Well I am still not getting much painting done. Too hot, too humid, raining, too dark, too lazy.

Talked to Bob on softball night.  Since our team is just horrible this year, it's really hard to pay attention.  We talked about going back on the Milwaukee river for a third section.

Before Tracy would go with us, she had to get out on the water to get her sea legs.  So we headed over to Ehrler Lake for a Friday evening paddle.

The weather was great, I let Tracy go around the lake. She did not need to hear me talk to her or tell her what to do.  I did a little fishing.  Caught this huge blue gill before the fish tore up my twister tail and I was done. We headed over to the take out and Tracy leaped out onto the pier like a pro.  I tried to do that with her boat still somewhat there.  Yea - started pulling up and the boat started drifting away.  I went in and rolled it. Yep full roll and dunk.  Laughed my ass off and dragged the boat out of the water.  Put the boats on the car and got out of as much of my sopping wet clothes and went home.  

Saturday came and we all went and dropped the boats off at the Waubedonia launch. after a bit of car shuttling We headed out.  The water was much higher than it was two weeks ago (we launched at the same place we ended last trip) so it was an easy launch off the grass.  

The weather was great as we headed down the river.  Not sure if it was the high water or not but the current was pretty swift and there were some nice and fun riffly, dare I say rapids sections.  We were cruising along and then we heard some thunder.  Over our shoulder, behind us there were some ominous clouds.  We had about 3 miles to go.  We tried to put a some distance between the clouds and us.  Not gonna happen. It started raining and nothing we could do about it.  There was no lightning so we kept at it.  Near the end there is a 1 1/2 foot drop that was real fun and wavy.  The anticipation of rougher water is the best part.  First you might hear it, then you see it 100 yards away.  You do your best scouting in boat and go for it.  The adrenaline starts going and then its over.  

We went under the Highway 33 bridge and had to turn in real quick to the take out.  Another 7 plus miles under the belt and over 30 miles on the Milwaukee river.  Maybe we can get all the way to lake Michigan by years end.  There is that issue of the house not getting painted.

The piling on this unused railroad bride had a date of 1902!

Saturday stared out slow.  I had a lot of painting to get done, because I have been doing other things to avoid painting.

I got the garage done, replaced some moldings, the porch and windows the front overhang.  But Lawd I hate painting.  So when my neighbor Bob called me to go kayaking I said sure.

We were going to do the next section of the Milwaukee river that is right in our back yard.  Newburg to Waubedonia Park.  Which happens to go through Waubeka which is the birthplace of flag day which way also today!

The river is already getting quite shallow for this time of the year.  Any less water and it would be a drag, literally.  I only bumped a few rocks on the whole trip but Bob was scraping a bit more that I.  This was a more relaxing paddle than my first one.  We cruised, let the current (what there was) take us and talked as we went.  This section was much cleaner than the last one I did.  No real obstructions or strainers to get caught in.  This was about the closest you could get.

Not a lot of wildlife this time either.  Some ducks, geese, a turtle and redwing black birds.  But there are some nice houses.  One had a lit tennis court, bocce 'field' etc.  Also, lots of old shacks and abandoned buildings too.  Pretty neat perspective that you don't get from the roads.

As we neared Waubedonia we could here music and festivities.  Then 2 old airplanes started doing flyovers and swinging over the river every few minutes.  I could not get a picture of them, I was not ready or fast enough.   There is some interesting buildings you can see from the river too.  The old mill and also a button factory.  This is where they would make buttons from freshwater clam shells harvested from the river instead of plastic used today.  

As we got past the mill we came upon a rocky section of the river.  I watched one person go one way get hung up a bit on the rocks, so I decided to go another way, but changed my mind when  it was too late.  Bang, right between two rocks.  Stuck.  I had to lean to get out the boat filled it water and I got wet.  Pulled the boat out and took it to the side of the river where Bob said he'd help dump it.  (I have a sponge, but would be there for days trying to get the water out of with that.)  As he stepped out of his boat, he lost his footing and SPLASH in he went.  It was pretty funny.  Luckily the river was pretty warm and the weather was great, Getting wet was refreshing.  

Another mile or so and we finished up in the park.  About 10 miles in a little over 3 hours.  Whats next?  The next section would take us into Grafton if we wanted to.  Have to watch the water levels and maybe make a plan of it.  

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all past and present.

Hey not to be outdone by my biking on Saturday. Sunday was such a gorgeous day as well, I could not pass up using it to my advantage. Joel and I went grocery shopping around 1:00 and then I decided to go kayaking on the river. No more lake runs for me, time to see some real action. I quickly packed up the car and had Joel drop me off at the Milwaukee river landing in Riverside Park in West Bend. Probably about 10 minutes from home.

The put in has a bunch of riffles and looks real mean but it's really not much. However that did not stop a bunch of typical Wisconsin busy-bodies to give me their opinion.
 "You guys going boating?"
 "river looks pretty scary there"
 "not sure I would do that, I think you are nuts"
Says the fat guy on his cruiser bike. The other in his group all nod in agreement. I said not a problem, it's really not a big deal. It truly wasn't. Its no more than 2 feet deep there and the low water and rocks just make it look 'rapidy'.

I get loaded up but I made one error to start with. Because the current is stronger here I should have had Joel hold the back of the boat to the 'dock', because when I launched, well,  the current had already taken my rear end into the current and I ended up going the first 100' backwards! Nice start I though to myself. Joel laughed, waved and said I love you Dad, good luck! As if he may never see me again. I can now wave to him since I am pointed the wrong way.

I get turned around and head though a few more riffles and then its pretty much flat water from here on out. 

The river is never too far from a road so the cars and noise is often heard. The river also winds behind the West Bend water treatment facility, West Bend Airport, West Bend Lakes Golf club, Quaas Creek Park (where I play softball) and Goeden Park. The weather was perfect - in the 70's the wind was pretty strong out of the north, and when I though I was hearing riffles of water it turned out to be wind in the trees, kind of disappointing.

 I did manage to see (scare) 5 blue herons up close, a wood duck, a mallard and a raccoon that was eating on the shore. The herons just watch and as you get a few feet away they just leap and soar either out of sight or just down the river a bit more. I thought I would see more but not today.

 The river is very slow and there are a ton of down trees and branches in the water. Most are very easy to avoid but some are a little harder. One spot the river looks like its stops, but I look at the map and determine that it has to go right. There it is, a tree fell and almost covered the entire river except for a spot just wide enough to get my kayak through. It's pretty amazing how little water these boats need to get through. I squeak through and continue on. The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful for the most part.

Not sure how fast I would go I set two spots for a takeout. I wanted to be off the water by 6:00PM so I could get home in time to make some dinner. The first contingency spot was Goeden Park. 8.5 miles in. It's 4:45 and I see the Goeden Park takeout. I look at the map, only 3 and a half miles to the second spot: Newburg. Not even 5:00, no sweat!

I push away from shore at Goeden and off I go to finish my epic 1st time adventure.  I come around the bend there I can see the Newburg bridge.  The damn that was here was taken out about 3 years ago so the river is taking its natural course.  I get to the boat landing, get out with help from a gentleman and his 2 kids fishing.

I made it.  2 hours and 45 minutes to go almost 12 miles.  I was tired for sure. But I could have kept going had it not been almost 6:00.  I called Joel and had him pick me up.

Can't wait to do that again.

A lot of the trip was like this.

Here is an overview of the river trail I took.

Here is a video compilation of some of my trip - cool but yeat its a bit tedious at times.  Go watch it on You Tube for a bigger HD view.

Trek 100

For the last few weeks you have all listened to (or read about) my back and forth about doing the Trek 100. The few training rides I did in April and May, the requests for sponsorship, the basic uncertainty of me getting on a bike again for that distance.

Well Saturday came, and it came early.  I was out of the house by 5:40 so I could get to Waterloo by 7 ish.  Not sure of the parking and the crowds or how this worked,  I wanted to give myself the earliest start.  I got there and parking was a non issue, biked to the staring area, had some pancakes and fruit.  You will notice the amount of food I ingest on this ride is pretty staggering.  Not the amount but more along the lines of what is available.

It's almost 7:30 and the 100 and 62 mile riders queue up.  Some inspirational speeches from some survivors, from parents who were not so lucky and the the man himself, Jon McGlocklin.  This is the 25th anniversary ride for this event which has raised over 20 million for cancer research.  Pretty impressive.

Its almost 8:00 by the time the wave of riders I am in gets to leave the starting line.  This is it, now or never. Time to get to work.  The weather is perfect low 70's light to no wind.  

The first leg was almost too easy.  14 miles in 50 minutes.  16.5 Mph average speed.  I am feeling great, no seat pain no nothing.  I did pre-medicate with some Aleve before the ride just to be ahead of it.  The rest stop is pretty full.  I get in line for some fruit (bananas strawberries etc) and whats this a burrito?  Sure I will have a egg, sausage cheese and bean breakfast burrito.  

Time to start the second leg.  The longest stage of the ride.  17 miles  in an hour and 10 minutes.  14 Mph.  Still really good.  My rear is starting to complain a little.  I have gone through almost 72 oz of water in  my hydration backpack I am wearing.  I refill as at a water station.  Go grab some orange slices and turn around to see what?  Famous Dave is serving up BBQ?  Wings, cornbread and god knows what else.  I grab two small wings and eat them in seconds.  So tasty.  But I need to keep going.  I am only half way done.

The next leg is the shortest.  A little over 9 miles - 42 minutes later I arrive.  still over 13 Mph.  Still good. My rear is complaining  just a little louder, "butt" he has company.  My lower left back has started to chime in with some real nice spasms.  Time for some more bananas, some energy bars and some other organic mishmash of dried fruit,  nuts and whey solids.  Hey there is a tree, time to get some shade and do some stretches for my back.  Hey, whats this?  Wood fired pizza?  Well these folks are so nice I better not be rude and have a piece before I go....

The section takes us back to the same rest stop as the first one.  We are doubling back on the route.  The winds start to come into play.  Since they were coming out of the south, we are now heading into them.  They were not hard winds, but enough to notice.  9.5 miles in 45 minutes.  I have dropped under 13 Mph. Seen this stop before,  but they have sno-cones.  Who doesn't like a sno-cone and the kids really like making them.  That and some more bananas and strawberries and pineapple.  They have a chocolate fountain? How did I miss that last time.  That's ok I will have to pass.  I take some more Aleve because by back is now a petulant thing demanding so much attention. 

Last leg. 14.4 miles or so, into winds, up hills.  The very same hills that propelled me to a 16.5 mph first leg are now getting the last laugh.  The thing about these rest stops, they are in little towns scattered among the rolling farms and forests.  I get giddy every time I see a city limits sign. As I read that the Waterloo Lions Club welcomes me, I know its almost over.  I cross the finish line and get my medal.  1 hour and 15 minutes. Under 12 Mph more like 11.2 to be precise. I get off the bike. I walk, I get my picture taken with some people, I put my beer wrist band on, get a beer and a pulled pork sandwich or two.  I did it.  Almost 64 miles in about 5 and half hours.  4:50 of that in the saddle.  That felt pretty good.  I raised $590.00 and our team went over $20,000.  Not a bad day.  

Goodbye Trek headquarters, see you next year?

 I saved each segment on its own and then recombined them back as one. I averaged 13.3 Mph moving and 11 with stops.

Congratulations to by baby.  She graduated from 8th grade with high honors.  Thats GPA 3.75 to 4.00 for all of middle school.

So proud of you Kiki.

Ever get that feeling where you start a project and bit off more than you can chew? Yea happens all the time with me. It's not so much more than I can chew it's usually the super-size that does it to me. It looks good and sounds good. But in the middle of it you're looking around and thinking, well its alright but I am getting sick of this and man it will take a me a long time to finish.

That's me and my current project - repainting the entire house. So that involves stripping, sanding, fixing and replacing old and rotted and worn out things. Like storm windows that are no longer available and porch tear outs and woodpecker damage and the list goes on. The more I do the more I find and the less I want to do it. It has to get done, but man I have 100 other things I would rather be doing that's for sure.

Like getting a final ride in before this Saturday. Less than 5 days before I partake on that 100Km ride. Am I ready? Probably not. What's that about more than you can chew? Na, I will do it. It just may take a little longer to finish, but I will. Just like painting the house.