Northwoods 2015

Not a lot of takers this year, probably because we scheduled the weekend before Gnomefest. Madison Steve called in sick on this one, leaving just Andy, Nate and myself. Nate got to the cabin during the day on Friday and did a bit of scout riding, while Andy and I did our usual horsing around plus fish fry at the Hilltop, arriving just before 21:30. The three of us shot the breeze until turning in around 23:00. We all apparently needed some shuteye, because nobody got up until 08:00; and even though we kept breakfast simple, we didn't get legs over bikes until 10:30.

No cabin to cabin this time, just a day loop, but practically all new territory. Andy had been obsessing over the route rather intensively for a couple of weeks, and it did not disappoint. Some choice gravel and paved roads to an abandoned railbed running through Powell Marsh up to Mercer, then a bunch of snowmobile and ATV trails and gravel out to the northwest, with a stop at Lake of the Falls. Then a loop back to Mercer, returning home via the railbed and some pavements.

But for the main highways, there was almost no motor vehicle traffic. We were passed by maybe a half-dozen cars on the back roads, and encountered maybe 8 ATV's (mostly UTV's actually) on the trails, in 4 groups. Our pace was brisk, but there were plenty of stops for pictures, eating, and wayfinding. A steady south wind helped keep the moving average speed up. One stop at a resort bar offered Miller High Life shorties and plenty of bemused looks from the locals. Adventure cycling is apparently not a very popular activity in those parts.

Out at the far end of the loop, the hour started to get late, so we cut off a few miles of the planned route and turned into the wind for home. Made another stop at the grocery store in Mercer to fuel up. Found some high-quality swampwading on the return route, and had to turn on the lights for the last few miles of pavement. Popped open a couple of beers back at the cabin, took a group photo, and jumped in the lake to wash off the swamp.


Seventy-two miles, nine and a half hours out.

Photos on Flickr.

Cheese Triangle Counterclockwise

Because apparently, twice in one twelve-month period wasn't enough (and one might have thought this abomination in particular would have cured me). It was good to get the yayas out after the Trans Iowa fiasco, but I won't be doing this ride on anything less than a 2.2" tire ever again. Ever.

Picture party here.

Sunup to Sundown Three, Last of the TI Training

Saturday was my final long training ride for TIv.11, and a beautiful day out. The start was chilly, but still and quiet. Tyler, Jacob and I met at the Jenifer St. Market, rolling out at 05:00 on the dot to collect Utah Steve and Harald as we crossed Commonwealth at 05:20.

The cruise down the Badger was pretty easy, and the sun broke over the horizon just about the time we reached Belleville. We rode around the ice stalagmite in the tunnel and Utah Steve peeled off at Monticello to hit New Glarus and points west on his way back to Madison.

After hitting the Kwik Trip in Monroe for some eats, we turned off onto the roads headed west and mostly south into Illinois. The wind wasn't much of a factor at this point, coming out of the west-southwest, but made us hopeful for a tailwind on the way home.

I lagged quite a bit for the remainder of the ride. I knew I was riding a heavy (TI-equipped) bike with people who were faster than me, but I think I also wasn't fully recovered from the Hall of Elms ride.  I could definitely feel it in my legs. Though I may have been a little frustrated at first, I hadn't advertised this as a no-drop ride, so I hold no ill will. It also occurred to me that it was good practice for resisting the temptation to push outside of my pace and take the long view.

We all stopped in Freeport and Brodhead for resupply. Somewhere north of Brodhead, Harald and Tyler pulled away for good, and Jacob and I were left to finish it off. The anticipated tailwind made matters easier, with one more stop at the KwikTrip in Oregon for a slice of pizza, which really hit the spot!

Finally, this was probably the last of the Trans Iowa training for good, since I'm pretty sure this will be my last Trans Iowa. Barring some unanticipated turn of events, I think a third one will do me.

So begins the taper; next weekend is the Dairy Roubaix, and the following week it's on to TIv.11!

More photos? Over here.

Hall of Elms C+X

No, not cyclocross, 100+10. More training for TI, this time solo. Started out about 07:35 with almost the full setup, bound for New Glarus, Evansville and the Hall of Elms. The goal was the whole distance at an overall average speed of 12 mph.

Starting out was great with sunshine and a light wind out of the southwest, but it would not remain so. Just about the time I hit the highlands west of town, it had kicked up into a substantial headwind. Combined with driftless hills, the pace ground down to about 10 miles per hour for a while. The crosswind was a little better down near New Glarus, though it leaned the bike sideways and threatened to blow me into traffic.

Turning east was fantastic, and I definitely got back on pace by the time I had reached Evansville. Did a 15-minute stop at the Quickie Mart and continued on to the Hall of Elms.


I had suspected while riding, and later confirmed, that the wind shifted around to the west-northwest and then the northwest as I made my way home. The last 20 miles or so were a real character builder. I was pretty shelled for the Badger game and honestly, for most of the day on Sunday.

Weather data:

Time	Temp	WindDir	Speed	Gust
7:53 AM	36°	SW	5.8	-
8:53 AM	39°	WSW	10.4	17.3
9:53 AM	43°	WSW	11.5	17.3
10:53 AM	48°	SW	13.8	-
11:53 AM	52°	West	12.7	19.6
12:53 PM	54°	West	12.7	25.3
1:53 PM	55°	WNW	15.0	27.6
2:53 PM	56 °	NW	16.1	29.9
3:53 PM	57°	WNW	11.5	27.6
4:53 PM	57°	WNW	12.7	21.9

Photos over on that other site.

Training for Trans Iowa v.11

Been out there, chipping away at it day after day with no big frills or expectations. Seems like the 95% aerobic/5% anaerobic training pattern has been working, albeit slowly. I certainly feel less stressed out and more focused this year.

Having tried it twice so far, I have a pretty good idea about what I might expect. If the weather and the fates are even remotely cooperative, the third time might be the charm.

(TIv10 report, TIv9 report.)

Hollandale Century

Wow, I'll tell you, the dogs sure wanted a good run for this early in the season. We rolled the first 12 miles or so at such a nice, steady pace, and then as soon as we hit the first decent-sized hill: WHAM! Everybody was out of the saddle and into the hammerfest. Everybody but me.

My view for much of this ride was a bunch of butts, often in the distance...

We stopped for lunch in Hollandale at the Good Times Log Cabin. Darn tasty food for such a little town.

Then, around mile 75 or so, I began to get my revenge. People started to remember that, oh, yeah, a century is a hundred miles long, and slowed down.

Heh.

Pixxors de la Flixxors.

The Northwoods Rides

A couple of years back, Pal Andy came up with the idea of doing some mountain bike rides out of his cabin, which is on the eastern edge of the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. The concept was to do off-road rides more in the original spirit of the activity rather than riding laps on purpose-built singletrack trails.

The common thread has been a drive up to the cabin the night before, setting out on the road into the forest and then traversing any and all surfaces that present themselves. These rides would not be complete without either getting a bit lost or doing some swamp wading, and they're better if we end up doing both. If we arrive back without being exhausted, wet, dirty and scratched up, we haven't done our jobs.


2010
Day loop: Andy and Eric M. I wasn't on this one, but it was the birth of the concept. They apparently saw a bear cub, got a little lost on the equestrian trails, did quite a bit of swamp wading, and Andy was bonked out so bad he was nothing but babble for the last 6 or 8 miles. Eric hasn't been back.



2011
Day loop: Andy and I; Peace 29er. (Pix) This was my first go at wandering around in the northwoods, and it made quite the impression. My family made the trip up, but only Andy and I went riding. He served as tour guide and made it quite clear that he knows the territory really well. I can't remember for certain, but I don't think he even brought a map. Got dirty, rained on, lost and scratched up. Ate wild berries like bears. Came home and did some swimming and eating as a group; the family and I went from there to a vacation on Washington Island (a longer drive than I had expected.)


2012
Day loop: Andy, Nate; Peace 29er fat front. (Pix) Nate joined us the next year, and the 3 of us rented a car and stopped for fish fry on the way up Friday night.


2013
Cabin to cabin and back again: Andy, Nate, Chuck; Peace 29er plus front. (Pix) This was a new twist on the existing theme. Nate drove me and everybody's drop bags up to Phillips on Friday, where we would leave supplies at his family's cabin and then drive to meet Andy and Chuck at Andy's cabin.

While in Phillips, we got groceries and then met up with Nate's dad, who has a job relocating problem bears. As it happened, he had a couple of bears already on his truck, so we went with him to release them. I got to open the trap gates and we watched them run off into the woods. We had fish fry with Nate's folks and took the stuff out to the cabin before taking off for Andy's place.

Andy's and Chuck's families were along for this one, and Andy's family accompanied us on the rollout. Chuck and Nate were on cyclocross bikes; Andy and I were on mountain bikes. Labor Day meant that there were lots of ATV riders out on the trails.

There was a bit of confusion on the way into Park Falls, followed by some swamp wading and bushwhacking. After a stop at the convenience store, we picked up the Tuscobia trail to the west and then dropped south to Oxbo. Made it to Nate's cabin just before sunset, in time for a dip in the river. Grilled brats and corn and ate like kings (but not nearly all the groceries we had bought) before dropping exhausted into bed.

Woke up Sunday morning thinking it was maybe 06:30 to find that the sun was much too high in the sky for that—it was actually 09:15. We made a hasty breakfast and set out on the return trip. Lots of roads that morning and the skinny-tired riders left me in the dust a couple of times. Chuck met up with his family at Solberg Lake and they departed for Madison. The remaining trio rode back to Andy's place, had a dip and ate, returning to Madison on Monday.


2014
Cabin to cabin and back again, again: Andy, Nate, Madison Steve, Utah Steve; Peace 29er plus front. (Pix) Chuck was replaced by two Steves this year; Madison Steve joined Nate for the drop bag run and general tomfoolery for a couple days before the ride; the other joined Andy and I in the rental car for his first Wisco fish fry on the drive up to Andy's cabin.

Everybody rendezvoused at Andy's on Friday night, where Nate and Madison Steve gave us the scouting report. As expected, there was water everywhere from the recent heavy rainfall. Any deliberate forays into swampy areas were crossed off the itinerary.

We got up reasonably early the morning of and headed out on the road, picking up a cross country ski trail at Round Lake to visit the historic logging dam replica. From there we caught some ATV trails and gravel to Smith Rapids covered bridge, then skipped some equestrian trail and swamp wading to find an old railbed, now used as an ATV trail. There was some getting lost before crossing 182 near  Blockhouse Lake and catching some pavements to Park Falls.

We rallied at the convenience store in town before picking up a section of the Tuscobia Trail. Caught an ATV route south to Oxbo, where we took a brief rest. Then there was some bushwhacking around Mason, Evergreen, and Swamp Lakes before picking up a gravel and pavements to the cabin.

It was dark and chilly by then and the river was high, so not much swimming happened. The floods had forced mice out of their natural habitat and into the cabin, and they were running around in plain sight as we cooked and later as we sat around the fireplace. The traps were overwhelmed. I didn't sleep well.

Day Two found us catching a gravel to the Kimberly Clark wildlife refuge, where there was more bushwhacking to get back to an eastbound gravel and pavements to Solberg Lake. After a brief rest, more ATV trails to Sailor Lake; pavements mostly up to Riley Lake, an ATV to the railbed from day one and finally the Round Lake trails and home.


Looking forward to next year.

The Gravel Rig

(Trans Iowa 2014 configuration)

This is Woody Anne, my 2000 model year Surly Cross Check. It's the bike I've been riding the most for mixed-surface adventure rides and gravel events, including Almanzo, Dairy Roubaix, Trans Iowa, Heck of the North, Gravel Metric and more recently the Ten Thousand.

Really, she's nothing all too special. My parts choices are mostly based on wanting high functionality and durability at a reasonable cost. This usually means simple, yet effective. A full component list is available below for hardcore bikegeekery, but in a nutshell it's a 2x8, drop-bar cross bike with a good wheelset.

Anybody who knows me knows that I like this bike quite a bit. It's stable but lively, I've been fitted on it so that it's very comfortable, and I have little doubt about its durability. Even though I originally ordered the dark blue frame with the 1" headtube, I've really grown to like even the color of this one.

Here she is, all set to make our first attempt at Trans Iowa:


Note the custom headlight mount, which replaces one of the headset spacers.


No plans to replace this one for the foreseeable future. Might switch out the bars for a set of Salsa Cowbells at some point. The current spec:

Frame: Year 2000 Surly Cross Check, TIG-welded double-butted Reynolds 631 cro-moly steel.
Fork: Matched, with lugged crown and 1-1/8" steerer

Wheels: Shimano 600 8-speed hubs, Velocity A23 rims, Wheelsmith stainless butted spokes

Crankset: Shimano SLX touring 170mm arms, RaceFace 38t single-speed ring; 29t granny
Bottom bracket: Shimano XT external
Cassette: Shimano 12-30
Front derailleur: Shimano Altus top-swing, top-pull
Front Shifter: Shimano stem shifter mounted on a clamp on the left side of the seat mast just below the top tube. Cable runs directly to the derailleur.
Rear derailleur: Shimano SLX short-cage with alloy pulleys
Rear shifter: Shimano 8-speed bar-end mounted on a Paul's Thumbie on the top section of bar just to the right of the stem.
Chain: Sram PC-851

Brakes: Tektro CR-720 with salmon pads
Brake Levers: Cane Creek BR-5 and Cane Creek Cross-tops

Headset: Chris King NoThread Sotto Volce, silver (recent addition)
Bars: Ritchey WCS, 42cm, 26.0, ergo.
Stem: Bontrager 100mm, 25˚ rise
Seatpost: Ritchey WCS alloy 27.2
Clamp: Surly Constrictor with Surly cable stop
Saddle: Currently a Brooks Cambium

Typical gravel loadout: Medium Relevate Tangle bag, Relevate Mountain Feedbag, Planet Bike Lunch Box, Planet Bike seat bag, Garmin 500 or Touring Plus, Lyzene HV mini-pump, Zefal bottle cages, Banjo Brothers map case.

Devil's Ferry Fall Outing

Grant came up with an idea for another cross-border operation for a fall color ride. Set up to start at Blue Mound state park, it ran north to Spring Green, Ferry Bluff, Devil's Lake state park, the Merimac Ferry, Gibraltar, Mazomaine and back to Blue Mound.

We did a couple of prep rides, the first just he and I out of the village of Blue Mounds; the second to Gibraltar with Steve joining us. We rode very little of the course, but hit a couple of the more questionable highlights. I had never been to Gibraltar and found it to be magnificent, but both prep rides were excellent in many other ways too.

The course was revised several times by the day of the event, most importantly to eliminate a screaming descent immediately upon leaving the park in the pre-dawn darkness.

Family life has been busy lately, so I ended up driving out to the park the night before, arriving after dark. Grant and David had already set up in an adjacent site, and I was soon joined in mine by Jakey. It was in the upper 30's and windy, and I was a little cold that night. Apparently the coons couldn't sleep either, and they woke us up a couple of times.

We were slated to take off at 06:15, and we were pretty close. Grant's neighbor Mark had gotten up early and rode 30+ miles from Madison to join us. Rolled out in the dark and cold at 06:30, west on the rail trail to Barneveld and then north on roads toward Spring Green.


About halfway there it was gloomy as the sun came up, and it started lightly to rain. The breakfast place was a welcome sight with its big flapjacks and hot coffee.

Headed north out of town, the clouds started to break up and we got to practice our headwind skills. Leaf colors were a little past peak but lovely.


We stopped at Ferry bluff and hiked to the top for a look at the Wisconsin river and points east. The weather continued to improve as we embarked on the long climb toward Devil's lake.


We stopped for a snack break but lost David shortly after resuming. Retraced the route to find him fixing a flat.


The longest climb of the day commenced just as the sun came out and the clouds rolled away. We reached the summit near North Freedom, finding some surprise gravel and getting buzzed by an angry motorist. We rode a short stretch of a very busy US 12, crossing onto Ski Hi road toward Devil's Lake state park.

Many had apparently assumed that this was the last beautiful day of the fall, so the park was really busy. We rode down to the lodge, ordered lunch and ate it while enjoying the view of the lake and its surrounding bluffs.

Back on the road, we arrived at the Merrimac Ferry to find that it was also in great demand, and we bought concessions and chatted while waiting for it to arrive. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for bikes.


Next up was a stop at Gibraltar Rock, which entailed an almost impossibly steep climb up an abandoned, moss-covered pavement. The view was worth it.


Mark split off from us at Mussen Road and County Y and headed back to Madison with the hope of getting there not long after dark. Soon after, we rolled through Roxbury and then back into the hills just as the sun was setting. Then we made the mistake of wanting to cut off a few miles, and allowed Grant's Garmin Touring to reroute us onto rather busy highways 19 and 14 to Black Earth as it got really dark. Fortunately, both highways had pretty decent paved shoulders, and we shortly returned to much less-travelled county highways.


By this time, the batteries in both Grant's and my Garmins had run out of gas (a disappointment and a story for another time) and we switched to navigating by knowledge of the local topography. Luckily we were already on County F, which ran into Blue Mounds, but nobody knew how far we had still to go. Uphill and in the dark. Turned out that the final climb was huge, long, and beginning to get quite cold. But persistence pays off, and we finally passed Brigham county park and began the short descent into the village.

David left us before we even arrived at the Hooterville Tap and set out to drive back home to Illinois. Grant, Jakey and I went in and had burgers, beer and pizza before shivering our way back to camp. Even though it got down into the lower thirties, I was ready for it and haven't slept so well in recent memory.

Broke camp the next morning, and had breakfast at Sjolinds in Mt. Horeb with Grant and Jakey. Drove home.

125+ miles. Good, good stuff.

Pics on the Flix.

Edge of Driftless

This was another cross-border ride we did with our friends Mike, Tim, David and Dave from Illinois, and Dan from Des Moines who happened to be in town for a conference. Met up pretty early at the Jane Addams trailhead in Orangeville and struck northeast onto a couple of gravels. Once in Wisconsin, things changed over to mostly pavement.

The weather and the scenery were both beautiful, and we ended up riding a bunch of stuff we had never seen before.

All the pix can be found here.

Sunup to Sundown Training, Part Two

Because it worked so well last year, Steve, Nate, Tyler and I did a long spring training ride that began before sunup and went almost 150 miles to sundown. This time was a ride down the Badger State Trail to Illinois. It had been a long winter and there was still some ice in the tunnel and snow on the trail in the highlands north of Monroe. The weather had been threatening all morning and a severe thunderstorm hit us just south of Monroe, forcing us to hide out at Clarno lumber until it passed. Good thing, because it hailed like crazy.


Back underway, we crossed the border into Illinois and the Badger became the Jane Addams Trail. Hail lay like snow on the bridges especially, calling for a little extra caution, but the sun was out and we were making time again.

We had lunch at a Mexican place named Amigo's in Freeport, checked out the new bike shop downtown and were back underway. Picked up some fine Illinois pavements and gravels northbound and even found some surprise Wisco gravel north of the border. Rode a little bit of the Sugar River Trail, but cut some of it off short in the interest of making up some of the time lost to the thunderstorm.


Stopped for a snack at a C-store in Oregon and followed our well-worn route back into Madison, dodging lightning bolts as we rolled in through Nine Springs and across the causeway.


You know where to find the pix.

The Chill Was Gone

Joint operation between Bonk King and I. We were a little foolish to name it thus, given the time of year. Nate, Grant, Scott and I with Mike and David from Illinois. We the Madisonians met up in Fitchburg with our pals from south of the border. Rode downtown to give the lads a tour and stopped at Micky's Dairy Bar for pancakes and other breakfast fare. Scott joined us and we headed south on the Badger to Sun Valley, Frenchtown and Belleville. Cold, with just a hint of sleety drizzle.

Paid a visit to the tunnel before heading over to New Glarus via Exeter Crossing. Sun came out as we stopped at the Brewery for a sample beer and then down to the Bakery for pastries. Back east via Exeter, the crew was getting pressed for time, so we cut off the Attica part of the loop and headed north through Dayton via D and back to the Badger whence we came and returned to the Hotel d' Fitchburgs.

Grant, Nate and I stopped for the Park Street la Hacienda meat platter on the way home.

Truncated from our original 125-mile plan, but long enough.


(Not many) pics here.

Three Counties Ride

We decided it would be a good idea to do some long training for Trance Iowa, so Steve came up with a long route that would keep us busy all day. It would actually end up being the longest I had ever done in one go.

Met up with Grant, Tyler and Tour of the Divide finisher Brett at 06:00 at Steve's place off Walter St. Headed west through town, out Hammersley to Mid-Town and south into Green County, through Primrose to New Glarus. Refueled at the bakery before heading out again. About mile 70, my brand-new Santini shorts began to hurt my saddle area, and I set upon learning two valuable lessons:

1. Never wear untested clothing on the longest ride of your life to date, and
2. Always bring chamois cream.

Saddle soreness had never really been much of a problem before, but my butt was on fire for the entire second half of this ride. I don't wear those shorts for anything more than a quick jaunt these days. If that.

Next it was on to the Exeter roller coaster, then Attica and points east into Rock County. Hit a C-store in Evansville and rode through the Hall of Oaks, meandering east through Fulton. Found another C-store in Milton and the low point of the ride, stopping for over a half-hour.

Made Jefferson County by mid-afternoon, rolling through Fort Atkinson and Jefferson before stopping in Lake Mills for a break. Waterloo came next as we turned west into the setting sun. Tyler had to work that night, so he took off just before we reached the Madison city limits right about the time the sun was dropping below the horizon.

Got home just after sunset and hobbled around a little the next day.

Picktrs on the Flickr.