Looking for our bikes
Date: 09/25/2005
The bike trailers have arrived and some of us go over to help unload the bikes. Most people stand around and just wait for their bike to come off the trailer. 128-2854_IMG
Bikes on Semi-Trailers
Date: 09/25/2005
This trailer not only had bikes in it, but was also carrying the bike boxes and carrying cases that some people used to get their bikes to the starting point. If you look carefully at this picture, way in the back, inside, you can see the upper level of bikes. 128-2855_IMG
Bucket Brigade
Date: 09/25/2005
The bikes have started coming off the trucks and are arranged around the area for their owners to pick up. Since most of the bikes do not have kickstands, they are (hopefully) laid, gently on the ground. The line of people at the back of the truck are doing a “bucket brigade” method of unloading. If you get enough people lined up, the bikes can be unloaded quickly and no one has to walk very far with a bike. 128-2856_IMG
goose-duck-chicken
Date: 09/25/2005
In honor of our 3rd trip through the Horicon Marsh, Robin decided to adorn her helmet with a “goose-duck-chicken”. We never were quite sure what it was, as it had characteristics of all three. 128-2857_IMG
Monday Antigo to Shawano (54.8 miles)
Date: 09/25/2005
We started our day in the early light as it was forecast to be another hot day. About 11 miles into the ride, we came across what every biker fears – another biker down on the road. This picture shows his bike after the crash – you might notice that the front fork of the bike is still attached to the front wheel, which is NOT attached to the bike. The carbon fiber fork failed when the young rider was doing probably at least 20 miles and hour down a hill. He did a tuck and roll over the handle bars, but still landed on the road. He suffered some pretty bad road rash, but nothing was broken except the bike. A lucky/unlucky day for him. We waited with him and a couple of other riders to make him as comfortable as possible until the EMT’s and ambulance could come to take him to the hospital. We then waited for a sag vehicle to come to pick up his bike.
We continued on our way after the bike was picked up and we let the organizers know who the rider was. Fortunately, the only surprises we had for the rest of the day was to ride downhill with a tailwind the whole day. 128-2860_IMG
Riding through Bowler
Date: 09/25/2005
As a side note. Bowler was a small town with a BP station. The station attracted lots of bikers who were in need of using “the facilities”. Ted, as usual, also need a rest stop, but figured a corn field might be faster. We rounded a corner just past the station, and there was a little city park…… with a porta-potty! We stopped and Ted reports that it was the cleanest porta potty he’s ever been in – it even had carpeting on the floor. 128-2861_IMG
A local farm had decorated its fence with…… BOWLING PINS!
Date: 09/25/2005
Bowler, Wisconson 128-2863_IMG[b]
Shawano school
Date: 09/25/2005
Most memorable memory of the school – showers that were so hot they would scald you. 128-2864_IMG
Ted's Massage
Date: 09/25/2005
Robin thinks that Ted only does these rides so he can justify getting a massage. Bill has been on these rides for more years that we have. The school building in Shawano was not air conditioned, but our tent was set up just outside the school under a large shade tree. Bill opted to set up his table by our tent and Ted took advantage of the “tent side service”. 128-2865_IMG
Transportation to Town
Date: 09/25/2005
Shawano had a couple of school busses running to transport the riders to restaurants, shops and a swimming pool. The busses were sponsored by several local businesses. THANKS! It is really nice to not have to bike to get everywhere. 128-2867_IMG
Tuesday Shawano to Waupaca (62.1 miles)
Date: 09/25/2005
HOT! We started a bit earlier in order to try to avoid as much of the heat as possible. The route would be more up and down than the delightful downhill of Monday. But many of the “hills” were rolly-polly so we would try to get enough speed on the downhill to get us up the next hill. Sometimes it would work, other times it wouldn’t.
We had limited rest stops this day. Someone got the word out to this bar “Hangers”. They open VERY early for a bar, and had stocked up on soda, Powerade, snacks, etc. We heard they even started up a grill and made hamburgers at 10am! We were grateful for the cold water and cold drink.
128-2868_IMG
Waupaca Setting up Tents
Date: 09/25/2005
Waupaca school. The ground was hard as rock. It was HOT. Here, the gals were setting up our tents. (Mom and daughter did the tents, while Dad and other daughter did the hotel luggage). It was nice to come in and have the shade and a cooler with a cold drink after riding in the heat. 128-2869_IMG
Relief in sight.
Date: 09/25/2005
A storm was to rumble through Tuesday night which was to give us relief from the 96 degree heat. 128-2870_IMG
Ready for the Storm
Date: 09/25/2005
Robin is in the tent as the winds start gusting. It is about this time that some tents (that had not been staked down (??!!) started to blow across the fields. We survive the rains and winds and appreciate the lower temps that come with it. 128-2872_IMG
Wednesday Waupaca to Oshkosh (66.4 miles)
Date: 09/25/2005
The FFA seemed to be our secondary sponsor for this trip. They hosted several meals and rest stops. Here is their rest stop on the north side of Lake Poygen. They had wonderful homebaked cookies for sale. Another good reason to bike early – you get the good stuff before they run out!128-2873_IMG
Rest Stops are Great!
Date: 09/25/2005
It is nice to see young people get involved in fund raising activities and not be dependent on “mom and dad” to do it all for them. Since this ride is during the week, we recognize that getting adult volunteers can be difficult during the day, as most would be at work. Senior high youth are a great resource to tap into and it gives them a great experience (not to mention money for their group). 128-2874_IMG
Sandhill Cranes
Date: 09/25/2005
Sandhill cranes are a fairly common sight in this area, especially as we get closer to Horicon Marsh.
The route was hillier today. There were some major climbs. Ted started having some troubles with his bike/brakes and took it in at the end of the day to see if Wheel & Sprocket could determine and fix the problem. It is soooo nice having the a bike repair crew on the trip. They can handle just about anything that could go wrong on a bike. I can’t imaging how many bikes they do repairs/adjustments on during the six days of the trip. 128-2875_IMG
EAA Museum - Oshkosk
Date: 09/25/2005
When we got to Oshkosh, we decided to take advantage of discount tickets to the EAA Museum. 128-2878_IMG
School field
Date: 09/25/2005
We had taken a taxi to the museum and then to dinner, but walked back from the restaurant. The tent city at the middle school had been set up next to the football field. Football practice that afternoon had a few extra obstacles! 128-2882_IMG
Sharing the road.
Date: 09/25/2005
It is one thing to share the road with cars, but riding on the back roads of Wisconsin also means sharing the road with other…… somewhat……. larger……vehicles. It seemed as though every road we rode on was on the way to a gravel pit or construction site. Here’s robin in front of one of the “pretty” trucks that were passing us on a regular basis. Thankfully, these truck drivers took their time and didn’t crowd us or intimidate us. Thank you! 128-2883_IMG
"foot break"
Date: 09/25/2005
We had stopped for what we call a “foot break” at a turn in the route. When you ride with your feet elevated, you sometimes need to put your feet on the ground for a few minutes to get the circulation back. The weather was cloudy, muggy and starting to sprinkle at this point. This day had two options for distance, we chose the longer option. It only added about 10 miles, so it was not a big difference. Unfortunately, we had a few “problems” this day. Ted had problems with his brakes, and Robin was stung by a bee while biking. 128-2884_IMG
Waupun Rain
Date: 09/25/2005
Waupun has a beautiful new school. The worst part of getting to the school was the last 10 miles. Most of it was what we call a “false flat”. The road looks like it is flat, but you can’t get any momentum. You keep dropping gears and still can’t move! We got in to the school to find that the tents were not yet up and our bags had not yet come in. The trailer with all the bags had had a flat and was delayed. Since we couldn’t clean up, Robin decided it was better to keep moving and helped put up the 18 tents. Ted pitched in on about 10 of the tents. We wanted to get the tents up before the rains started. As you can see from this picture, the rains did come. It rained almost all night. But, thankfully, it stopped by morning so we would not have to ride in the rain. 128-2885_IMG
Friday Waupun to Harford (49.4 miles) via Horicon Marsh
Date: 09/25/2005
Horicon Marsh from the north edge. The marsh is a huge marshland that is a major flyway for ducks, geese, cranes, egrets and herons. 128-2886_IMG
HILLS
Date: 09/25/2005
HILLS. We climbed up and went down, and up and down. There are some pretty steep hills on this route. Here’s an example of one. This is where you learn to use all your low gears. 128-2888_IMG
Ted & Robin in Hartford
Date: 09/25/2005
Hartford. What an experience. We’ve stayed in Hartford 4 of the last 6 years. Hartford LIKES to have us come through. We LIKE to stay in Hartford. Ted’s sister, Darlene and husband lives in there as well as Darlene’s daughter, Carol and family. What happened to Robin in Hartford makes you realize that there are still good, honest people in the world. As we were coming into the downtown area of Hartford, the road is a downhill, concrete road with lots of cracks making it very rough. Apparently, on one of the bumps, Robin’s purse fell out of her bike bag, landing in the road. We did not have any bikers immediately behind us so there was no one to alert us. The shop owners of Mani’s Alteration & Gift Shop noticed the bag in the road and picked it up. They found Robin’s work business card and called the number and explained they had found the purse and gave their name, address and phone number. Robin’s office then called our daughter-in-law, who then called Darlene, who called the shop owners and went to pick up the purse. In the meantime we finish the last couple miles to the high school. When we get in, Robin notices that her purse is missing, but is not sure when she saw it last – it could be in the tent or one of our luggage bags. We check the tent – nothing. The bags are not in yet, so we sit down to relax a few minutes and Ted turns on his cell phone to check for messages. Low and behold – there are 2 messages – one from Robin’s work, the other from our daughter-in-law, telling us about the lost purse that has been found and that Darlene has picked it up! The purse was lost, found, and recovered before we knew it was lost! We are very grateful to Mani Karbassi and her family for their honesty and willingness to do “the right thing”. 128-2889_IMG
Hartford Gallery Night
Date: 09/25/2005
Hartford put on a Gallery Night which was a combination sidewalk sale, art fair, music festival. They closed down several blocks of the main street. As we walked down the street, we found Mani and her daughter showing their custom, hand made handbags. Here we all are (and notice, Robin has her purse securely around her!). 128-2891_IMG
Bike Storage
Date: 09/25/2005
The Hartford High School is unique in that they set aside one of the cafeterias just for bike storage. We really appreciate being able to store our bikes in, out of the weather. It is always interesting to look at all the different brands and styles of bikes that are ridden on the trip. 128-2892_IMG
The Last Day - Hartford to Port Washington (54.5 miles)
Date: 09/25/2005
The last day. We’ve ridden this route 3 times before. We know there are hills. But knowing it is the last day keeps you going. Here’s Robin at the finish. Many of the bikers take a short cut, turning off the road directly into the field that is used as the parking lot. 128-2893_IMG
The end
Date: 09/25/2005
Here are the bikes that carried us over 350 miles for the past 6 days. It is always strange to get back into the car and move without pedaling. 128-2894_IMG
