A good and quiet day

 The bike rack that attaches to the hitch came in very handy when Mr. Charlie wanted to run about and sniff for good marking places. 

This trail has a sign: Dogs Must Be Leashed.

He was attached to the car as I assembled his cruiser and got everything together for our ride.

Yesterday was an adventure day. 

I'd spent Wednesday doing errands and taking care of 'stuff'.  

I'd had lunch with my MIL's cousin and was introduced as The Widow of Richard. I almost corrected her and said 'wife' but realized Widow was correct.

It gave me a pause for a moment.

My good neighbor Justin [a bike expert! He likes to build bikes!] came over and helped me assemble and learn how to use my bike rack. 

Thursday  seemed perfect to go try everything out. 

The temperature was 40 degrees F when we hit the trail. Coldish weather bicycling is new to me, so I layered just enough to feel a bit cool while putting our gear together. There was a 5 mph wind and the sun was shining. 

We took off and saw one runner and one other bicyclist. This is not a super popular trail in cooler weather. However, it is maintained by the county and is FREE to use. It is an old railroad bed so it is flatish and not hard to cycle.

My copilot seemed quite happy in his trailer. We did stop a few times to have a dog treat and a small walk so he could sniff and pee on things.

Parked:

Thing is, we enjoyed it so much we went further than I'd been before.

My eventual goal is to reach the WI River Slough and petal into the State Natural Area to observe birds and wildlife. The round trip would be around 20 miles, but very doable. I think going by bicycle is an extremely cool way to get around and visit areas along the Pine River and the Wisconsin River.

The little blue-green line is some of what my GPS recorded. The trail ends at Lone Rock. One of these times I will ride all the way there and buy lunch. It just seems to be a fun thing for me to do.

IF we don't have a lot of snow this winter, I will be able to cycle this trail often.

The State Bike Trails cost $25 per year from January 1st to January 1st. I may purchase a pass to go on the State Trails this coming Spring, but not at the end of October. 

I have the mode, the means, and the time to explore by bike. I can go further than a hike and see more wildlife and land.

Today I saw a flock of bluebirds flitting about and flying in front of me. In one of the pastures I passed, several Sandhill Cranes were strutting about. The Tamarack Trees were turning yellow. 

It was cool yet refreshing. Pictured are stops along the Pine River. The colors are still pretty even though most trees are barren.

When I got home, I found that the new and smaller table had been delivered. It is an Ikea sort of table, a put together thing. It is going to replace the huge round table that Rich inherited from his great grandmother. 

That old table was partially broken. Parts of it were falling apart. It was also huge and cumbersome to get around. 

While in place, there was very little room for anyone to sit around the table. The top was no longer in good shape.

I dismantled it and was surprised to find dry rot under the top. I guess it was time for it to go.

Below were the parts for putting the new table together. 

I've always wanted a 'gate leg' table. 

Or a table that had fold down sides to open up the little eating area.

The top and the fold downs

are photo'd below.

It wasn't hard to assemble and I like the extra room it gives me in the small eating area we have.

I was very surprised at how easy it was to assemble and how sturdy it feels.

The table has two leaves that fold down or up depending on your guests. Since it is mostly just myself and Charlie, I decided to go with things this way. 

I'll be putting a slightly larger rug under the table. The floor under the chairs is a concrete slab which can feel cold in the winter.

I'm pleased.

The old table was too large for the area and too hard to move around. Now it feels more open and agreeable.

Charlie's chair is on the lower right side. He does have his own chair that he likes to sit on when I am at the table.

I figured it was a good day. We traveled and explored, we constructed, and we modified our living space.

All is good.

Halloween is today. No plans for anything as we are so remote. I will be working in the pastures if it doesn't rain and if it does...well, there is always organizing and more purging to be done inside.

These shots below were photos I worked on for Halloween Themes for this year.

Have a great day! These will be my trick or treaters!

Feeling Free

I finally got to toss my bicycle in the back of the 'Ru and head out on Sunday morning. It was another one of those blistering hot and humid days. 

Sometimes I just 'gotta' get off the farm and blow a bit of energy off. What better way than to get on a decent bicycle and make your own breezes?

I bought this bike in August of 2019. I've really enjoyed the adventures I've had with it. It is a quasi-mountain/road bike. It wasn't the color I wanted, it wasn't as cool as other bikes in the shop, but I wanted a good sturdy bike to get from point A to point B. [And that did not cost me an arm and a leg]

I wanted a bike that could handle gravel roads as well as paved roads and perhaps an easy bike dirt track.

It does get me around and sometimes I am lucky enough to get out early and catch some beautiful morning light. 

I love taking my Infrared converted camera while riding the nice paved trail at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. The ride I take is along the old original highway that runs between the small towns of LaFarge and Rockton.

The trail is not terribly difficult and there are two hills that do challenge the legs. The scenery varies as it goes through the valley. There are little ponds where I often go in the spring and fall to see what waterfowl is migrating. There are bridges that cross the Kickapoo and there are meadows and rock formations to see.

I packed my IR Camera along with my pocket camera. On a whim, I put the 550nm filter on my IR camera. I've never had good luck with that filter so I thought I'd give it another go. The best time to shoot IR is in the middle of the day in the summer. The different wavelengths of light are just so interesting.

Infrared Photography can be so interesting and challenging. In camera for this filter, the white balance setting is done on something neutral like concrete or a grey card.

I won't go into all that 'developing' the shots entail, however, as you can see, IR can give the photographer a wide array of Creative Fun.

The shot below is what the colors look like in the original shot. It was cool here with a slight breeze. The river was on the left and on the right was a small bluff with large cracks that allow cold air to come from below the ground to vent out.

I tossed a lot of shots as they just didn't work out well, but these were my favorite from the IR Experiment.

I normally stop at the ponds and spend some time, but the deerflies were absolutely vicious and unrelenting. 

I did stop long enough to grab a shot with my pocket camera of a Highbush Cranberry! These are starting to turn and were show stopping!

The yellow cone flowers in this Meadow was so stunning, it was worth the quick stop and a few shots of all the stunning flowers.

By 11AM, the heat and humidity was brutal and I was back at the Subaru. It was worth it. 

Yesterday I dropped my bicycle off at the bike shop in town. It desperately needs a tune up, new cables, and a new chain. I'm going to have them install a back rack also. I'd like to be able to add some 'stuff' to carry. Right now I use a fanny pack and a little pack on the front of the bike. I'm also looking to get a carrier for the 'Ru.

The guy at the shop said they had some on order and he'd walk me through setting it up and adjusting it for me. Once it is set up, it should be easy to take on and off. 

Currently I pick up the bike and sort of shove it in the long bed of the 'Ru for going places to ride. 

The shop guy also gave me some ideas on other trails at KVR that are nice for a beginner trail rider like me. 

In the 1980's my sister and I both owned 12 speed Raleigh's that weighed a ton. We took a sister sister trip on bikes together. We rode 70 miles on rural back roads to get from my dad's house to my Aunt's lake cottage for an overnighter and then ride back. We had no GPS, no cell phones in that era.

I'd driven most of the route with a map before we did our trip. I highlighted the back roads with a marker and that was our guide.

I still look on that two day adventure as the one of the coolest trips of all time.

We were young, we were free, and we were awesome.

[and we had two days off from being moms!]

Wait ~ What?

 What did I agree to???

Pictured is my bicycle. It is a mountain/trails/road/gravel/ bicycle. It isn't meant for leaps and jumps, but more suited for decent terrain.

I have to push it up our driveway to get to the ridgetop so I can ride it. I haven't used it too much in the last two years as my hiking and bike riding buddy has bowed out of going to KVR with me.

During my long hike last Sunday I got a message from a cousin of mine and his wife. "Would I be interested in bicycling with them?" Sure! They were coming to my area and wanted to go biking.

The Reserve was out for them as E-bikes are not allowed unless you get a permit. Some say that isn't fair because bikes are bikes and people who can't ride the hills should be able to with E-bikes. 

Since 1997 the Reserve has not allowed anything motorized on the land. This dates back to 1995 when the land was under the Army Core of Engineers and there was no regulation. Lots of people came in with souped up, jacked up 4X4 trucks and blazed trails and tore up land. They used winches and chain saws without regard to the land and really caused quite the stir.

The Army Core of Engineers kicked everyone of the public land and closed it for a year. Then they only allowed equine and foot traffic back. 

The damages were pretty significant. Rich and I joined a club of equine riders that met each weekend to haul in straw and seed by equine. We tied rakes and shovels to our mules and went places to repair the damages and to reseed the lands. We worked on trails with sand bags to prevent erosion and rerouted washouts. Everything we did was by foot and by equine.

After all that work, the land became the Reserve and they cut out many of those repaired trails.

Anyway, that is the history of the why no motorized vehicles are allowed on the Reserve without a permit.

My cousin suggested the Sparta-Elroy-Wilton bike trail. It was an old railroad bed that years ago was transformed into a bicycle trail.

Saturday I'll meet them at the campground they are staying in and we'll saddle up and go riding together. My cousin and his wife have E-bikes.

My verdict on E-bikes is still out. But I see the reasoning for them. Older people can get out to do more trails with them. If you are not a hard core biker, you can enjoy more outside activities!
Tourism and money. 

More people can enjoy riding. It is pretty simple.

If I had one? I might be able to actually ride UP my driveway. I'm still on the fence, though. I like my bicycle and I too like the more moderate trails.

My cousin's wife texted me that we'd be riding about 30 miles and she'd pack lunch for us and my cousin would make us a fish dinner.

Gulp. 

Well I guess this will be a test of leg strength. After all. I hiked 9 miles last week. Why not try 30 by bicycle this week?

[thank you to my neighbors who will pick up my slack and keep an eye on my hubby!]

Gone Biking

I got the Bliss out again. I've caught up on Fence Maintenance, Gardening, and most of the yard work I wanted to get done.

Time for some riding.

I got the mules' manes and ears clipped also. Their coats are glossy and I need to be riding them. Fred is pretty much retired as he is going to be 34 this year. I know that if my Kenosha friends show up, I will let their youngest daughter ride Fred in the pasture. She prefers Fred as he is a pony and she learned to ride on him.

Butts....

I loaded up the bike after my dawn ride and met my friend at the Reserve for a ride. Bill had not yet bicycled on the Old 131 trail yet, so I said we'd do it together. I told him I'd done it with Kristine on Monday [and last Friday too]. This time we started at the LaFarge end and rode to Rockton with stops along the way.

We only met the guy that was cutting the grass alongside the trail for the horse traffic.

But we got to see yearling deer twins, some Cranes, and this turtle making his/her way from one pond to another. 

One thing that is so fun about having Bill along is that he is a bottomless pit of curiosity.

He sees something and then asks. I'm happy to answer his questions and even admit that I don't know answers when he asks about things in Nature.

Bill rode a bike that his father owned and he had refurbished it. Obviously the higher end bikes don't have kickstands. Mine is an 'entry' level road/mountain type bike that can be ridden on black top and not rough trails. 

I am going to see if I can get the bike shop to put a cargo thing on the back and I can get a little pocket thingy [like those technical terms?] for under the seat.

I thought about finding some way to carry Charlie but I don't think that is a wise idea. The extra weight moving around in some sort of basket would probably cause an accident. This will have to be an adventure that Charlie misses out on.

We rode to Rockton and explored one of the canoe landings. Bill had a lot of questions about the river and kayaking or canoeing.

I was amazed that he'd lived here nearly as long as I had ... and had NOT yet Canoed The Kickapoo!

I informed him that he absolutely HAD to Canoe the Kickapoo. It is great fun and very relaxing. 

I nearly volunteered to Kayak with him. We could socially distance ourselves and I did know the river fairly well.

But I didn't want it to be awkward for him so I stayed silent. 

However if I did go with him, he'd have another adventure to take his wife on.

Bill isn't comfortable striking out solo to explore.

And I am a solo explorer.

We got back to our vehicles and had some cold flavored water drinks. Bill complained of his 'age'. Claiming that he was getting old. I remarked that I didn't know many folks of our age[s] that were as energetic as we were.

He wanted to know where I got all of my seemingly endless energy. 

I laughed and asked him if he knew about Jack Russell Terriers and then said just think of me as one.

I'm like Morris...go go go...and then drop into a deep sleep.

Biking, Riding, and Hiking are only forms of freedom and self re-energizing for me.

What can I say?