3 Days by Bike…
Published June 14, 2011 | 
We began our 3 day bike trip through rural west-central Wisconsin in a downpour. In fact it rained on and off much of the first 2 days with the sun waiting to show its face until the morning of our very last day. You may think that’s a bad thing, but in truth biking in the rain can feel better than biking under a hot sun. The heavy clouds and a wet landscape also add color and shadow to an environment that would have otherwise been lost in a white summer glare. There were sections of the trail that seemed more like they were winding their way through Panama than the heart of cow country. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to take in Wisconsin’s amazing Elroy-Sparta and 400 Bike trails. Continue reading
Posted in Cycling, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation | 
400 trail, biking, Elroy-Sparta Trail, wisconsinChanging Gears
Published June 9, 2011 | 
Tomorrow we being a three-day cycling adventure through the heart of Wisconsin beginning on the Elroy-Sparta trail, then continuing on the state 400 trail. The Elroy-Sparta trail is converted railway that covers about 32 miles of rural Wisconsin. The show stoppers on this trail are the 3 tunnels cut through Wisconsin hill country, the longest being nearly a mile in length. The tunnels are over 100 years old now. Originally they were dug from both ends and the workers used hand tools, horses, mules and oxen to remove the freed rock. Slowly over the years, water seepage causing erosion and leaving mineral depots have made the tunnels look less like historic railways and more like ancient caves. They are cool, dark, damp, spooky and amazing! Continue reading
Beach Toys
Published June 8, 2011 | 
Arthur Robinson closes the glass and replies,
“I dream of ballerinas and I don’t know why?
But I see Cadillacs sailing” – counting crows
The 3rd straight day with heat indexes into the hundreds has passed here in Wisconsin. Now it’s 3am and slipping into the fourth. Man it’s hot!! Yesterday was also the 3rd day in a row that I’ve been out in a kayak. 3 days, 3 different kayaks. This time I took the roller out to Devil’s Lake State Park. While everyone else played on the beach, I went off shore and rolled myself dizzy. The only problem is that the sudden heat wave hasn’t had time to warm up the water. It feels warm enough for a while but after a half hour or so I started to feel a chill sinking deep into my bones. I’d have written it off to old age or thin skin if not for the fact that my 10-year-old began wanting to go home the at same time I did! Continue reading
100 Down The Boo
Published June 7, 2011 | 
Up a lazy river by the old mill stream
That lazy, hazy river where we both can dream
Linger in the shade of an old oak tree
Throw away your troubles, dream a dream with me
- louis armstrong
Thermometers around here were just hitting 100f as I launched out for my second run down the Baraboo river in 2 days. This time I hauled out my Pyranha. I wanted to do this quickly so that I could get some sense of the differences between this boat and my new/0ld Perception Mirage. Yeah, it’s obvious that they are totally different kayaks..but unless you actually do the butt-in-boat time it’s all theory. What surprised me was that the much shorter Pyranha actually seems easier to keep on a line than 13 foot Mirage. Of course while surfing and playing in a small hole there was no comparison. The playboat actually listens to commands! Continue reading
2 Feet Short
Published June 6, 2011 | 
Whatever floats your boat.. Well, this won’t do it! It’s about 90f out there today and I still can’t catch a break. By the looks of things I’m still about 2 feet short of a good time. Oh well, back to work….
Global Row on Ice
Published June 6, 2011 | 
Money / It’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I’ll buy me a football team – pink floyd
Are you getting the feeling that money is getting a little tight? Yeah, me too. I received an email over the weekend from Alec Greenwell who is one of the paddlers involved in the Engelandvaarder crossing and shore manager for Olly Hicks’ Global Row Expedition where he intended to circumnavigate Antarctica. Alec tells me that Google, who was one of the expedition’s main sponsors, pulled out without explanation which essentially puts the whole thing on ice for the time being. The hope is that new sponsors can be found and Olly can give it another go next season. Good luck guys.
Finding financial sponsors. . . And you thought circumnavigating Antarctica would be difficult!
I always said he’d come to no good / In the end your honor.
If they’d let me have my way I could / Have flayed him into shape.
But my hands were tied, / The bleeding hearts and artists
Let him get away with laughter.
Let me hammer him today! – p. floyd
Leon Somme is one of the most talented, creative and most importantly, inventive coaches I know. He’s obviously getting a bit frustrated with self-appointed experts as of late. Aren’t we all!? Every bonehead on the planet has a Youtube out there showing the “proper” this, that and the other.. Bah! In a recent short commentary for Adventure Kayak Magazine, Leon writes about a really bad idea and asks, “What is an expert in Paddlesports?” Then he goes on to say that “Peer review is one of the most powerful tools we have to keep up standards and to make sure disseminated information is worthwhile. Peer Review”, he continues, “advances new ideas and methods and moves the sport forward at a faster rate..” Peer review? Can we pause there for a moment? Continue reading →