Posts Tagged ‘bicycling’
Got Yucks?
What makes the bike trip so special? It’s definitely the friends who return, year after year, that make this an event that is much more than just a chance to ride bikes.
Thanks to Suzanne for capturing these snapshots of me and a few of my pals, after breakfast in the cafeteria of the 1910 public school of Mellen, WI.
You may not be able to tell how much fun we all have together, from the expressions on our faces, but we love a good laugh.
Our legs might get fatigued after miles of pedaling, but our ribs hurt from gut-busting, tear-springing laughter. How can you not get the giggles exchanging text messages with Julie in the tent next door? Or hearing Rhonda tell the joke about what the bra said to the hat?* And, Busbee Peckermann? …I’m afraid you need to hear Roger explain that one. But, once you hear the story, the mere mention of the name is a guaranteed laugh.
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*Look it up. The answer is out there on the web… .I’m Home!
It’s always nice to get home again, even though the trip was so much fun that I wish it wouldn’t end. We enjoyed mostly favorable weather, right up until the second-to-the-last day, when a robust thunderstorm swallowed much of our riding time, and left us soaked to the bone.
Earlier in the ride, Jim enlisted the support of the local police to escort us across a high-traffic intersection, and I caught this shot as we started out…
This trip was different for me, in that I have acquired a familiarity with the routine that allows a certain amount of casual planning, yet it had been 2-years since I last participated and I was a bit rusty on some of the details.
I remembered to bring my journal, but I forgot a pencil. I never did get around to buying or borrowing one, so, I didn’t do any writing all week. Maybe I was due for a break.
The good thing about that is, I didn’t fret over it. Just went with the flow.
I am now in the struggle of reorienting my thinking from the carefree mode of vacation, to the responsibilities of taking care of the home and heeding the scheduled events I committed to before I left. What were those, anyway?
The day-job starts up again tomorrow. I better not forget that. The yard at home is in need of attention. I must unpack my camping gear and prepare it for storage.
It is good to be home again, but I already miss the freedom of that open road and the treasure of like-minded friends who make it such a wonderful week-long adventure.
Last Day
By this time of the week of biking and camping, we are ready to be done with this scene:
We are ready to get back to our own beds.
Now, this year, I have something special in store. This last leg of the trip this year starts in Hayward (where my in-laws’ vacation home is) and heads back to Spooner where the ride began, and where most everyone’s car is parked.
Not mine. We strategically left our car at the cabin, at the start of the week. Today I, and a few friends, ride our bikes to the luxury vacation home and hang out at the lake and then sleep in beds for a bonus night on the end of the bike trip. Pretty spiffy.
If all goes according to plan, I will be back to posting live tomorrow, from the “cabin,” with my first report on how this year’s annual “Jaunt with Jim” bike tour went for me and the approximate 150 of my very special friends.
I’m hoping it will be all sunny, warm, and tail-winds to write about! Oh, and plenty of good food, too.
Bike Touring
Long distance touring on bicycle is not as hard as it may seem. It’s all in the rhythm. You pace yourself for a long duration. The journey becomes as valuable as the destination. We generally ride at a fairly casual pace. Each person, or group of people, seem to have a certain speed that suits them best. We fan out into groups that ride their pace.
We don’t ride the whole day’s distance in one block. We ride a couple of hours and take a break, usually to ingest more food. Some people have taken to exclaiming that we are an eating group with a biking disorder. Food at each stop keeps us fueled for the day-long exercise. By the end of the day, we feel tired, but it is a good tired. I have no problem falling asleep as soon as I turn out my night-light and lay down in my tent.
Our trip also provides the luxury of hauling our gear from town to town, so we don’t need to carry anything on our bikes, except what we feel we might need during each day’s ride. There are a stalwart few who do still carry their own tent and gear, like everyone had to do in the early years of this annual ride, but the majority accept the benefit offered, and that makes the long distance even more achievable for the average rider.
For this adventure, however, the cycling seems to fall to a secondary level of importance, behind the friendships that have evolved and the companionship of a wonderful group of people who return, year after year, to share each others’ company.
We do a special kind of bike touring.
Some Days
Some days if feels like you spend most of the day looking at the back sides of people in front of you on the road. It is a view not unlike this:
Trip Song
This is the previously published slide-show to the tune I wrote about our annual bike trip in the middle of June…
Still Ridin’
Okay, so it’s now day 3 of the bike trip. If it wasn’t obvious, I need to tell you that I am describing the basics of our trip, before it has actually happened. The posts this week were written last week and saved in queue for my daily readers. As per my usual routine, I take a break from posting for the days I am on the trip. I try to get off the electronic grid as much as possible for this vacation, yet I sneak in a visit to nearby establishments that might have a Stanley Cup hockey game (or World Cup Soccer every 4th year) on for viewing.
I hope to capture the highlights in my hand-written journal that I like to scribe when I settle into my tent for the night. I get to that after I spend a few precious minutes tickling the strings of my travel guitar that spends the night in the tent with me.
Anyway, back to day-3… Since it is Monday, it finally feels genuinely like being on vacation. If all goes according to plan, we will have spent the night tenting in Superior. Today we are riding to Bayfield, where we get to spend 2-nights camped in the same location. It is always a treat to not need to get up early and pack the dew-covered tent for one day out of the week.
Road Bikes
We are on the road again. This is what it looks like to ride the Jaunt with Jim… It’s a picture from our 2008 trip. It is really a treat to ride with so many friends.
Saturday Start
It feels like the trip starts on Friday night, because that is when we gather to camp in the town where we park our cars. The riding begins on Saturday morning. Full of anticipation, we are ready to leave our routines behind for a week and lose ourselves to riding the roads; this year, in northern Wisconsin.
Our group numbers somewhere between 150 to 175 participants, with a shared love of cycling long distances. This ain’t no fundraiser. We ride for the adventure.
This morning, it all lies before us. I’ll try to take notes and capture the highlights for you. I’ll tell all in about a week, after we get back home and I get to sleep in a bed again.
On Vacation
As of today, I am officially on vacation from the day-job. My ‘away notice’ has been programmed for the work email account, and I don’t plan to be back there until June 18. I found out yesterday that the onset of my vacation coincides with the school kids in my neighborhood, because yesterday was their last day of school. They are on vacation for the summer! Of course, that meant they could stay up late last night and party outside in the beautiful June night air.
I enjoyed hearing their laughter and mirth, because I wasn’t trying to sleep. I was staying up late to finish laundry, hunt for long-hidden items for camping, and generally preparing myself for this years’ bike trip. I am almost ready. The lawn is mowed, I got cash from the bank, and new batteries for my flashlight.
I have been slowly pulling out things I think will be coming with me, and they are strewn about in several rooms. This morning I need to pack them up and see what makes the final cut. I will be asking myself, several times, “What am I forgetting?”
I did my darnedest to thoroughly enjoy my bed last night. After having done this bike trip for many years –around 16 or 17, I think– where we sleep on the ground every night for a week, I know how much I will be missing my bed in few days. It was the last time I would be on this bed for coming days, and I really wanted to appreciate it.
I did, sort of. I was asleep for too short a time, being awakened early by lovely chirping birds at the crack of dawn and my busy mind, plotting how I was going to get myself prepared by the appointed hour of departure. The one thing that I didn’t accomplish yet is, giving my bicycle any attention toward cleaning and recalibrating. I think my chain has stretched a bit, and it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. The shifting doesn’t seem as smooth as usual and I think the cables need to be pulled a bit tighter.
If I don’t have time, it’s ride-able. I’ll deal with it on the trip. We are supported by a van from Penn Cycle and a very capable bicycle technician. As much as I would prefer to have my bike in better shape, it wouldn’t be the first time someone relied on his expertise to get their ride in ship-shape condition.
I need to pack my things! And eat breakfast. And vacuum, sweep, and otherwise prepare the house for showings while I’m gone. All minor hassles, and, at the same time, wonderful things! Because, I am on vacation!
Relative Something 