Green Circle Trail, Stevens Point WI, September 30, 2010

You gotta enjoy sunny Fall days in the 60's whenever possible - so, Larry skipped class and we headed to Point to ride the Green Circle Trail.

We began the circuit at Iverson Park and headed in a clockwise direction. We missed the trail sign as we left the park so had to consult a map right away. Other than that we did not have a problem with the route.

The Fall colors have not peaked yet, but the leaves that have turned look beautiful in the sunlight.










There was a road closed sign and a barricade blocking the trail as we neared the Wisconsin River, but we were able to circumvent them.

We sat on the other side of this tree trunk to enjoy some trail mix. What a beautiful spot to relax and enjoy watching the river flow by.

We could tell that the water level was considerably high for the river.

About a week ago we had high rainfalls in the area and up north as thunderstorms stalled over the state. In fact, further down stream at Portage there was considerable flooding and concern that the levee would not hold

We did meet one other cyclist coming from the other direction who had also disobeyed the road blocked signs. We were crossing a washed out part of the trail when we met him.

If you look closely at this picture, about 3 -4 feet above the water level, you will notice clumps of debris that has been deposited in the tree branches from the flooded river.


Sections of the trail had a lot of twigs and branches left from the flood waters. There were some very 'squishy' areas. We had to portage our bikes over this tree that had fallen across the trail. Further along, a large tree had been sawn up and removed from where it had fallen across the trail. It had crushed the fence of the near by water facility.



Parts of the trail weave through the residential areas of Stevens Point. We thought we would stop in at the Point Brewery and sample a beer, but we never came across the brewery.


This section of the trail follows the Wisconsin River near downtown Stevens Point. The trail is paved through the park. Notice how high the water level is under the Hwy 10 bridge in the background of this photo.

The ducks love to see people in the park as many of them bring bread.


On the 2nd half of the trail we rode beside the Plover river - it was very pretty with the higher level of water.
The weather was in the upper 60's and we thoroughly enjoyed getting out on our bikes and enjoying this scenic trail on such a nice day. We clocked 25 miles on our circuit today.

Elroy Sparta Trail - Ride #3 September 18, 2010

Jordan hadn't been on the Elroy Sparta Trail since we rode it when she and Jake were kids, about 20 years ago, so we took the chance to do it together.


Cody, Sue and Wax joined us. Jordan and Cody brought Opal and Crow along, so Wax was the SAG (support & gear) wagon and dog sitter. He met us at various points along the trail.


Jordan, Deb and Sue get ready for the ride.

It was a little chilly as we began, but we got warmed up as we worked. This was Sue's first official ride - Cody did take her out for an 8 mile ride last weekend to get her prepared. It was also Jordan's first ride this season.

About 6 or 7 miles into the ride there is a spot where you can look down into a valley and sometimes see horses. Today the horses were out and we learned they are Clydesdales.

We watched them graze and then walk through a tunnel that goes beneath the bike trail, to get to the farm on the other side.


It was very neat to be able to watch these large, stately horses.

There were many cyclists using the trail today, so it was quite a social outing.

We took breaks along the trail as needed - to stretch, enjoy the scenery, drink water and eat cookies!

We prepared for the journey through tunnel #3 that is 3/4 mile long. Today we could see from one end to the other. At other times this year, the other end of the tunnel was not visible - why would that be? The angle of the sun? The clarity of the air? The difference between the temperature in the tunnel and outside of the tunnel? We don't know. If you know, share your wisdom.

Beyond tunnel #3 there are some nice outdoor restrooms and this little red building - other people were taking photos here, so we thought we would too!

I love this picture - it is such a joy to have the splendor of nature enfold you like this!

Wax and the dogs were eager to see us arrive in Norwalk. We unpacked our picnic lunch and ate in the park alongside the trail. It was about 2pm by now. Sue and Jordan decided they could continue through the next tunnel and on to Wilton.

These yellow flowers were the perfect spot for a family photo of Cody & Jordan, Crow & Opal.

By the time we got to Wilton we had covered about 18 miles - not bad for their first efforts! Cody and Wax planned to shuttle cars, bikes and people back to Sparta and Larry & Deb began the ride back on bicycles.

We arrived at the motel in Sparta within minutes of each other. That evening we enjoyed some good Italian food at Angelini's restaurant in Sparta.

On Sunday, Sue and Wax needed to head back home, but Deb & Larry joined Jordan and Cody on an excursion into La Crosse. We checked out the friendship garden at the riverfront park and walked around the downtown. Then we planned to head up to GrandDad's Bluff, however there was roadwork and a lengthy detour, so we skipped that and headed back to Appleton and the kids were going to travel up the river and back to Wausau via Hwy 29.

We drove Hwy 16 to Sparta and then Hwy 71 to Elroy so we could see the lay of the land by road.

We came across 2 escapee Shetland ponies trekking up the highway. We stopped to see if we could coral them and fortunately a couple of other motorists did too. They had more horse smarts than we did.

By this time we had traffic backed up so I called 911 and they said they had a deputy enroute.

Eventually, we had them calm enough to get them in hand and a deputy sheriff and the owners turned up to take them home.

It was a nice to be together and do some biking. The Fall colors are creeping in - the next few weeks should be beautiful for biking and enjoying the Fall vistas.

Ahnapee Trail August 27, 2010

We got on the Ahnapee Trail in Algoma and rode it into Sturgeon Bay - 14 miles. It is a pretty trail that follows the Ahnapee River for a while.



Just before Sturgeon Bay the trail ran next to a pear tree - the pears were ripe so we pulled off a few for a snack - delicious!





We had lunch in town and then cycled on up to the Whitefish Dunes State Park. The new bridge in Sturgeon Bay has a biking lane on each side - nice!






We took County Rd TT out of town towards Lake Michigan. Larry spotted a huge buck there -



at the national headquarters for "Whitetails Unlimited".



When we came to the lake we took a break to enjoy the scenery. There was a strong wind blowing off the lake and it made the warmth of the sun quite enjoyable.



Then we rode about 8 miles along Glidden Rd; a rustic, curving road. It fronts the lake and the whole stretch is lined with beach houses - many quite magnificent.

We came into Whitefish Dunes State Park via Clark Lake. The word of the day was to see Cave Point since the strong winds would cause good splashing of the waves.

It was pretty neat to watch the waves pounding into the caves and splash up high on the cliffs.

Larry got out on the ledge to take some photos and he said you could feel the rocks vibrate as the waves pounded into them.

It is a beautiful area and we would like to go back and visit and take more time to look around.

We decided we didn't have enough time to swim, but went down to the beach to freshen up a little before heading back.

Lots of people were enjoying the water - it was relatively warm, but the wind cooled you off once you emerged from the lake.

Since it would be getting late by the time we got back, we returned on a different route to Sturgeon Bay - across country on Clark Lake Rd and Mathey Rd, instead of the winding lake front road.

We took a well earned ice cream break at the Sturgeon Bay Candy Shop - we biked against the wind most of the way back.

We ride the Ahnapee Trail again to get back to Algoma.

The Forestville Flowage looked so tranquil as we biked by in the early evening. It has a different type of dam or mill system than we had seen before.

The late afternoon light made for some beautiful scenery along the trail.

We saw a young deer run on the trail in front of us and two spotted fawns nestled down to rest in the ravine beside the trail. Larry rode over two snakes, believing the first was a stick and then not seeing the second small one in time to avoid it. I didn't see either of them - they are one of my least favorite critters!

The Joe-Pye Weed was so pretty and attracted many butterflies.

We made it back to Algoma in the early evening light - ready to rest. Larry washed up in the lake and Deb used the Mobil Gas Station then we had supper at the Cool Harbor Restaurant before heading home.

It was a neat outing on a beautiful day. We clocked 77 miles today.

Waupaca Triathlon

Our 2nd year to compete in the sprint event. This is such a neat experience as everyone is so friendly and encouraging.



Over 1,000 competitors this year for the 10th annual triathlon. The sprint event consists of a1/4 mile swim; 12.5 mile bike ride and 2 mile run.

We made it! In fact Larry did very well - he came in 3rd in his age group last year and did even better this year by placing second!

Now he will have to work harder to get the 1st place trophy in 2011!