Monona Bay Again

The Capitol on a beautiful fall night for biking. Scroll down to see my pic from this spot taken last April.

Well, it has been some time since I was out on my bike, but I don't feel too apologetic. I have been working hard in my garden, and I'm back working at my computer. Wednesday I spent about six hours cleaning my deck - taking everything off and scrubbing off all the mold and stuff (Thanks, Lee, for helping!). I don't feel bad that I didn't feel like biking at the end of the day! I have done a ton of heavy lifting in my garden this summer. I think gardening complements biking, - so I'm calling it cross training. :-)

Besides, the bike is responsible for all this, whether I'm riding every day or not. When I started this blog in March, it hurt to walk or sit, and I needed a cane to do stairs. I was so out of shape and every form of exercise was painful. I was seriously afraid I was locked indoors and doomed to chronic pain for the rest of my life; I felt beyond old at the age of 58. 

Then I had the brilliant idea (if I say so myself) of getting a bike with electric power. For some reason riding a bike wasn't painful, but I couldn't ride a normal bike; I just had been inactive too long. The electric bike gave me a freedom that felt glorious, and started me on the road to recovery. I started physical therapy at the same time, and stuck with that for six months. By the time I could plant seeds in the garden, I was already in better shape than I had been in a long time.

I'm not pain-free. I may never be. I have a special cushion for my computer chair and I'm still uncomfortable sitting for very long - and I have to sit to work. I still can't walk very far - maybe a couple of blocks - without pain. But I'm learning how to heal, and I can do stairs without a cane. Best of all, I feel strong, and I feel able. I don't feel old and, well, like the enjoyable part of my life was over.

My friend Laura called late yesterday afternoon and said, "Feel like going on a bike ride?" I realized that was a great idea, so I said, "Sure!" We decided on a short ride, since we didn't have all that much daylight left (shorter days, noooo!!), and chose to bike around Monona Bay. She picked me up and off we went.

We started out on the west side of the Bay, and circling the Bay felt like coming full circle to me in more ways than one. I had biked here in April - that was one of my first rides, the one where my battery stopped working. It felt like that was so long ago! I biked less than six miles that day, and it felt like such a long ride! We biked about five miles last night, and it was just a jaunt. 

We biked the Bay counter-clockwise, and near the Coliseum we headed south to explore where that path went. It turns east before the beltline and you're on neighborhood streets by Lake Monona. We went a half mile or so and turned back - but Laura said she had once biked around the lake on this route. 

By the time we got back to the Bay, heading across John Nolan Drive, it was dark. I took the photo at the top of the page right there at the beginning of John Nolan - in the same spot I had stopped in April. Below is the photo I took in April. It was a long time ago! There was still ice on the lake, and I remember it was cold enough to wear a coat.

The same view on April 7, one of my earliest rides on my e-bike. There's still ice on the lake.

We continued around, past all my old haunts. I grew up near Brittingham Beach, and it always feels odd to be around there after so many decades have gone by. It brings back so many memories, and I am still the same person and yet so different. I walked around the Bay often, and along the railroad tracks that would soon nestle John Nolan Drive along one side. It took them three years to build it, and for two years it was like one giant beach with no people. I loved it. 

I certainly hope to get out on the bike more in this wonderful fall weather, but even if I don't, I'm happy. I've come so far this summer, from a low point in my life to new heights. There were several factors, but my e-bike has been a huge part of my rise to better health, my vehicle on the road to freedom.

Ride the Drive West - That's My Neighborhood

I just came in from "Riding the Drive," starting from my front door. Ride the Drive is an annual Madison event that allows bikers and other non-motorized traffic to enjoy streets closed to cars. Normally its focus is John Nolan Drive and parts of downtown, but today a second one is being held on the west side. I have to admit I don't see the appeal. John Nolan Drive has beautiful scenery, with Lake Monona and Monona Bay on either side. My neighborhood has houses built in the 1950s. It's a pretty neighborhood, and I like it here, but I'm puzzled to think of it as a "destination" worthy of a special trip to bike around.

Ride the Drive participants near my house. From my window it looked like quite a good turnout.

Be that as it may, many folks are out there enjoying my neighborhood! I biked around the loop - South Hill Dr. to Segoe to Regent to Rosa Rd. - and it really was quite fun to be part of a moving community if bikers and skaters and walkers of all ages. There were people my age and older, people so tiny their bikes were about a foot tall, and every age in between. There were serious bikers and bikers who walked up the hills. 

Segoe with no vehicle traffic.

The route was smart, in that there were hills but nothing too steep or long. I know this because I didn't use my power assist at all on this ride - I forgot to take my key! Discovered that at the first hill and felt silly - but it was really for the best because I did all the hills with all my own power and did fine. There were tiny kids doing the hills, and that was an excellent inspiration. Later on my loop there was even a misting tent you could ride through to experience a cooling mist. 

A hill! Bikers participated in all sizes and abilities. Young troopers like this one inspired the rest of us. I admire all the patient dads and moms who took their ride slower so the kids could participate and have fun.

Not everyone was on a bike. There were strollers and wagons and quite a few on skates.

There are two parks along the route, and booths were set up with information and vendors. These "villages" also had those bouncy tents for the kids to blow off steam, and one of the parks had live music. Several enterprising neighbors had lemonade stands or things for sale (wanna buy a kayak?), and a church on the route had a dozen or more members out hawking free water and prayer. 

The ride-through misting tent. The day wasn't terribly hot, but it still felt good.

The "village" along Segoe, with information booths and vendors - a nice place to take a break.

Event organizers were prepared for 10,000 people, because that's how many came to the downtown one earlier in the summer, and I wouldn't expect that many here, but there are certainly a lot of bikes going past my house! This west side Ride the Drive may become a successful annual event too.

I missed seeing the police horse! My friend Laura got this photo. Police horses are such awesome ambassadors, and I heard excited people talking about meeting this one. Photo by Laura V. Page, laurapagephoto.com.

There were even street artists. Recognized artist Holly Jorgenson and photographer Laura V. Page created some fun street art on South Hill Drive. Photo by Laura V. Page, laurapagephoto.com.

OK, I am not a huge sucker for every cute kid, but the kids out today were totally cool.

My bike after our ride. I never used the electric assist at all - because I forgot to take my key! I'm glad I forgot, and did it all under my own steam. :-)

A Jaunt Near Paoli - and a Stop at Cluck, The Chicken Store!

Me on the Badger State Trail near Paoli. Photo by Laura V. Page, laurapagephoto.com 

My friend Laura emailed about plans to bike the Badger State Trail near Paoli, and I decided to take up the invitation. The group was potentially five people, but that was until the weather looked so threatening. Rain had already fallen by mid-morning, and thunderstorms were being predicted - and suddenly there were zero participants. Dang! As soon as the trip was officially cancelled I realized that there was still most of one participant - I hadn't been out on my bike for over a month and I really wanted to go. I don't wish to be hit by lightening, but there wasn't any yet, and what's a little rain? 

On that basis I convinced Laura that the two of us should try a short ride. We would start just east of Paoli and not go far. That way if the weather turned ugly, or if we got too wet and cold, we could get back quickly. Yay! Laura picked me up in her van, with the fancy towbar-mounted bike rack. I'm very happy that my bike folds in half if I need to put it in my car, but there's still a lot to be said for just popping it on a bike rack. We stowed the battery inside the van and we were off.

Turns out there is road construction going south of Verona on Highway PB, so we got back on 151 and then took Highway 69 south to Paoli. From there we had to backtrack north on PB (which said it was closed to through traffic from this end too) as far as Purcell Rd. We went east on Purcell Rd. until we came to the small parking lot for the bike trail. 

From this point you have two pavement options. Going south is a "crushed limestone" trail that is mostly in good shape, although it is uneven in places and lacks the slickness of a paved trail - which is what you get if you go north. We opted for the more challenging surface first, and went a mile or two south and then headed back.

The trail going south: tree-lined, paved with crushed limestone.

What a beautiful day! This was one of those times we gambled and won. No sign of storms, no sign of rain! The day was beautifully cool and pleasant, and the sun even peeked out a bit. The trail is an old rail corridor, so there are mature trees on both sides. It would have been pleasant even on a sunny day. Every so often the view opened up to a vista of Wisconsin countryside, with rolling hills of pastures and hayfields and cornfields. The weather has been mostly kind to us this year, compared with last year's drought, and everything looks lush and green. 

Beautiful Wisconsin farmland.

My friend Laura, a business consultant whose hobbies include biking, kayaking, and bird-watching. I love the wooden bridges that have replaced all the old railroad bridges along this path.

One of our interesting discoveries was a pair of horses that we could just see in a farmyard. One had its head down and the other appeared to be looking at something. So we watched them for a few moments - but they didn't move. Out came the binoculars - they're sculptures! Very nice, in very horse-like poses. Sculpted in iron, I think, and covered with "chestnut" colored rust. 

Two horses we spotted quite far back off the trail - that turned out to be sculptures! Luckily Laura has a good telephoto. Photo by Laura V. Page, laurapagephoto.com

We got back to the parking lot and headed the other way this time, after stopping to photograph the baby robins in a nest at the trail kiosk. This way there are a couple of roads to cross, including County Highway M, which took a couple of minutes of waiting. 

Three baby robins at the kiosk at the bike trail parking lot.

I spent the time musing on how I'm now old enough now to say, in my old-person voice, "When I was a girl, this was practically a little country road with hardly any traffic at all." The reason I remember that is that a friend and I tried hitch hiking along this road, and very few people even came by. It was the early 70s, and a lot of young people hitch hiked, but it wasn't a very smart thing to do; at least we had the sense to do it together. It's a different world now, better in some ways and worse in others. It feels weird to look back forty years and remember that I ever did that.

We got as far as Seminole Highway, where it meets Whalen Road, and then headed back. It ended up being a very short ride by anyone's standards, and yet very satisfying. There had almost been no ride at all, and yet it turned out to be a beautiful day. We explored a bit of trail that we now know we'd like to see more of - next time we'll start earlier in the day!

A cow pasture along the path. The cows - Holsteins, some of them with such small black spots they looked polka-dotted - were in a different area. If you click on this photo to enlarge it, you can see the family of Cranes that are feeding here.

Near the south end of Fish Hatchery Road. I love these beautiful old oak trees.

On the way back we stopped at Cluck, the store in Paoli that is all about chickens. They even have a few chickens of their own out back. It's a wonderful store, whether you just like chickens or whether you have your own already or would like to. They have supplies and resources for raising chickens, not to mention experience and expertise - and they have all kinds of chicken-themed merchandise. My favorite item, I think, was a set of three ceramic prep bowls for cooking - with a chicken theme. I don't even have chickens, but I think they're beautiful and full of personality. The store has been open almost a year, and I've been meaning to get there, so it was a really fun stop.

This beautiful rooster image I found on Wikipedia Commons. Thanks to photographer Cefaclor for making this photo available for others to use.

Biking Near Lake Farm Park

Biking around Lake Farm Park is fun - it's such a pretty area - my friend Laura and I decided we'd cruise around together yesterday evening. Laura has an electric bike too, although she feels it would benefit from an update to the battery for both power and longevity.

We met at Lake Farm Park and set off on the bike path going west, and it certainly was a nice evening. There were mosquitoes, but we were going too fast for them, so it was just pleasant.

In Lake Farm Park.

The last time I was on this path was when I had biked from my house. A personal best at 11 miles, it didn't set any world records, but I was very happy with the accomplishment. Today I felt a little fresher, since I hadn't already biked 11 miles - but only a little. I had spent much of the day working on my summer's garden project, and was pretty worn out. That's what power assist is for!

After we'd gone along the path for a while, we came to where it crossed a road, and we decided to be adventurous and take the road. One of the immediate rewards was the sight of four giant catalpa trees in a row along a driveway. Laura never travels without her camera, so we stopped to take photos. All the photos in this blog entry are taken by Laura.

Although you can see many fallen blossoms, the ones on the tree are still fresh and beautiful - and they smell wonderful!

On we went up the road, but were soon stopping again. Adventures with Laura are like that - alternating between cruising and stopping to explore something in more depth. This time it was a close-up view of the Sandhill cranes we had seen and heard earlier in a big field. Sandhills are interesting. Their normal adult color is gray, and the ochre color comes from dirt stains. They eat plants, but they also eat a variety of small critters like frogs and mammals.

Laura took me on an excursion to see life-size bison sculptures in a field, including two adults and a calf kicking up his heels. We failed to get a pic, but maybe next time. They are welded of iron and look very at home in their grassy field. 

A wedding tent at Lake Farm Park, with streaming ribbons in the doorway.

Back at Lake Farm Park we went to the access roads along the road to the south, and entered the park that way, heading for the group camp. The drum circle was playing again, so we joined in - until the storm hit! During the deluge we hung out under the small food tent, ate chips, and sang songs that I hadn't heard in years. We watched the lightening until it finally blew past, and played some more.

My Farmers Market in June

Finally on my bike again! I haven't been out for a while, and it was just wonderful to bike to my Westside Community Farmers Market and bring home as many vegetables as I could stuff into my backpack.

My stuffed backpack, with the Westside Community Farmers Market in the background.

I promised I would not go on about medical issues, but I will just gripe briefly about the one that has kept me off my bike. I have an irregular heartbeat, and it waxes and wanes like the moon in its severity. I recently had a sleep study (during which I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I'm actually hopeful that the treatment for sleep apnea will improve other aspects of my life, so that may not be so bad). For some reason my heart kicked into a highly irregular pattern the night of the sleep study and continued for a solid week. It is (they tell me) not life threatening, but it sure is a gigantic pain in the tuchus. It's distracting, tiring, uncomfortable, and really, really annoying. I make plans, but I have to cancel them or modify them or do them very carefully in slow motion, resting often. I have friends older than I who run marathons or bike 50 miles. I've worked hard this spring to improve my health every way I can - but it would help if the old bod would meet me halfway.

OK, enough of that. I'm still struggling with it, but most of most days my heart does its thing in a mostly normal fashion - and I am profoundly grateful for "mostly normal."

The bike ride to my market is short, and perfect for my first ride in over a week. And I know that I won't get stranded if my heart gets over-excited - I will just come home by full electric power. That's a nice thought to carry with me.

It's early, but there is already a lot at the market, including some of the most lovely lettuce I have ever seen. The cool weather with plenty of rain is just what lettuce loves - so much the opposite of last year. The result is red leaf lettuce so lush, and romaine so crisp, that the huge heads are irresistible. There are also snap peas, the first baby summer squash, spring onions everywhere, and still some asparagus. I buy some of each, along with a jar of purple loosestrife honey, and I'm on my way home.


More photos from a lovely day:

My bike and backpack, Farmers Market tents in the background.

Glorious Market lettuce! This is one single head.

The Market is in the parking lot of the Dept. of Transportation building. The lot itself is not a beautiful setting, but the building has nice plantings - and I've always liked the bike racks.

Biking to a Bike Tune-Up - How Appropriate

I had an appointment off of Odana, and I had been thinking that it would be great to bike to it instead of driving, so today I decided I would. The most direct route would be straight up Whitney Way, But, after my long ride last weekend, specifically biking on the busy McKee Road - the part I didn't enjoy - I decided that I would rather go a little further if I could avoid Whitney Way during rush hour.

I opted to go south on Rosa Road, up the hill and then straight across Mineral Point Road onto Science Drive. That winds around a bit, but it is very wide and a pleasant ride. It comes out on Odana right by Len's Electric Bikes, and I then had to go back east to get to my appointment - but it was worth going out of my way a bit to have a more enjoyable ride. Len's is where I got my bike, so my bike and I waved as we went past.

Seeing Len's had given me an idea - why not see if they would do a tune-up and ask if they could fix the squeak? After my fall, written about last time, my bike had acquired a persistent squeak, somehow connected to the front brake, that was loud enough to be a bit worrying and really, really annoying. So after my appointment I found the bike path that goes along near the beltline, parallel to Odana, and headed back to Len's Electric Bikes.

Len has moved a few doors down, so now the back of his store is right along the bike path, and I noticed a couple of people test-riding bikes on the path - a nice benefit of the new store - and it has more space too, and a separate space for a workshop. I was in luck: there were two mechanics at work, so someone could check over the bike and hopefully return it to all its former glory.

Len's has an interesting ambiance, and I think it reflects Len's personality. Everyone is super friendly. I was welcomed immediately, and everyone was so pleased to see I had biked there. There were a few customers, so I had an opportunity to watch interactions. Everyone in the store is enthusiastic and excited about electric bikes, which creates a palpable energy. (Note to introverts: activate force shields.) There is a thin line, I think, between that enthusiasm and sales pressure - but Len's motto is "You don't have to buy one; you just have to try one," and he means it. If you ARE in the market for an electric bike, Len and his team will find the one that fits you, and will follow through to be sure you are happy with it - and change it if you are not.

I felt like a celebrity when I mentioned this blog - "I read your blog!" "My wife is following your blog!" - which was rather fun. Blogging is an interesting experience all around, and I'm enjoying it - so thank you for reading!

Three cheers for the mechanics! They readjusted the handlebars and worked until the squeaky brake was fixed! I was soon biking my way home squeak-free. :-)

Biking to Lake Farm Park - My Longest Ride Ever!

You can't believe how good it feels to have biked all the way from my house to Lake Farm Park, south of the Coliseum! 12.0 miles, according to Google Maps. How liberating to know I can do that! That may be a short jaunt to a more "serious" biker, but remember that I spend my days in front of a computer and have long-term injuries and heart issues. I haven't even been able to walk without pain for over two years - until this spring.

My electric bike feels like a partner. Together we did this. I could not have done it alone, but neither was I a slacker who let my partner do all the work. I certainly worked hard enough to feel thoroughly tired out! What a great way to be tired!

It's an interesting ride, with each section quite different from the others. It ranges from an empty and rather industrial stretch of old rail corridor behind Home Depot to a nature conservancy area on the Capital City trail. 

Going south of Home Depot it's quite pretty - a whole world you just can't see except by bike. 

It's like kayaking: normally you drive along the roads and you cross over rivers in the blink of an eye, or catch a glimpse of a lake through trees. When you're in a boat, new worlds open up to you - and you start looking for more new worlds to explore. I have been spending time looking at maps of bike paths, and I am beginning to formulate goals based on, "Hmmm, I wonder what that looks like," or "I bet that's a beautiful place to bike."

I would have been able to go the entire way on bike paths, but I missed my first turn-off, so I ended up doing a section on McKee Road (Hwy PD). I wouldn't recommend it. There is an ok shoulder to bike on, but there is a lot of traffic and it's going fast. It's not an ugly road, but it's not pretty, and the traffic for me reduces the enjoyment. 

I joined the path again in time to go over the bridge over Fish Hatchery Road.

The conservancy area is quite pretty, and I think it would be a great place for bird watching. My bike had developed a squeak (more about that in a minute), and it drove many away, but I saw a bluebird, a thrush, and what was probably a Northern Harrier. All three nest in this area, but they're all three more countryside birds that don't come to my part of town. 

I made it to Lake Farm Park in about an hour and a half, and was definitely using the power assist more towards the end! I'm obviously not going to set any speed records, but I feel I did just fine. :-)

Lake Farm is s really nice park, with camping and hiking and bird-watching and shelters - and it's right on Lake Waubesa. In the winter there are cross country ski trails. On this evening there was a drum circle going on at one of the far camping areas, so I hiked and biked over there to listen for a while. I love drums, and I love the idea of everyday people getting together to create drum rhythms in a circle around a bonfire. It's very primal and at the same time very welcoming and civilized and friendly.

I called my son after a while, who had kindly agreed to come and pick me up. We folded my bike in half, and he actually fit it onto the back seat of his small car. I have to admit it's a bit awkward manoeuvring a heavy bike that's been folded in half - but it's still a great convenience and amazing that you can do it at all. I rode home in triumph, appreciating how long the drive home was and I'd biked all that way!

Footnote about the squeak. I have to mention, for full disclosure, that the reason my bike developed a squeak is because I fell just as I got to the end of Highway PD. It was a dumb fall, which is why I don't want to mention it. I had come to where I had to cross PD to get back on the bike path, and I simply braked too fast. I was turning slightly, so I lost my balance and went over sideways - and came very close to shooting out into the passing cars. It was a depressing experience, 1 because it was a silly way to fall, 2 because not one car even slowed down as I fell or to see if I was ok, and 3 it has been sad to realize how much my balance is not as good as it was even a few years ago. It's a great thing that we have so many lovely bike paths, because I will be making every effort from now on to use them and avoid busier roads, especially ones with fast traffic - even if there is a bike lane.

I have some spectacular bruises, but I wasn't seriously hurt, and I enjoyed the rest of the ride. The bike worked fine - but I need to have the squeak looked at!