and john muir

2011-07-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've been riding my favorite trails every weekend: That is camrock area #3 and the John Muir trails at Kettle Moraine. Last weekend I took the 12-mile blue route at John Muir, which is the hardest one. What fun. I even passed two gals. I was catching up to them on the technical downhill and then passed them on a long steep climb. This shows my three strengths in mountain biking. I'm better than average technically compared to other women, and I have endurance and can handle the heat, thanks to my healthy diet. Of course, I have many weaknesses, the main one being that I have much less strength than EVERYONE ELSE and I always get beat on the easy level and easy uphill stuff.

Today I experienced more challenges at camrock. I tried to go over a steeper set of logs than I had done before. It was a good time to try it but I did just what the mountain bike book said you will do if you do it wrong: I didn't counter the back wheel bouncing up which caused it to flip over. I didn't flip all the way over and handled the fall pretty well but I landed on my left arm and leg, like I usually do because I'm left-handed. The problem with that is that I broke my left elbow in January and I'm trying to be cautious and avoid hurting it anymore. um, you might say I shouldn't be mountain biking but I'll ignore that comment. I just ordered some elbow pads and kneepads. I also fell at a spot that I've fallen at twice already. This is just dumb maneuvering. I'm doing something that's natural on a roadbike and all wrong on a mountain bike, which is taking turns on the inside. If anything, you need to take turns on the outside so the rear wheel will follow in the tracks better. At this particular spot I am in a rut, my front wheel catches in the left bank and I fly off, fortunately in a cozy soft bed of tall grass. It's almost fun, but irritating because it's dumb. So next time I ride I will concentrate on going over logs properly--today I concentrated on the first step, but next time I'll concentrate on the more important last step--and following the "line" of the trail better.

I'm still commuting on weekdays, typically 14 miles with a stop at the grocery store. My partner and I share 3 good things about our day as a nightly ritual and my bike ride often makes the list. We aren't strict about it sometimes going on to 5 or 6 things which usually guarantees that the bike ride makes the list. Last week I discovered mulberries along the bike path. All these years I've ridden that path and never realized what a treasure they were. Now I know.

Capital City trail and "Ride the Drive"

2011-06-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a very fun road bike ride. I did my favorite ride--halfway around Lake Monona, then hook up to the Capital City Trail and take that until it meets up with the Southwest bike path back into town---a fun downhill ride for about 5 miles, then my usual bike path home to the east side. The ride is mostly on bike paths both in the countryside and city. I really enjoy it. That ride is usually is about 25 miles, but I did a 3-mile detour today because it was "Ride the Drive"! John Nolen Dr and East Wash were closed to cars and full of bikes instead. It was so fun! I wish rush hour looked like this every day!

Here were some beautiful trees on the Capital City trail. Were they dogwoods in bloom? I don't know.

Here's John Nolan drive,

and East Wash.

It was a perfect day, about 80 degrees, sunny, low wind and humidity.

Blue Mounds State Park trails

2011-06-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

I think this was the hardest trail I've ever ridden on. It was close to being no fun, but in the end I felt I want to go back and do better, so it must have been a little fun. Also, I should have paid more attention to the names of the trails. Next time I'll start with the "Gneiss & Smooth Trail" instead of the "Overlode Trail". The rest all sound pretty ominous, "Chert Dip", and "Holy Shist Trail", but maybe the "Basalt and Pepper Trail" will be friendly enough. The trails are rocky and branchy and have the steepest ups and downs of anywhere I've been. Yikes. So I think in the local area I prefer Camrock and John Muir. But I will be attracted back here by the challenge to handle the rocks and steep parts better.

Note for future reference: The trail I rode when downhill and then climbed back up at the end. I suspect that's true of all of them. Also the map on the state parks website is out of date, but the map you get at the entrance gate looks complete as far as I know.

Kettle Moraine -- John Muir Trails

2011-05-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to these fantastic wonderful trails. Wow. and only about 45 miles from my house! Why are they fantastic? 2 reasons: 1) they are built for mountain biking so it's all singletrack with tons of curves and berms and obstacles and fun stuff for biking, and 2) it is absolutely beautiful Wisconsin scenery: woods, valleys, lakes, prairies, it's all there. just lovely. I rode the 9 mile green loop. That's intermediate. I could ride these every week and probably not get tired of it.

How do these compare to all the trails I did on my southwest trip? Sorry but that's like asking which of your kids you love more. As fabulous as these trails are, it was also very fun to ride in Palo Duro, Oklahoma City, and Albuqueque. And also Castlewood outside of St. Louis. and Flagstaff, AZ.

Camrock area #3

2011-05-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

After returning from my trip out west I decided to compare the home turf. Here's my report on camrock. It is located about 20 miles from my house. I think it was built by the Capital Off Road Pathfinders. They are awesome. I joined and will try to start going to their work days because they do great stuff! Here is their terse description of this trail. I rode most of it except for the "most difficult" section. I am still avoiding those as my left arm is not full strength yet after breaking my elbow this winter. Actually the main reason is that I reallly really don't want to get hurt again and spend 2 months healing; so I'm being extra cautious. And the "more difficult" routes are plenty fun and challenging.

This trail is really fun. There is a fair amount of easy stuff, but plenty of challenging stuff too. But what I like about it most is that it was built for mountain biking by mountain bikers. It's hard to rank all the trails I rode on my trip out west. This one is right up there because of the care in making these trails. They are just fun. Most of the trails I rode out west were just trails that they allow bikes on. They are really fun to go down on but don't have all the fun curves and wiggles and single-track and berms that we have right here in cam-rock. So this trail is right up there in fun! and it's only a 30 minute drive from my house.

Rides I didn't do on our trip to the Grand Canyon

2011-05-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I didn't do the Kaintuck trail in Missouri because it was flooded. I'd be interested to try that out sometime.

Another trail in Oklahoma that looks fun is the Arcadia Lake Trail in Edmond, with up to 14 miles of single-track, mostly easy but many tight and twisty sections according to trails.com. It also says there's a lot of deep sand. That is not a favorite terrain of mine. But overall it looks like it's worth trying out.

We bought a small book on mountain bike trails in Gallup, NM, and were planning to ride there, but a few things made us wary: 1) we lost the book, 2) On our way out, we stopped to get gas and drove through the town and it seemed depressed and desolate, and 3) I read a review on trails.com (or singletracks.com?) that also warned about getting your car broken into. So we kinda just didn't want to do it. Sorry Gallup.

Grants, NM is also advertised to have mountain biking. We stopped at the very nice Northwest New Mexico Visitor Center there and got maps for a couple of rides there. I could have done a ride, but I was too keen to get to Albuquerque and ride there.

In Las Vegas, NV, we stopped at the lovely Red Rock Canyon interpretive association. Until we saw this, all we really wanted to do was leave Las Vegas. I don't really like places where I know I wouldn't survive very long if my car broke down--though I suppose the same thing applies to winter in Wisconsin and I like living here. But Red Rock Canyon is something of an oasis in that harsh desert. Unfortunately, we didn't discover until we were in the hotel that night, that just down the road from the canyon, literally 2 minutes away was the best single-track in the area. So if I'm ever back, and I'm not sure what would get me back, I would definitely like to ride the singletrack, as well as visiting Red Rock Canyon again. I'd need to stop at a bicycle shop to get maps, as there was nothing on trails.com.

Last ride of the trip--Castlewood State Park near St. Louis, MO

2011-05-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

We got lucky finding this one. At Sac River, I was chatting with some guys, getting advice about the trails, and telling them about my trip. They said, if you go through St. Louis, I hear Castlewood has some great trails. So we got to our hotel that night, in Fenton, MO, west of St. Louis, and Marilyn, who has a good memory, googled "castlewood" and said, "Hey there's a Castlewood State Park just 7 miles from here." So the next morning, instead of sitting in rush-hour traffic, we went to Castlewood and I had a wonderful 1.5 hour ride on the Grotpeter trail. I added on to it by going up a connector trail, now what was that called (Park office connector? it was the one to the left), anyway, I went up that, then rode around the full loop, and came back down the connector trail. The connector trail is worth adding because it's very pretty and it's fun single-track, and the downhill at the end is a blast.

I had to dodge 3 turtles on the trail:

The woods were lovely:

Here's the fun connector trail:

We still got home before 5 pm, unpacked the car, and sat on the deck to relax, before then weather turned ugly again. Spring has been stubborn to arrive in Wisconsin this year. I'm hoping to ride Camrock tomorrow as we have a Furlough day at work.

Sac River Trail, Springfield, MO

2011-05-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is an example of reclaiming perhaps undesirable land and turning it into fun. It's located next to a wastewater treatment plant. I found this on trails.com. It was green! I think I must be a midwesterner because even though mountain biking out west is a blast, the green and even the humidity was ever so welcome to me. And there were pretty white flowers too:

This was near the beginning of the trail:

It looks deceivingly sweet. Then it got rocky and pebbly, and steep and very too bumpy. It was a bit too much because it was hard to go fast downhill. I think I will go the opposite direction next time and I might get more fun downhills. Also there were many many trails and loops and maybe I just got unlucky and rode some of the worst ones. Still it was fun and I would do it again. Here's the Sac River, towards the end of my ride (beginning if I do it the other way around):

Sandia -- Cedro Area, Albuquerque, NM

2011-05-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm also jealous of people who live in Albuquerque (see my post about Flagstaff). What a choice of both mountain biking and road biking they have; and not just here, all over the state. I love New Mexico. Though I have to admit, I do love the green of the midwest, perhaps a little bit more. There were so many rides on trails.com it was hard to know what to pick. I got lucky and picked a good region. On the way out, the weather was pretty bad, and we stopped at a ranger station to get more info. It was closed, but some bikers informed me that this is definitely the best place to bike, when the weather improves. Fortunately on the way home, the weather was just fine and the ranger station was open.

I did two 45-minute rides here. The first was an out and back on Otera Canyon. Here's the start up the trail:

Next time I will follow the ranger's advice and go out on trail 05236 (236) and return on 05056 (56). I was concerned I might miss some turns but I understand the trails and land better now. Trail 56 didn't have as much scenery as 236, but the return downhill was a blast.

My second ride was Tunnel canyon. I rode on trail 05145 (145) and Marilyn met me at the end. I rode backwards from the trails.com suggestion but it was slightly more downhill and I had someone to pick me up at the end. This was a blast! It had a steep uphill climb, a nice view,

and then a blast of a downhill. What fun this was.

There are many other places to ride in at Albuquerque. Next time I will probably check out the foothills region just down the highway from here, and the Petroglyphs national monument down in the valley.

Grand Canyon, AZ

2011-05-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

I did two mountain bike rides here. My take-away message (to myself) is: stick to hiking at the Grand Canyon. I mean, how do you top that? I used the book "Biking the Grand Canyon Area" for my guide.

The first ride I did was the Vishnu Overlook Loop. First I misread the instructions and ended up on a nature walk--nice for a nature walk but a boring mountain bike ride.

Then I decided to climb the tower:

It had two good consequences: nice views, and I discovered the real mountain-bike trail started just underneath the tower. Here are some of the nice views:

I had a nice short 1.5 ride on single track, with a nice bench and views at the turn-around point.

A few days later I rode the Tusayan loops. I should have stuck to loop 1 as it is shorter and I suspect had more single-track. I did loop 2 because I wanted something longer. It was about 10 miles long, but not terribly interesting and I was wishing I were at the Grand Canyon seeing the magnificent views. So scratch that from the plans next time. But one nice thing is I was all alone and it was peaceful. You don't get much alone-time at the Grand Canyon.

Here's the start of this trail:

On it's own, it's actually pretty and nice and there are some fun spots. I think the shorter loop would be better so I can have some fun, but then get to the Grand Canyon to see the great scenes.

Flagstaff, AZ

2011-05-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm so jealous of people who live in Flagstaff. If Marc is still reading this blog, I hope he is pissed at me for not stopping to see him, because that means we are still friends. Unless he is so pissed that we aren't anymore. Anyway, I'll explain in an email, Marc.

We got lucky to ride here. We were driving through at 4:50 pm on the way to the Grand Canyon and saw a bike shop on the main road with a closing of 5 pm. We stopped in, got lots of great advice and a map, and I was able to do an hour-long ride on the Schultz Creek trail. For future reference, we also got a map of Sedona, AZ trails.

Here's the difference between mountain biking in the mountains vs the midwest. In the mountains you go up, up, up, up, up, up, etc, and then down, down down down down etc. In the midwest you go up, down up down up down up down etc. Both are fun. But it's hard to beat the thrill of down down down down down down etc. In the midwest though, the local clubs often put a lot of effort into making really nice trails with these things called burns or berns, I don't know how you spell it but it's curves that you make on hills so you can take them fast, and lots of up/down fast stuff. So the midwest can still be very fun.

Anyway, back to this ride. I stupidly didn't wear my elbow pads and then I was just sitting on my biking and fell over right on my left arm (where I broke my elbow 5 months previously). oh man. That was dumb. My arm was a bit sore for a few days. So I wore the elbow pads the rest of the trip.

The ride was fun! I don't mind going up up up up up. I just get in a groove. It helps that I'm a crazy health food nut so I have seemingly infinite aerobic capacity. The rocks were a challenge, especially as I was spooked after falling on my arm. But the down down down down etc made me forget everything but how much fun I was having.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX

2011-05-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

This was totally awesome! This is an example of how mountain biking opens up a whole new world to travelers. Who knew that 15 miles south of Amarillo, TX, is the second largest canyon in the United States! Who knew! Not me. It's lovely. I found this on trails.com. You can ride all the trails in the park so it's a lot of miles. There are a few trails set aside for mountain bikes only. I rode those some and took wrong turns and ended up on hiking/biking trails which seemed just as good. It was a total blast. You could ride these trails every week and not get tired of them, and that's what people do. I asked these 3 guys for advice and they let me ride with them and they were very nice. It was great fun. We rode the Capitol Peak Mountain bike trail, then the Cottonwood flats, then Little Fox canyon, then back on the lighthouse trail. Here I am with my elbow pads just in case I fall:

Those black pants turned out to be too hot.

Here's the main mountain bike path. Everyone gets lost and just rides around until they exit. On my second ride, I got lost pretty quickly and ended up on the Juniper Cliffside trail. Fortunately that was loads of fun and plenty challenging.

The lighthouse formation seems to be the signature landmark of the park. It's not very large, but it's very distinctive, so I can see how that would be a great landmark for getting your bearings. The lighthouse trail is the most boring for mountain biking, and I would just save that for hiking. It's meant to be a horseback riding trail (and hiking).

Now that I have my bearings, next time I will actually ride the route recommended on the website: The Givens, Spicer & Lowry running trail and the Capital peak trails.

Bluff Creek Trail -- Oklahoma City, OK

2011-05-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

This was sweet. We stopped here both ways. and yet, we forgot to take pictures both times. In both cases, it was at the end of a long day. The first time it was very windy. The second time it was threatening rain. But I rode anyway and both rides were very fun. The thick woods made the winds and rain non-events. I found this in trails.com and we picked our hotel to be nearby so it was very convenient. It's only 3.8 miles long, but fun single-track. It's the kind of trail that will turn a beginner into an addict. It was a good trail to start out on for my first mountain bike ride of the year, and because I'm still recovering from my broken elbow in January. I don't have my full strength back, but my bone is all healed. On the second ride, I gave a guy my spare inner tube. He really wanted to ride and didn't have time to go to the store. I totally understand. He gave me a seat bag in return, even though I didn't really want it. He said it was a hot brand. He's a sales rep. Like I care about that. But like I said, I can totally understand wanting to bike on a Friday evening.

Kaintuck Trail, Missouri

2011-05-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

trails.com says "this is a good place for beginners, with its network of mostly easy-to-ride loop selections varying in length from 2-13 miles." Unfortunately, it was flooded, so I decided not to reck the terrain further with my bike. So I have no idea if this is a fun ride or not. It's only a few miles away from the interstate though so maybe I'll find out some day.

Southwest trip

2011-05-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

I just did a road trip to the Grand Canyon and mountain biked at various locations along the way. It was so fun! I love taking my mountain bike on road trips. I did this a lot last summer too but I didn't post about it. I'm going to try to post about it this summer so I can compile for my own memory a list of great places to mountain bike, and road bike, on trips.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to find out where to mountain bike when I visit a place. The resources I used on this trip were trails.com, singletracks.com and local bike shops. trails.com and singletracks.com are hit and miss. They didn't show this fantastic opportunity at Las Vegas that I was 2 minutes away from when we stopped at Red Rock canyon. I discovered that when I got back to the hotel and googled "mountain biking Las Vegas". I was bummed. Local bike shops paid off in Flagstaff and Albuquerque. There are so many trails that it helps to have a real person tell you what's the best one to try out for a 2 hour ride. but trails.com found some gems in Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri.

So, here goes...

Biking update

2010-05-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

I have 2 new biking obsessions this spring/summer: road biking and mountain biking. I still commute by bike too, just haven't been blogging--don't have time anymore for the daily updates. I joined a couple of mountain biking clubs (one for everyone, the other for women). Well, the women's group is serious! They do a Tuesday eve road ride to train for strength and endurance I guess, and a Thursday eve. mountain bike ride, and they race all summer long. I don't think I'll race this year because I've got so many trips and other things planned, and it seems I've got plenty to keep myself busy building strength and learning technique.

On the Tuesday eve road rides, I can barely keep up with everyone else. This prompted me to try to improve my "road bike", which isn't a racer. Eight days ago, I went into the bike shop looking at getting skinnier tires, which led to a discussion of new wheels, or perhaps a new bike. Well, 2 hours later I walked out with a new bike!!!! We've had crappy weather since then but I still got in several 25 mile bike rides in horrible winds.

Today was finally a nice day and I spent it at a yoga workshop and then mountain biking at CamRock. That was my first time there. Here I am starting out with my shiny new shoes and jacket (bought more than a bike at the bike shop):

A short ways down the trail, it goes down a steep gully. It was not quite dried out from the rains this week so was a bit slippery. I later talked to a guy who did an end-over going down this gully. That's when you flip over the front of your bike--he fell flat on his back and somehow didn't hurt himself. Okay, I really didn't like hearing this story! I do not want to pursue a dangerous sport! I want to live a long healthy life with no injuries! So, that gives me pause. I will try this out and try to be careful but if I decide it's too dangerous I will have to quit. On the positive side, I had a lot of fun doing the trails. I fell once while trying to go over a log--my pedal got caught on it. The second time I had more speed and coasted over it with the pedals sideways, and that worked perfectly. There were lots of fun downhills and difficult but fun uphills, and gorgeous scenery (river, trees, fields, flowers everywhere).

The other places I've gone mountain biking so far are Quarry Ridge and Blackhawk ski area. These are both fun and have some good technical climbs and drops with rocks and branches to practice on. I look forward to trying out Blue Mound and Kettle moraine, and many other parts of the state.

Tomorrow I hope I have time for a road ride in the late afternoon (busy all morning and early afternoon), and I hope weather is okay. It's funny, I haven't done road biking in years, and all of a sudden I am totally excited by it. Funny how you can turn on a switch for something. I'm really quite lousy at it (slow!). But that's part of the fun--I'm hoping I'll improve at it.

Mar 14, 2010

2010-03-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

I just got back from vacation in Florida. I brought my bike down and I'll post my bike rides from there over the next few days. It was fun. This morning I was back to biking here in Wisconsin. It was nice to get out in the sunshine. I was already feeling I needed to get out after riding in the car for our trip home and being indoors all yesterday. Fortunately, the sun was shining and the birds were teeming (compared to a few weeks ago). The red-winged black birds are back, and I saw a robin too. The cardinals and chickadees were singing, and a bunch of other birds whose songs I don't recognize. Here's the start of the bike path this morning at 8 am:

The temperature was 40 F, winds 13 mph from the north. By habit I dressed too warm. Tomorrow I'll change out my coat for a lighter one.

Feb. 22, 2010

2010-02-22T20:09:00.001-08:00

Okay, here's yer pictures. The start of the bike path, right around sunrise on a darkish day, but at least the 1" of snow brightened it up a bit:

Starkweather creek:

It was around 30 F, with winds from the north. The path was plowed, as always. I am so grateful for this! At first, I was feeling dreary, like the weather but the bike ride cheered me up, like it usually does. The birds were noisy. I saw a hawk-like bird with a white underbelly flying overhead. I wanted it to be a snowy owl but I think it was a hawk.

Feb. 15-19

2010-02-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

This was a really nice week for biking. My rides started at 6:50 am, sunrise was about the same time, the winds were calm or light from the north. It was cloudy the first few days, then clear the last 3 days. It was cold on the clear nights, down to 7 F on Thursday morning, but it didn't feel that cold. It was bright, now that the sun is rising early. It was even brighter on the way home. The sun felt warm even if the temperature wasn't. I actually got hot on occasion, but I enjoyed it. The bird songs are getting more numerous and it's great to hear. We had some snow on Monday-Tuesday. I decided I need to lubricate and clean the chain everytime I ride in the snow. Otherwise it gets rusty and frozen. But on Wed., things were cleared up enough that I used my fast bike. What a lovely week it was!

Feb. 9

2010-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

I had fun biking both yesterday and today. Yesterday was the calm before the storm. It was supposed to be cloudy but it was sunny and perfectly calm and not too cold (20s F). It was just very nice. I don't know why exactly, just a peaceful morning.

Then today we had snow overnight and much of the day. It was only about 5.3 inches total, so nothing compared to the 3 feet on the east coast! And even just 50 miles east of here got a lot more than we did. It was just a nice snowstorm here. The worst road on my route is the road down the hill from my house:

The bike path was nicely plowed, as always!

Here's Starkweather creek on the way home:

And looking down the bike path:

For the final hill to my house I took a different road (Maher) because that was plowed. Then just had to ride a block on Morningside Ave in the unplowed snow. It's hard to ride on this snow when cars have make tracks in it. It's really slippery even with the studded tires. Fortunately it was one short block on level ground. I could have walked if necessary.

Tomorrow is supposed to be very windy and cold so that will be a challenge.

feb 5

2010-02-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

It's 4.52 miles to my exercise class. hee hee.

GPS toy

2010-02-04T20:01:00.001-08:00

I got a little wrist-GPS for Christmas. I tried it out today. I determined that it's 3.9 miles to my yoga class. If I remember tomorrow, I'll find out how far it is to my exercise class. My speed was too slow to admit to you. Max speed was 18.5 mph because I live at the top of a hill. Here's the route I took:

It's not a very detailed map, but it's still kinda fun to see it.

Feb 1: spring is coming!

2010-02-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

It was a balmy 10F when I left at 6:45 am this morning and it wasn't even pitch dark. It would have been colder but clouds rolled in over night. I'm glad! We had a house guest who got up early so he snapped this photo of me ready to go on my ride. This is pretty much my full cold-weather gear. I have lots of layers underneath my new $36 down jacket (not vegan, oops), and snow pants over my stretch pants, and warm boots and giant warm mittens, and face mask and goggles:

Okay, as I said before, I can't post every day anymore, but just thought I'd update about the exciting signs of spring. I heard cardinal songs yesterday, and chickadee and nuthatches this morning. These are their spring mating songs. That's gotta be the first sign of spring. Yea!

It wasn't my imagination!

2010-01-30T17:34:00.001-08:00

Housemate couldn't wait to tell me that our Wild Birds Unlimited newsletter says that "Late in the month, as days lengthen, Tufted Titmice and Cardinals begin to sing." So it wasn't my imagination. So maybe those were tufted titmice instead of chickadees singing. I'll have to listen to my birdsongs. Great, something to look forward to on my morning bike rides!

last week in January

2010-01-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

Is it my imagination or are there more birds out in the morning? This week, I heard chickadees doing the song I haven't heard since last spring. I saw cardinals. They stay over all winter so that's not a surprise. It just seemed noisier on the bike rides in. Maybe it was because the sun is slowly rising earlier so I'm just catching the birds waking up again.

I was out of town for almost 3 weeks in January. When I returned, I drove my car for a few days in cloudy weather. Then I just felt crazy! I don't know how people can stand to not get outside in winter. It makes me depressed. So I got on my bike again on Tuesday, and it was great. It was a cold week, but sunny and nice. Friday morning was the coldest with temperature -4 F when I left, but winds were calm. Thursday was warmer, at 3 F, but the winds were 10-15 mph from the NW, gusting to 25, so that felt as cold or colder. I was so bundled up it didn't matter. My new mittens are great! I also got a cheap new down coat (not vegan, oops) on sale for $36! It's perfect for biking, because it's shorter than my other warm coats. It's a men's coat, a little too big, but allows lots of layers which I like. I bundle up about twice as much as other bikers. I'm skinny and I bundle up until I'm fat; and I like to be toasty!

It's good to be back!

one year of blogging

2009-12-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

So I thought it would be fun to log a year of biking, and it's now been a year. I also want to start up a new hobby, and it's hard to fit everything in. So I'm kinda thinking of posting a lot less frequently here. I hope that's okay with all my many (ha) readers. Of course, I will continue to bike every day if possible because that makes me very happy.

dec. 21

2009-12-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

It was 25 F at 6:53 am, winds variable at 4 mph, so a very nice morning. The paths were pretty clear and I was thinking I should have ridden my other bike without the studded tires because it is much faster.

After my exercise class I went to campus for a meeting. Then I always like to take the scenic ride home using the downtown bike path down to John Nolan Drive and Lake Monona. I saw these ducks I hadn't seen before, must be migrating. I think they are Common loons, adult non-breeding. They were definitely shy. They flew away whenever I stopped so I couldn't get a close-up of them.

Then there was one that looked different and was not shy. This one looks like a juvenile common loon.

Not sure if I got that right, but that's kind of fun if correct. We don't see many loons here in Madison, except when they are migrating.

dec 20

2009-12-20T19:36:00.001-08:00

The temperature was 21 F, winds calm at 8 am. Here's the bike path with a dusting of snow:

On the return trip at 11 am, temperature was 25 F, winds 3.5 mph from the SSE.

Nothing much to report, just glad I got out on the bike to enjoy the outdoors. Oh, I wore my new "warm weather" (20 F) mittens and they were great. I can't wait for a deep freeze to try out the monster mittens!

mittens!

2009-12-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

I ordered some new mittens from the REI catalog. I ordered two pairs of men's XL mittens, one for "warmer" days (20 F or so), and one for the really cold days (below 5 F). I have big hands (long fingers) to begin with but I also think the roomier the glove, the warmer my hands are. I want to be able to wear my liner gloves underneath so I can unlock the garage door and lock my bike lock with the liner gloves on when it's really cold. So another reason I want roomy gloves.

Here are my liner gloves. They are very thin. Also notice my new tennis ball haircut. I've always wanted to do that at least once in my life. Surprisingly, some people actually like it.

Here are my "warmer" mittens. These were on sale:

Now check out the really cold weather mittens:

I'm too embarrassed to say how much these cost. Well, actually it's only 2 car-tanks of gas. So not so bad. Here's the mitten compared to the liner glove:

I hope they keep my hands warm! I also got a pair of lightweight insulated boots on sale. Those were less than a tank of gas.

Dec. 16, 18

2009-12-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

I biked on Wed, Dec. 16, to yoga class. The temperature was 3 F at 7:53 am, with calm winds. There were just a few clouds and it was a beautiful, chilly morning.

There were a few little birds flying around and chirping and I was wondering, how do they survive winter? My fingers were cold and I was anxiously awaiting the mittens I ordered. Wait until you see them...

I headed out of town on Wed, returned on Thursday night. Friday morning I biked to exercise class at 6:53 am. The start of the bike path:

The temperature was a balmy 26 F with winds 7 mph from the NNE. I returned home at 11 am. Temperature was 30 F, winds 13 mph from the ENE. With those studded tires on pavement and the headwind, it felt like I was riding in peanut butter.

dec. 15

2009-12-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today I did something crazy: I got up at 5:30 am and headed off (at 5:45) to a 6:30 yoga class, followed by my usual 7:30 fitness class, then rode home. That was about 3 hours of exercise! Now this is darkness:

Too bad the geminids meteor shower wasn't a few days later. It was cloudy during the peak on Dec. 13-14, but this morning it was perfectly clear. The temperature this morning was a brisk 7 F with winds 8 mph from the WNW. The roads and path were in pretty good shape as the plows have continued to clear up the messes.

I enjoyed the bright sunshine on the ride home at 9 am:

I ran into Kenny on the bike path and we chatted for a while, then I got cold and headed home.

no biking today

2009-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

A few too many factors pushed me to the car today. One or two at a time would have been okay but I had to haul heavy loads, the roads were slushy and slow-going, and I needed to take care of my partner during a rough time. So I drove the car and saved some time and effort...

Dec. 13

2009-12-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

This morning we had an ice coating on everything from the freezing rain. I wondered, does this mean I can't bike? Then I remembered riding last year in these conditions and the studded tires handling it fine. Sure enough, I had no problems with the ice. The problem was the slushy snow on some of the roads and all the cutouts (where the bike path crosses the roads). But it wasn't as much a problem for me as for the cars. I pushed a car to help it up a slight hill, and enjoyed the feeling of superiority!

The temperature was 32 F at 8:15 am, winds calm. Here's the start of the bike path:

There were a couple of roads that were in bad shape, maybe totalng 1/2 mile of the ride, as shown in this picture below. Which path should I take, the road or sidewalk?

I took the sidewalk!

But I still have to cross the road:

The temperature was still 32 F on my return ride home, winds 7 mph from the north.

I'm glad I rode my bike today because otherwise I was indoors all day.

layers

2009-12-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here are the layers I wore to bike in the cold weather (5 F). This isn't my coldest weather outfit.

I'm going to yoga class, so I'm wearing stretch pants and shirt; then thick wool socks and a wool hoodie sweater.

The hood is on, and a fleece sweater/jacket. So that's three layers on my torso, and one on the legs.

Coat, warm snow/ski pants, warm boots, liner gloves, and balaclava.

So that's now 2 layers on the legs, 4 layers on the torso, and 2 layers on the head.

Add a helmet (covered with a gortex cap, great for keeping rain and wind out!) and goggles (so 4 layers on the head?) and thick gloves (2 layers on the hands). The gloves are not warm enough. I just ordered a big pair of warm mittens (ugh, expensive too). I hope they do the trick. The goggles are amazing for warmth. A small part of my nose is exposed and this won't do if it gets any colder or windier. Too bad because this setup causes no fogging on my glasses or goggles. I have another face mask that covers my nose so that will come out soon.

Dec. 11

2009-12-11T19:01:00.001-08:00

Today I had to get out on the bike. I went to my yoga class so I got to start an hour later than usual, in the bright morning sun. It was gorgeous. The temperature was 5 F, winds 5 mph from the WSW at 7:53 am. The roads are in terrible icy conditions but the bike path was not so bad. Plus the studded tires have amazing traction. I had more traction than either the cars or pedestrians. Here's the start of the bike path:

Starkweather Creek is frozen:

People in my yoga class were curious about the biking, and I told them about studded tires. At least one guy is motivated to try it. Ben said I was crazy but I said it was just the opposite, that it keeps me sane in winter.

And here's Yahara river on the way home at 11 am.

Temperature was up to 11 F, winds 5 mph from the SW.

dec. 9

2009-12-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today we had a blizzard with 17" of snow. So we just shoveled snow for 4.5 hours and didn't go anywhere. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to be really strong, so I might bag biking then too...we'll see...We lost power for 7 hours today. Yikes, we are pretty vulnerable in winter without electricity.

dec. 8

2009-12-08T17:48:00.001-08:00

Today I would have ridden to the near west side for a yoga class but that just seems too far in the winter. The ride is slower in the snow and it gets tiring. So I went to my usual exercise class and it was a great workout! My arms are sore. That's a long enough ride at about 5 miles one way. I could attend a yoga class at my gym on Tuesdays at 6:30 am. It seems daunting to get up and ride an hour earlier in the winter, but soon it's going to be as dark and cold at 6:53 am as it is as 5:53 am.

Today, the temperature was 21 F, winds ENE at 5 mph at 6:53 am. Here's the start of the bike path:

More snow accumulated on my ride home. Temperature creeped up to 23 F, winds still ENE at 5 mph at 9 am. As always, it was nice to enjoy the outdoors.

dec 7

2009-12-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't care what the weather was, I just wanted to get on the bike today! We had a couple of inches of snow overnight, so I got out old reliable, the bike with studded tires. She's all cleaned up with a fresh tuneup (a few months ago but hasn't been ridden since), and I just had to pump up the tires. This bike is 15 years old now. Here she is:

Here's looking down the hill I'm about to ride down.

The start of the bike path at 7 am (I was a little late):

Temperature was 22 F, winds 7 mph from the north. Sunrise was 7:15 am.

Here's Starkweather creek.

It's funny how the snow is always welcome when it comes. The seasons are nice.

argh, too much driving

2009-12-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I drove the car twice and today 3 times! Each time there was a reason I couldn't bike (except the last time where I just needed to do something quickly and was hungry). By my third trip today, in the beautiful sunshine that I was not experiencing in the car, I was very irritated. ugh. Tomorrow I have to drive too because I'll be carrying lots of prepared food. darn it all! And the sun is shining!

Dec. 3 food

2009-12-03T18:37:00.001-08:00

Boy is it ever good to get back on my bike when I return to town.

Today I left at 6:53 am. The temperature was 30 F, winds 3.5 mph from the west. Sunrise wasn't until 7:11 am but at least there was some light. The sign is back up on the bike path:

On my way home at 9 am, temperature was still 30 F, winds up to 7 mph from the WNW, so a bit of a tailwind. We had a hard workout so I was happy for a little help.

Unfortunately tomorrow I will be driving in the morning to Watertown to meet Mike. darn.

Nov. 25

2009-11-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

Today was another cloudy, rainy day but at least it was warm. Temperature was 45 F, winds 8 mph from the west when I left at 9:53 am. I had to ride a little hard to make it to a 10:30 appointment against a headwind.

After that I went to a coffee shop on the near west side and then one on the near east side, to work of course with various collaborators. I headed home about 4 pm in the rain. Temperature was 41 F, winds 7 mph from the west.

I'm off to visit relatives for 4 days. No biking will occur except perhaps on their exercise bike in the basement.

Nov. 20 - 24

2009-11-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

I've been too busy to post! going back in time to last Friday...the weather has been unseasonably warm, and both cloudy and sunny. I have some memories of brutally cold Novembers here, so I'm pretty happy, even with the clouds.

On Friday, Nov. 20, oh, I didn't ride my bike! I drove to Watertown to work with collaborators. okay, moving on.

On Sat., Nov. 21, I rode to yoga class and the grocery store. I forgot to snap a picture on the way out, but here's the way back along the lake:

Temperature was 49 F, winds 6 mph from the south at noon. Temperature was 51 winds 7 mph from the south on the return trip at 3 pm. It cleared up into a nice day!

On Sunday I rode to church. Temperature was 45 F, winds 7 mph from the south at 7:30 am.

Then I got a ride to the UW women's basketball game, then we went out, then I got a ride home and picked up my bike at the church. Here's me and Chris at the game.

We're twins, separated at birth. The only difference between us is that I'm a vegan.

On Monday the temperature was 41 F, winds from the east at 5 mph at 7 am.

Temperature was 43, winds 7 mph from the east on the way home at 9 am.

Yesterday, Tuesday Nov. 24, temperature was 46 F, winds 9 mph from the ENE for my longer trip to the near west side.

After yoga, I went to campus, then headed home about 4 pm. Temperature was 46 F, winds 10 mph from the east, and it was raining. And yet, I didn't mind. It was nice getting outside and I enjoyed the warmer than usual temperature. It got dark during my ride home. Here's a train crossing the road close to my home. The picture blurs in between train cars so you can see both the train car and the road behing it.

Nov. 17-19

2009-11-19T18:24:00.001-08:00

I had to drive to Milwaukee on Nov. 17, so I didn't bike! I even could have to a meeting that night but I was lazy.

Nov. 18, the temperature was 41 F, winds NE at 8 mph when I left at 7:53 am. Here's the start of the bike path:

The Yahara river was pretty in the morning light.

After yoga, I went to campus in the rain and then rode home with Kenny in the rain at 4 pm. Winds were light from the east, temperature 45 F.

This morning the temperature was 39 F, winds calm at 6:53 am. The sun hadn't risen yet so it was a wee bit darker than yesterday, but it was very pleasant. The temperature rose to 44 F for my ride home at 11 am, winds still light at 3 mph. It seemed warmer. I guess I was dressed for cooler weather. I saw a hawk and those same cardinals on the way home.

Nov. 16

2009-11-16T19:18:00.001-08:00

Today I left at 6:53 am, 2 minutes after sunrise. But it was cloudy so I didn't see it. It is peaceful at this time of day. Temperature was 34 F, winds 7 mph from the NNE. Here's the start of the bike path:

On the way back home, I saw about 6 cardinals in the space of 20 feet. They must have been hanging out together. That was in the usual spot for finding interesting things, behind the closed feel mill south of Olbrich. Temperature was 34 F, winds 10 mph from the NE when I returned at 9 am.

Tonight the leonids meteor shower is supposed to make a good showing, but it is also supposed to be cloudy here. Too bad. I'd be willing to get up early and go to the 6:30 am exercise class just so I could see the shower.

What I learned at my bicycle mechanics class

2009-11-15T11:20:00.001-08:00

I took a 4-class course on bicycle mechanics which was very well done. The most useful things I learned don't require you to do anything fancy, and can save you lots of money down the line. I'm going to write them down here mainly for my benefit and any other crazy person who actually reads this blog.

if you keep the chain cleaned, and replace it regularly (once a year if you ride a lot in bad weather), your cogs and chain rings and derailleurs will last a lot longer.
how to clean the chain: apply lubricant, wipe all the muck off. make sure to remove all the lubricant when you are done! Otherwise it attracts the grit that wears down the chain.
lubricate and clean the cables where they go into their housing (coverings) to keep the brakes and derailleurs working reasonably well. Then again, wipe off all the excess so as not to attract more grit into these areas you want to keep clean.
We learned how to adjust the brakes and derailleurs using these, umm, barrel adjustments? These are on almost all new bikes and are up by your brakes and are easy to adjust.
keep your wheel rims clean (warm water and a rag), and that will make your brakes work better
don't let your brake pads where too thin, especially if they are part metal, like mine are, because they can destroy your rim if you get down to the metal.

Nov. 13-15

2009-11-15T11:03:00.001-08:00

It's better to blog everyday because I forget things from a few days ago. Oh well, the pictures help remind me. Friday morning I left at 6:53 am, only a few minutes after sunrise. Temperature was 40 F, winds from the south at 15 mph. I was tired today but glad to be on the bike. Here's the start of the bike path. The sign has been taken down (replaced by small red flags at bottom left).

After exercise class I stopped at the grocery store, so rode along the lake on the way home for a change. That was nice.

On Saturday morning, I drove the car to the grocery store. I am afraid this is becoming a habit. It is so convenient to load up on the heavy stuff. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to go to yoga class in the afternoon and ride my bike. It was a nice warm day. The temperature was 54 F, and winds were calm. nice! Here's the bike path:

I stopped at the bike shop on my way home to get some supplies so I can change my brake pads. Hopefully I'll be successful.

Today I saw 3 hawks and either a hawk or an owl in the space of about 500 yards, behind the closed feed mill and Olbrich gardens. It was a brisk 32 F, with winds 7 mph from the North when I left. Here's the bike path without the sign.

Here's one of the hawks.

There were two other hawks in the same area as this one. I didn't think they liked to hang out near each other. The owl or hawk was in a tree being harrassed by crows. He had a fatter body than most hawks so that's why I wondered if it was an owl. I now have a newfound appreciation for the trees without leaves because you can see the birds better.

The temperature was 44 F when I returned at 11 am, but I was still chilled from church and my new extremely short hair cut.

Nov. 6-12

2009-11-12T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a great week for biking. It was a really lousy October this year but it's been a great November. I think if we'd known in advance we'd have a fabulous summer, September, and November, and a lousy October, we could have handled October better. But that's usually a fabulous month and it caught us all off guard.

Anyway, last Friday, Nov. 6. I thought I was going to meet someone at Watertown so I drove to the gym. Fortunately I had an afternoon appointment so I still got to ride my bike. The temperature was 62 F at 1:30 pm! Winds were 21 gusting to 28 from the SSE. It was still windy for my trip home at 4 pm. Then I had another thing in the evening that would have been an easy bike ride but my bike was still without lights after Wed.'s vandalism.

On Saturday and Sunday I drove the you-know-what to Chicago--both days! I'll have to do a lot of biking to make up for that. Oh, Sat. afternoon when I got home, I biked to Olbrich to meet Marilyn.

Monday morning, Nov. 9, the temperature was 57 F at 6:53 am! warm! Winds were 11 mph from the NNW. They died down a bit for my ride home at 9:30 am. Ye olde start of the bike path:

Tuesday I was out from 8 am to 11 pm. It was warm in the middle but cold on the ends. I mistakenly dressed for the middle. The temperature was 40 F at 7:53 am, winds 5 mph from the north. My gloves were too thin for this. The start of the bike path:

After yoga I went to campus. temperature was 54 F, winds 6 mph from the NE. okay, this is nice. Here's Monona Bay:

After campus, I went to the bike shop for my final maintenance class. The temperature quickly dropped to 41 F, winds calm at 7 pm. Then we went to Harmony bar and I left about 10:30 pm. Temperature was 31 F. My hands froze!

Wednesday morning, temperature was 30 F at 7:53 am, and I wasn't dressed quite warm enough because of the forecast for a high of 58 F. Winds were calm, which contributed to the cold temperature (radiation cooling). the start of the bike path:

I haven't taken a picture of the Yahara river in a while:

Looking the other direction:

After yoga, I went to campus, and fortunately had to leave at 3:30 pm to go to another meeting. I say fortunately because this allowed me to bike in the waning daylight. The sun was setting when I got home. Here's Monona terrace and the lake. Temperature was 51 F, winds 5 mph from the SSW.

Today, I left at 6:53 am, and the sun was just rising. It was beautiful but I'm sad to think that soon I will be riding in the dark again. I don't mind riding in the dark in the evenings, but I really prefer daylight in the mornings. The temperature was 26 F at 6:53 am, winds calm. Here's the bikepath in the beautiful morning light.

There's the sun in the other direction:

another picture of the nice morning light.

After class I went to church to get my haircut and then arrived home at noon. Temperature was up to 48 F now with winds 15 mph from the south.

Nov. 2-5

2009-11-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

I biked this week, just didn't have time to blog about it.

Monday was great because daylight savings time went away and it was light out at 7 am! woo hoo. I forgot to load the memory card into the camera. Temperature was 43 F, winds west at 5 mph, partly cloudy. A nice ride to and from exercise class.

Tuesday we took the day off because it was Marilyn's birthday. We rode our bikes to Edna Taylor park, just a few miles from the house. Here's a hawk. I haven't looked it up yet to see what kind.

It was a sunny but cool day, temperatures in the low 40s, winds less than 5 mph.

Wednesday SUCKED! Well it started out okay. I went to yoga at 8 am. It was a nice morning, temperature 40 F, winds 10 mph from the ESE.

And it was a nice afternoon too. I went to campus, and then planned to leave at 3:30 so I could get to an appointment at 5:30, and someone had let the air out of my tires and stole my front and rear bike lights. So then I had to scramble to try to get home to make my appointment. This is the second time in a year my bike has been vandalized outside the physics building on UW campus. That night I drove to my appointment with the bike in the car and stopped off at the bike shop to pump up the tires.

The tires were still inflated this morning when I rode to campus. Temperature was 48 at 11 am, winds 8 mph from the WSW, and clear skies:

Temperature was 51 F, winds 6 mph from the NW when I rode home at 3 pm.

Oct. 31

2009-10-31T14:17:00.001-07:00

oops, I drove the car today to the grocery store. I have to admit, it was nice to load up on a week's worth of groceries.

Oct. 30

2009-10-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yeah, my last morning ride in the darkness, for a few weeks anyway. We go off daylight savings time on Sunday.

It was really warm so that was a nice surprise. Temperature was 61 F at 6:53 am, winds south at 11 mph. On my return trip at 8:41 am, temperature was 63, winds 13 mph from the south. It was misting a bit but nothing to complain about. I was just enjoying being warm.

Oct. 29

2009-10-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today my lovely break from a long day of work was a ride around the lake (Monona) with a stop for yoga and tea halfway around.

I was a little pressed for time so I didn't even stop to snap this picture:

Fortunately I had a partial tailwind. Temperature was 54 F, winds 17 mph gusting to 26 from the SSE.

The purple flowers at Atwood gardens were nice against the orange leaves.

Near the yoga studio, I passed by the house I lived in over 20 years. wow. I haven't gone by here in years but I might start taking this route a few times a week.

On the way home, here is the view across Monona Bay. The water tower is close to where I live. I can go left or right and it's about the same distance. I rode north coming in, and south heading home (to the right here).

I think these were coots:

We don't see them too much here. They must be migrating? Here's some more against a nice background:

I stopped at Washington Hotel coffee shop for some tea. on W. Lakeside. a very nice spot! good view of the lake. Then it started raining. I knew it was coming. that's what the rain gear is for. Here's my wet bike.

The wind died down a bit for my ride home, to 9 mph from the SE at 2:15. It didn't seem bad.

Oct. 28

2009-10-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm adjusting to the morning darkness. I have to because I like to be happy. Temperature was 41, winds calm at 6:53 am.

Actually it was nice to see the sky brighten as I made it to class. It wasn't too cloudy. After exercise class I went to campus. I rode home at about 3 pm. Temperature was up to 55, winds only 4 mph from the south. It was a nice ride, probably the highlight of my day.

oct. 27

2009-10-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

This morning was one of the prettiest rides I've ever done. I got to leave an hour later than yesterday so it was light out. Morning fog was dissipating, bringing clear skies. The fog, blue sky, and foliage was beautiful. And to top it off I had a long ride. My first destination was a yoga studio on the other side of Lake Monona, so I took the southern route. This involves turning left on Lakeview instead of going down the hill to Davies, Dempster and the bike path. The temperature was a cool 33 F, winds calm at 8 am. Here's Lakeview Ave:

Here's some morning fog still dissipating:

A view of the lake around the south side. I don't know the name of the bike path or streets here:

A beautiful birch tree:

Another sign of fall:

Riding by Wingra creek made me realize I want to get my kayak on this creek! I was starting to worry about being late so I snapped this photo while riding:

Now I'm on campus and will ride home about 6 pm, stopping at Revolution cycles for my bicycle maintenance class at 7 pm. So I'll get home about 10 pm. I've been meaning to mention the best part about winter (and fall and spring) biking: it's a great way to get outside and enjoy sunshine and fresh air, and beat the winter blues--though tonight's ride will be in the dark. Night rides can be nice and peaceful. Soon I will convince myself of the same about morning rides in the dark--otherwise I'm in for a depressing winter.

Oct. 26

2009-10-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Ugh:

The temperature was 46 F, winds calm at 6:53 am. It was dark and cloudy with light rain. It was peaceful. There's the positive side.

At least it was light out on the way home at 9 am. Temperature was 47 F, winds 5 mph from the north. Here's the road up to my house. If it weren't for the colors, Fall would be dreary.

2009-10-25T18:31:00.001-07:00

Today was still beautiful (on Friday the 5 day forecast was for rain and clouds). In fact, it was gorgeous in the morning light. I left at 7:45 am which was only 22 minutes after sunrise. Temperature was 45 F, winds 8 mph from the south. Here's the start of the bike path:

Starkweather creek looks beautiful!

this has been a great fall for foliage!

Here's Starkweather Creek in the afternoon light, about 2:45 pm. Boy does that look different.

Temperature was 59 F, winds variable at 6 mph. What a nice day!

oct. 24

2009-10-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Even though I drove the you-know-what for my morning errands (not an excuse but it did make the grocery shopping easier), we rode our bikes to a park with Kenny and Audrey. That was a lot of fun. The forecast was for rainy crappy weather all weekend. Here's how it turned out:

The temperature was 50 F at 2 pm, winds 8 mph from the west. Here's Kenny and Audrey.

Audrey complains when she has to ride in the car. A true biker!

Here's my biking outfit without the helmet. The orange strip on my back is a flashing light. it's attached to my hood. We had a great time.

oct. 23

2009-10-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't bike today! I drove the you-know-what all day long. I was so rushed going from one meeting to the next I didn't have time to get on the bike. Oh well, at least it was windy and rainy and miserable.

Oct. 22

2009-10-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was rainy, cool and windy. But believe it or not, it was a great 3 rides into campus (2 stops on the way). The temperature was 41 F, winds 17 mph gusting to 29 mph at 9 am. Fortunately that's mostly a tailwind, which is good because otherwise I would have been late. I rode fast and forgot to take a picture at the start of the bike path. I decided to take one at Starkweather Creek.

The fall colors were just beautiful. This has been a beautiful year for fall colors.

First stop was a meeting at a coffee shop on the Lakeside Ave, so I rode along Lake Monona:

And on Lakeside Ave, another shot of the fall colors.

Then I had another appointment before heading to campus. Then tonight I wasn't looking so forward to riding home in a headwind in the rain, and I got lucky and scored a ride home with Marilyn. We put the bike in her car.

Oct. 21

2009-10-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ah, this day was great. This is an example of when you shouldn't let a weather forecast stop you from riding. The forecast was windy and rainy. Okay, from this picture, it looks likely.

And this was at 9 am. Temperature was 50 F, winds E at 5 mph. It was a very pleasant and peaceful ride. Then by noon it got sunny. It was a warm sunny day. We did some "work" at the terrace and I rode home with Kenny at 5 pm. The temperature was 70 F (!), winds 10 mph from the S.

Oct. 20

2009-10-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Posting 3 days later makes it harder to remember. Let's see if the almanac can jar my memory. Temperature was 46 F, winds were calm at 6:55 am. nope, still don't remember much. Here's the start of the bike path:

Trains are always fun, except for the loud horn.

Oh yeah, I went on to a massage after the exercise. That was fun. Then I went on a night ride to my bicycle maintenance class from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. That was very fun. The temperature was 50 F, winds 9 mph from the ENE on the way out; temp 48, winds 6 mph on the way home. We learned how to change tires. I've done this many times before but since I never actually had someone teach me how to do it, I learned several useful tips from the instruction. I'm looking forward to the next class, next Tuesday.

Oct. 19

2009-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

I doubt I'll ever love waking up in the dark and leaving before sunrise, but you never know, I'll have plenty of opportunity to learn to love it in the next few months. Today wasn't too dark when I left because they sky was pretty clear. At least the temperatures are supposed to be closer to normal this week. Temperature was 44 F, winds 10 mph from the south at 6:53 am. Sunrise was 7:16 am. Here's the start of the bike path at 7 am:

The ride home was excellent. The sun was shining and I had a nice tailwind. The temperature 47 F, winds 8 mph from the SSW at 9 am. huh, it seemed like that more help than that.

Oct. 18

2009-10-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous morning. This could be the #1 prettiest daily ride I've had. Or easily in the top 5. I left about 8 am, 45 after sunrise, and the sun angle was perfect. The trees are turning color, the sky was clear, it was a cool 33 F, the winds were south at 6 mph, there was frost on the ground in low-lying areas. The pictures don't do it justice, but it was lovely:

It was also nice on the way home but not the same. The temperature was nice and warm though, 49 F, with winds 12 mph from the SW at noon.

Oct. 17

2009-10-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today I took my kayak to a friend's garage to store for winter. So I combined my various trips into one car trip, and did no biking. Can you tell a lot about a family by their garage? This looks like a fun-loving family:

Oct. 16

2009-10-18T19:11:00.001-07:00

I'm writing 3 days later so I don't remember what I was thinking this morning. Temperature was 33 F, winds 13 mph from the north. I was just a bit late for class. Oh yeah, I remember it cleared up on my way home and was a pleasant ride. Temperature was 35, winds 9 mph from the north. I stopped at the co-op to get a few groceries. Here's the bike path at 6:53 am:

In the afternoon I rode to O'Keefe middle school to help some kids build lego robots. Temperature was 45 F and it felt hot! I dressed for colder. Here's the view from the school looking back to the bike path:

Then I headed to campus for the hockey game. I put my bike in housemate's car and got a ride home later on.

Oct. 15

2009-10-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

A nice dark rainy morning. But it's also peaceful in the rain. Our exercise class involved some running outdoors so I got a lot of exposure to the rain today. And that was fine. Maybe I'm getting adjusted to the new season now. Temperature was 39 F, winds 5 mph from the ENE at 7 am. Sunrise was 7:11 am (still not adjusted to that). The ride home at 9 am was a little more windy, 9 mph, and temperature was still 39.

Oct. 14

2009-10-14T19:53:00.001-07:00

This morning I found a reason to drive in the rain. bad barbie biker. well, I needed a lot of heavy groceries. bad planning, barbie biker. okay, but I rode this afternoon.

The temperature was 45 F, winds 17 mph gusting to 27, from the East, at 4 pm--good thing because I was late. I forgot to take a picture. Then I had a meeting at church at 6 pm. Here's a picture on the way there. Temperature was 44 F, winds 13 mph from the east.

then a ride home in the dark at 7:30 pm Temperature was 43 F, winds 11 mph from the east. The winds must have made me feel cold. It's unseasonably cold. That must be why I'm not ready for it. I should have worn a vest.

Oct. 13

2009-10-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

I rode my bike twice today. First in the morning:

Temperature was 29 F, winds calm at 6:55 am, sunrise was 7:08 am. I'm trying not to get depressed about the cold and darkness. I'll get used to it...

The way home was nice and sunny and beautiful. Temperature was all the way up to 34 f, winds 14 mph from the north.

This nice couple was sweeping glass off the bike path:

They made me realize, I can do that too! It's funny how you don't think of something until you see someone else do it. I have a small brush but it's not where I thought it was. I need to find it and put it in my bike bag.

The trees are starting to turn!

I want an apple tree of my own.

Then later on I had a meeting and a dinner party to attend. temperature was 44 at 5 pm, winds 9 mph from the east.

Starkweather Creek has been particularly pretty lately, not sure why. I guess I just missed it being gone for 2 weeks.

I rode home in the dark and cold at 9:30 pm. Temperature was 35 F, winds 11 mph from the NNE. I still have to get used to the cold and dark...

Oct. 12

2009-10-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Oof, it was dark when the alarm went off at 6:30 am. Now I wish we'd go off daylight saving's time. At least it was light out when I left at 7 am. Sunrise was 7:07 am. Temperature was 37 F. The wind was light from the east, good thing because that kept me from being too late.

Here's the bike path in the dawn light:

As usual, once I got the warm clothes on and got out in it, it was a nice ride. The ride home at 9 am was similar with temperature 39 F and winds light from the east.

One thing I'm wondering is, since most people pass me on the bike path, which means I'm a slow rider, how am I ever going to be good at mountain biking? But I seem to be able to keep going at least.

Oct. 11

2009-10-11T18:13:00.001-07:00

And now it's back to my daily commute. Here's the east side bike path at 10:30 am:

Temperature was 36 F, winds from the north at 8 mph. I was out all day, then stopped at the grocery store on my way home. By the time I left there at 6 pm, temperature was 38 F, winds calm. It felt colder than that, maybe because I was wearing street clothes instead of my favorite biking layers. I almost never wear street clothes anymore.

Oct. 10

2009-10-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the final ride of my trip! It was in a beautiful area of southeastern Minnesota near Winona. The ride was called Plowline Trail. I found it on trails.com. The only problem was that I took so many wrong turns, I don't know if I ever was on the right trail. Also it turned out to be a double track trail which wasn't very challenging technically, even though the guide said it was a technical level of 2-4 out of 1-5. Aerobically it was very challenging, especially with all the wrong turns I took. Up the hill, then down the other side, oops, wasn't supposed to go that way, back up the hill, then up and down various trails and turning around. There were two overlooks and I never found them. There were other intersecting trails that weren't shown on the trails.com map. I think it would have helped to include the intersecting trails. Oh well, it was a beautiful day, and a great 2 hour break from driving! Marilyn walked the trail and took the same wrong turn as me at first. It was good that I climbed back up most of the hill and met her before she went all the way down. Here's a picture of me after we met up the first time.

Here's a single-track trail that went down a steep hill. I was thinking maybe this led to an overlook but I never saw it. Climbing back up was a good challenge. One thing I'm pleased with is I seem to have a lot of endurance. I kind of feel like I could do this all day, but I'm sure that's not true. Sometime I'll have to see how long I can ride.

You can make out a river on this one, I think the Mississippi. You were supposed to get a great view from the overlooks...

The trail was never level and it was fun to go downhill fast since there weren't too many obstacles (roots, boulders). The first hill was challenging because of the rocks and slippery gravel. So I didn't go down real fast on that one at the end. It's fun to bounce along that terrain with the shocks on the bike. The shock absorbers are still a novelty for me.

This trip turned out to be a great, mostly free, mountain bike clinic for me. In 8 days, I rode 9 times! Okay, one of them probably shouldn't count since it was on pavement. So 8 times. What fun that turned out to be. Now I'm looking forward to trying out the local trails.

oct. 9,

2009-10-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today I biked at the Mount Kato Ski Area in Mankato, MN. It was a great little trail, totally worth the $8 self-registration fee. They managed to map out about 5 miles of nice single-track winding trails in this ski area. Each section had cute names like Kato Climb, Frog Pond Loop, Outlook Traverse, Staircase, Killer Toad Loop. Trails.com rated it technically as 2-4 on a scale of 1-5, and aerobically as moderate. That seemed about right. At first it seemed like it was going to be technically easy and aerobically moderate, but it got more and more technical as it went on. I even had to avoid a couple of the really challenging spots (there were alternate routes). It went up and down several ski areas so was quite a workout. A few technical things I got to work on were riding on narrow paths on the side of a steep hill--that psyches me out a bit. Another was steep slow turns on switchbacks on steep hills. That also psyches me out, especially the part where if you fall, you might fall down the steep hill. I did a couple of them, and chickened out on a couple of them. Then there is going down steep grades over obstacles, without doing and endover. I managed some of those and on others I chickened out and walked over them. Going up the steep grades, I made most of them, but did walk a few times. It was a great ride with just the right amount of challenge but enough easy stuff to make it fun too. And it was pretty. Here I am at the start of the ride, going up the ski hill, fortunately with swithbacks:

The fall colors were beautiful:

Nice views from the top:

More pretty fall colors:

more nice views.

I managed to finish just about when the sun set.

Oct. 8

2009-10-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Badlands National Park so no biking. The national parks are no fun! Kidding. but they don't allow mountain biking. Some people think we tear up trails and are disruptive, but they build roads and viewpoints for the cars, and what's more disruptive than that? okay, rant over. It was windy and cold so we didn't even hike yesterday (of course, that didn't stop me from biking today).

Today we biked and hiked on an island in the middle of the Missouri river in Pierre, SD. It was fun! Here's the map. It's LaFramboise Island.

Here I go. It's cold and windy so I have two layers on the legs and 5 layers on top!

The ride was easy, mostly flat, with few rocks on the trail, and only occasional roots. The secondary trails, which I rode as much as possible, were narrow and winding so it was still very fun even if it was easy. They've done a great job clearing out all these trails. Most of the ride was protected from the wind, in the woods and then in the prairie on the other side of the island from the wind.

The trails go by the river,

through the woods,

onto the prairie,

I like the different prairie grasses:

back into the woods:

I came back via the river, into a strong headwind. Across the way is Fort Pierre.

What a lovely place. And what a great way to see the country!

Oct. 6

2009-10-06T19:50:00.001-07:00

We arrived in the Black Hills last night to 6" of snow. So we figured I wouldn't be riding today. Fortunately, the unexpected happened and I rode not once, but twice! And they were very challenging. Now tomorrow I really don't think I will be able to ride because we won't have time. How sad! It would be fun to do five days in a row. This is like my own mountain biking clinic.

Here's a nice scenery shot showing the snow.

We drove around Custer State Park, and on the east side, our altitude decreased below the snow line. So we looked for hiking trails and came upon the French Creek Natural Area. Here I am departing:

The trail is not marked and I immediately took a wrong turn. This is the correct path that I didn't take:

Instead, I went up a very steep and slightly muddy trail. The mud wasn't too slippery but it caked onto my tires. There was a cool bird overhead:

Here is the muddy road I took. oops.

Here is my front tire from above:

from the side

and the rear tire:

I stopped once to remove the mud. It actually came off pretty easily because of the grass stuck in it. I also removed mud from my shoes with my knife. Good thing I brought the knife. It was a very steep climb made more difficult by the mud, quite the aerobic workout. The view from the top was very nice.

The ride down was a lot of fun too. Then I met up with Marilyn who confirmed that I took the wrong turn. She let me go the right way for another 20 minutes. Here I go.

Here's looking back at Marilyn:

These stream crossings were kind of fun. The first two I walked, and then I got the hang of it and was able to go over the rocks:

This was a nice narrow single-track trail, but I had to turn around after 10 minutes. Oh well.

Okay, then this afternoon, after realizing we couldn't make it all the way up needles highway due to snow, I got permission to do another ride. I thought this would be an easy 3 mile loop. No, this was the hardest ride I've ever done! The uphills were way beyond my technical ability so I walked a lot. It was both very steep and very rocky. There are no such things as switchbacks here. I can handle one at a time (at least some of the time) but not both. The rocks were boulders strewn all along the steep trail. At one point I just ricocheted right off a boulder to the ground at left--in view of the only 2 other people on the trail of course--it didn't hurt, just bruised my arm. Thank goodness these nice people were on the trail because I felt better knowing they were there. I was planning to turn around at the top of the first hill because this was way beyond my ability but then it looked so pretty, I just wanted to see what was up there, so I walked up there and then it looked so pretty I went back and got my bike and said, I'll just go a little farther. So then I went downhill some, and finally caught up with the nice hikers, only because they were stopping a lot to look for birds. Then I went down a steep hill with boulders, half walking and got to this fence where you could only squeeze your body through. The nice hikers helped me lift the bike over the fence.

Then I hobbled down another steep hill and got to a stream crossing:

The board is only 6" wide or so. Well, I sure didn't want to go back up that hill and throw my bike over the fence, so no problem, I'll do this. The worse that can happen is I get my feet wet. So I walked over this with my bike. And took a picture of the stream. It was a beautiful ride, and I was able to appreciate it even though I thought it was the craziest trail I'd ever been on.

Here's some more scenery:

At the top, you are on the plains. It's kind of different. You'd expect this at the bottom.

Oh God, another fence! This one's even taller (about 6 feet?) and I'm all alone now. Once again, I sure don't want to turn around so I lift the bike over. I did a good job actually--got it sideways on top, then lifted over the pedals gingerly, lifted over the wheel centers where the stick out, put my arm through the fence to tip the bike, then let it drop and bounce and fall over. It was an easy fall for the bike.

another stream crossing! okay, just step on the boulders and drag the bike along.

Then just a few more steep drops, some ridden, some hobbled, a nice little ride on flat stuff, then the car is in view, oh there's Marilyn right in front of me, oh, just gotta cross this dry river bed again, oh, there's a nice boulder, oh another ricochet off the boulder onto the ground. Fortunately Marilyn was reading a book so didn't see it. I just cracked up laughing at that point. I hobbled over the crick and was glad to be back at the car. After telling my saga to Marilyn she said, "Would you do it again?" I said, oh yeah!

We also saw lots of wildlife today:

Oct. 5

2009-10-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today I got to bike again! This was unexpected because it had rained overnight and was still sprinkling during our drive. We stopped at Wildcat Hills Recreational Area, near Gering, Nebraska. It was a wonderful place. Here's a view from the top. It was still cloudy.

The ride was really fun. Gail would call it an easy ride, but there were plenty of challenges for me. There were deep ruts in several places so I had to ride with precision which is kind of scary. There were lots of steep ups and downs. I did pretty good pushing through the uphills. I usually said "thank you Monkey Bar Gym" when I succeeded. Now I will appreciate their killer workouts more when I return home. And thank you Dr. Fuhrman whose diet cleared out my arteries so I could catch my breath. There were enough rocks and branches to give me some technical challenges, but there were also some easy flat parts. So it was a nice mixture. I think I only had to stop against my will about 4 times. That's proof it's an easy ride because I'm not that good yet. I stopped several times to snap photos though. Here's a few:

When I got to this crossing, I chickened out and turned around. I had been out longer than I promised anyway, so had to get back. I am still easily psyched out due to several things that make me nervous--being alone, and those darn clip-in pedals still scare me. At the beginning of this crossing, you can't reach the railing. But it would be doable if I weren't pysched out.

Then we went to Scott's Bluff. There was a little paved bike path that I rode. It turned out to be more fun than I expected because it was relatively narrow and curvy so sort of like a racetrack when you were going downhill. Here I am departing:

Some scenery shots:

some farmland at the end of the path

The path was only about 1.5 miles one-way. Then I returned. It's hard to not have fun on a bike, even on a paved path.

Oct. 4

2009-10-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today I got to ride the bike again! Even though I could barely walk last night, I could walk much better this morning. I wasn't sure I could ride though. We stayed in Cheyenne another day because the weather is going bad for a few days starting later today; so we decided to hike/bike today, then drive tomorrow. We planned to go to Vedauwoo recreational area and Curt Gowdy State Park.

Well, as we headed towards Vedauwoo on the interstate, climbing from 6060 ft in Cheyenne up to Veauwoo at 8200 ft, we entered the clouds. oh no. And there was mist and some rain and hail but not much. We figured we're hosed, but we decided to check it out anyway. Well, as it turned out, it was really nice! It was a little foggy, but that just kept everyone away so we had the place to ourselves. The trail was dry so I was encouraged that I could maybe bike it. We started off by walking the Turtle Walk trail. It's about 3 miles. Here's a few pictures from the hike. That's Marilyn in the pictures:

After the hike, I decided my knee is probably okay to ride it. It was a little sore but adrenaline trumps a sore knee when you are biking. And, like I said yesterday, it's just a bad bruise (not sprained muscles) so I don't think I injured it more by exercising it. Here I am at the start.

It's 31 degrees F, so I have 3 layers on my legs and 5 layers on top. Hey, I don't like being cold. I did get a little warm on the ride and that's how I like it. Fortunately I have lots of experience riding in winter in Wisconsin so I have the clothes.

Gail said the ride was too easy for us, but it was perfect for me with my fear of the clip-in pedals and hurt knee and going all by myself without a lot of experience. I wasn't as brave as I am when I have Gail guiding me, so I walked some things I know I could have ridden. But there were enough things I did right and powered through to encourage me. That's what keeps you coming back! I went a little longer on the trail doing a couple of extra spurs and trying to take a short cut that ended up being a longer route because I got a little lost. But that just meant more riding on fun trails so it was great. I saw some deer and chatted with them. It was a very fun day. And my knee is a wee bit more sore but it will heal over the next few days while we're in the car in the rain.

My bike is getting dirty so it's looking more like a real mountain bike.

Oct. 3

2009-10-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

I had a business trip to Laramie WY, so made it into a road trip and brought my mountain bike. Business is over, and my friend Gail drove up to ride with me. This was the inaugural ride for my new bike! We biked in the Happy Jack Recreational Area just east of Laramie. It's a great place to mountain bike. Gail thinks I'm better than I am and we went on the hardest ride, called Death's crotch (is that sexist?) which then meets up with the Headquarters trail. Only the locals know about Death's Crotch and you have to lift your bike over a barbed-wire fence to start the ride. Fortunately we ran into a local who gave us lots of tips. She was really nice and we had a fun conversation and exchanged contact information for the next time we visit.

The ride was great, but I think the first part (Death's Crotch---I can't believe I've written that 3 times) had too many challenges for me at once. The main challenge was riding with SPD pedals with clip-in shoes. I was nervous about falling over in my pedals (which I have done a few times in the past). Then there was the steep climb and switchbacks and the altitude of 9000 ft and the rocks and loose gravel and tree roots. I'm glad I did those figure 8s at slow speed in the backyard a few weeks ago. That helped a lot. I did pretty well, all considering. But at one point I banged my knee really hard on my bike when I banged into a boulder on the left. That hurt almost as bad as when I broke my kneecap a few years ago. So I worried for a minute about that. But since I could bend it and walk, I figured it wasn't broken. I pushed through it because the way down on the other side was easier than the way we came from. Banging my knee just made me more disconcerted, and I walked more than rode for about 10 minutes until I got my confidence back. On the way up, Gail kept commenting on the great scenery and I was a bit too overwhelmed to notice.

On the positive side, I seemed to be able to get out of my pedals whenever I needed to so I gradually developed confidence with the pedals. On the way down we were on an easier trail and it was lots of fun, bumping over the rocks with a great bike. I'm very happy with the bike. I knew I would be because I rented a similar one a few years ago.

My knee is very sore and I am icing it. But it's just a bad bruise on the kneecap. It's not like a sprain or strain of muscles and tendons. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be ready to ride again tomorrow. I'm bummed about that because we were thinking of staying another day here and going to Kurt Goudy State Park, which is supposed to have award-winning mountain bike trails. Maybe my knee will miraculously heal. I'm going to buy kneepads first chance I get. The gal we ran into was wearing some.

sept. 29

2009-10-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this two days later so I don't remember as well. It was still gusty today. Temperature was 46 F, winds 12 mph gusting to 21 from the NNW. Biking home was a little slow after a hard workout. Temperature was 47 F, winds 17 gusting to 25 from the north. Fortunately that was a tailwind on the second half of the right.

Now I'm off on a trip, so no biking. But I brought the mountain bike and plan to use it on Sat, and hopefully more than that.

sept. 28--blustery!

2009-09-28T19:47:00.001-07:00

ooh, it was blustery and chilly this morning! and dark. The sun rose at 6:51, about when I left. Ouch, no wonder it was dark. The temperature was 52 F, winds 20 mph from the WNW. I dressed for it and it was fine. It's my little adventure to brave the elements.

On the way home at 9 am, the winds picked up to 25 mph, and I had a nice tailwind all the way home. yeah! I rode in gears I never used before.

sept. 27

2009-09-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Left home at 8:30 am. temperature was 57 F, winds 9 mph from the SSW, and blue skies, so a change from the last several days. The tailwind was nice too.

After church, I did some quick grocery shopping, then ran into some friends out walking and visited with them until I decided my frozen mangos were getting too thawed. I love biking and running into people and visiting with them.

sept. 26

2009-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

The cloudy weather continues but it doesn't bother me after our fabulous summer and september weather. Plus it's peaceful on the bikepath. It was 60 F, winds calm at 8 am when I left. I forgot to snap a picture at the start of the bike path, but about a hundred yards later I saw a hawk and that reminded me to take a picture. He's on the light post at top right:

This one seemed smaller than the one I saw a couple of days ago, but maybe I'm wrong and it's the same one. I'm guessing this is a Cooper's hawk.

After my 4 hour meeting, I went to my yoga class, then grocery shopping, then headed home about 3 pm. Temperature was 69 F, winds variable at 3 mph. It was a fun day.

sept. 25

2009-09-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yea, I finally made it to my exercise class even though I still coughed all night. It was a hard class and I didn't have a lot of energy but it was great. I really enjoyed it.

It was dark when I woke up because of the cloud cover, but light when I left at 6:53 am. Temperature was 62 F, winds 6 mph from ESE. It rained lightly on my way home but I had looked at the radar and brought rain pants and jacket so it wasn't a problem. Temperature was 63 F, winds 8 mph from the SE on the way home at 8:30 am. Kenny rode his bike over to work with me and we got a lot done while it rained all afternoon.

sept. 24

2009-09-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

I was still not ready for exercise class after coughing all night, but fortunately I had a massage appointment in the afternoon.

The weather is the same every day. Temperature was 72 F, winds south at 4 mph at 2 pm. I went grocery shopping after this and headed home about 5:30 pm. temperature 72, winds 5 mph from the SE.

sept. 23

2009-09-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

It was a misty morning. Temperature was 63 F, winds light at 4 mph at 7:30 am. I'm actually enjoying the fall weather after our fabulous Sept. in which I did a lot of kayaking and mountain biking. I got my fun in so I'm ready for the change of seasons.

This hawk was on a faraway pole. He seemed bigger than a Cooper's hawk. maybe a redtail?

This piece of equipment can shovel out a railway post like a match stick. Then they just swap in new ones.

After yoga I went to campus. Temperature was up to 71, winds still light. Rode home with Kenny at 5 pm so got my exercise (he's fast). temperature was 73 F, winds calm.

sept. 22

2009-09-22T18:51:00.001-07:00

no biking today! I didn't feel up to exercising (still have a cold), and had a collaborator over to my house to work, so never got out of the house. Fortunately, we had a hugh rainstorm this morning so that was good timing. Looking forward to tomorrow!

sept. 21

2009-09-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

This morning it was cloudy for a change. We've had such amazing good weather for the past several months that I've forgotten that there is this thing called rain you might want to prepare for. But it didn't rain, was just a little misty. In fact, it was really nice. The winds were calm and that makes for a great bike ride. Temperature was 58 F at 7:53 am. On the return trip at 10:53 am, loaded with groceries, temperature was 61 F, winds still calm, and the sun was out. A very nice morning.

sept. 20

2009-09-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

Yea, I finally biked today! I still have this darn cold but it's slowly getting better.

I left at 8:30 am. Temperature was 55 F, winds 6 mph from the SSE. here's the lovely bike path:

After church I went grocery shopping, then headed home about noon. Temperature was up to 72, winds 7 mph from the SE.

Then this afternoon I played with my new toy. Here are my 3 favorite toys right now:

The bike on the right is new. Consumer barbie went shopping last week and bought a mountain bike. Biking barbie is very excited. This afternoon I adjusted the SPD pedals for my shoes and did slow figure 8s around the garden--practicing sharp turns at slow speeds. I fear doing this with toe clips so it was good fun practice. Oh, and this weekend I went on a kayak trip. But that's for another blog.

sept. 12-

2009-09-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

no ride yesterday and today as I have a cold. I had to cancel a business trip so wouldn't have biked anyway. So I'll be glad to be home and biking again soon, maybe Wed.

2009-09-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my meeting early and Gail picked me up for our last ride of my trip to Colorado. We went to Lair o' the Bear, in Kittredge near Evergreen. We rode 8.5 miles total. We started out at 6600 ft, climbed to 7300 then back down. There were lots of ups and downs. According to Gail's GPS, our total ascent was 3100 ft! It was a very very nice ride. It's beautiful. It's my favorite so far. It's not as strenuous as Mt. Falcon or Meyer but you get a workout because of the length and total climb. Here's a scenery picture:

Here's our self-portrait shot (Gail and me).

Tomorrow I fly home.

sept. 9

2009-09-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today we rode Mt. Falcon, in the red rocks near Denver. This starts at 6000 ft and climbs 1500 ft in 2.5 miles. This was very challenging aerobically due to the constant climb at higher altitude than I'm used to, and also the power you have to apply to go over various rocks and water bars. It was also challenging technically for a newbie like me. It was fun going down. We were careful and not too fast. Here are pictures of me (in the orange shirt) and Gail (in the white and red shirt).

sept. 8

2009-09-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm in Colorado this week for a meeting but am spending a couple of days with my friend Gail. We went mountain biking today. The ride starts at 8000 ft altitude, and climbs 600 ft in 1.75 miles. It's pretty technical, by my novice standards. The ride down is exciting. Here we are at the beginning:

The start of the ride:

Going up:

going down:

Thanks to Todd for taking the pictures!

sept. 7

2009-09-08T17:26:00.001-07:00

Today we biked on the Sugar River trail down by Albany (I think) and Brodhead. We saw more sandhill cranes. They must be migrating. They are so neat looking.

There's a covered bridge a couple miles from Brodhead. Here's the view from the bridge of the creek:

Here's the bridge:

Then after the ride, I went on a 7 mile kayak trip down the Sugar river. It was awesome!!

sept. 5

2009-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today we put the bikes and kayak on the car for some fun on the rails-to-trails paths and the rivers. Now, I ask you, how is this better than flying an airplane for fun? It's not really. I'm still burning the oil and gas. So it's hypocritical to say you are doing environmentally friendly sports if you are using a car to do them.

We went to the Glacial Drumlin Trail, starting at Lake Mills. It is one of our favorite rides because of the variety: a nice lake, aspen trees, farmland, and lots of waterfowl in a wetlands area. The temperature was 74 F, winds 7 mph from the east when we started out at noon. Here are some Sandhill cranes:

a great egret:

I think these were sandhill cranes in flight. I thought I caught the red head when I zoomed on one of the images. Also the bird book said that the cranes flight with their heads straight, whereas the great blue heron crooks his neck more.

Going in for a landing:

That was fun to watch. There were so many of them.

Then I we drove a couple of mile to Aztalan State Park, where I launched the kayak into the Crawfish river. Okay, it's not a bike, but it sure was fun. I saw the biggest bald eagle I've ever seen. I saw him several times as he kept flying away from me and then I'd catch up to him. I also a great blue heron, and I think some killdeer. Next time I'll know to look for the black neck bands. I want to bring my binoculars but need a waterproof case for them. Here's a view from the kayak:

sept. 4

2009-09-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Like yesterday, I went flying instead of biking in the morning. I wish it weren't so fun. I'd like to boycott oil or at least use as little as possible.

Fortunately I went biking in the afternoon and evening. After work, Kenny and I headed off to goof off. Temperature was 75 F, winds 5 mph from the NE. The weather has been so fabulous this week. Here's Kenny waving at the start of the bike path:

I'm off to yoga and he's ready for a beer. We got together later on with friends and headed out to a restaurant, all on our bikes. The restaurant was near my house, so it was a quick trip home at 10 pm. Temperature was a cool 56 F, winds calm.

sept 3

2009-09-03T20:00:00.001-07:00

barbiebiker was a bad girl and went flying this morning instead of riding her bike. She is planning to do the same thing tomorrow to help a friend ferry his plane. Hey, I only do it a few times a year now. I used to do it every week! I have to admit it was fun landing that super cub on the grass strip...

Fortunately I had to get a haircut and go grocery shopping tonight so I still got to ride the bike. And it was most enjoyable. We have had perfect weather all week! Here's the start of the bike path at 5:30 pm. Temperature was 74, winds 4 mph from the north.

There's the pretty full moon again, over the Yahara river, at 7:30 pm.