Some Notes To End May 2021

May is a spring month in Washington County, not a summer month, so again we took the bad with the good as the weather fluctuated wildly. We had some days in the 80s, some days with wind chill in the 30s, and everything in-between. We had rain, but not too much. And we had wind … lots of wind. I didn’t have big expectations coming into May, so I’m satisfied with what I got: 17 rides for a total of 550 miles, my highest totals so far this year. Add another 47.4 miles of walking/hiking and it was an active month. Looks like I may have lost a couple of pounds. I’ll know tomorrow when I do my “official” monthly weigh-in.

There was bike racing in Wisconsin—four of my Pedal Moraine teammates competed in the WORS season opener on May 16—and there was bike racing around the globe, with very competitive UCI Mountain Bike World Cup races and a terrific Giro d’Italia. May also was a month of steady progress in the development of the new mountain bike trails at Heritage Trails County Park near Slinger. And here in West Bend, the city has started to install the signs for our first official bike route, the “orange loop.” This is all good stuff!

I did a little shopping in May, adding two jerseys, another pair of bib shorts, and a couple of better water bottles. I’m looking for a new helmet too, but I don’t need much more. I appear to be finishing a process I began last year when it seemed like all my cycling kit wore out at once.

June should be a high-mileage month for me. It typically is, and last June was a personal record: 843 miles. But June will be somewhat atypical this year for the Tour of America’s Dairyland. ToAD was canceled outright in 2020 because of the pandemic. It’s back for 2021, but it will not feature the Downer Avenue race that, for me, was its signature event. Weather permitting, I will be an unmasked face in the crowd in Grafton on June 19 and in Shorewood on June 25. Somebody beer me—the good stuff, not that watery, low-cal, domestic swill—and let’s all start to feel normal again.

Finally: 1,000 Miles In 2021

I was on a mission today … a slow, wind-blown, and by the end chilly mission to reach 1,000 miles, year-to-date. With 5 miles to go I was very conscious of the 13° temperature drop and I retreated to my house for the arm warmers I had talked myself out of about 2 hours earlier. Oh, well. Mission accomplished: my first 1,000 miles of 2021 are complete. This is the latest date on which I reached 1,000 miles since May 28, 2007, and I now have a streak of 6 seasons in which I reached the milestone later than the year before. I’m starting to wonder whether I ever again will finish this goal before the end of April. I haven’t done so since 2017. It probably doesn’t matter, but I always thought April 30 was a good target.

Finding A Little

Today's route, completed counter-clockwise.

If this blog goes silent, then you can be sure I’m not happy with how things are going on the bike. Such was the case for the last couple of weeks. This month began with a pair of 80° days but then rapidly dropped below normal for two weeks. I struggled to find the motivation to ride. I wasn’t completely idle—I did a lot of walking/hiking and I stuck to my strength training schedule in the home gym—but in the first 12 days of May I reached for my bike only 3 times.

Things look like they’re about to get much better: I reached for my bike 3 times in the last 4 days. Today’s ride was by far my fastest this year. Friday’s ride was by far my hilliest this year. The week to come will be much warmer than the week that just ended. I hope that means I can record my first 200-mile week of 2021. I need to start cranking those out like I did last year.

Today’s ride, my 28th this season, got me to 719 miles. I am well behind last year’s pace for both metrics. But I’m going to make an earnest effort to surpass 1,000 miles by the end of May. In a good year, that’s a number I see by the end of April. Yes, I’m that far behind. Good times are coming, though. Better weather, better attitude. Better attitude, better performance.

The Rusco Trailhead Groundbreaking

It has begun! The southern terminus of the Eisenbahn State Trail at Rusco Drive will have several new amenities this year, and today a group of about 50 people turned out to celebrate the beginning of construction. The ground is being cleared on both sides of the trail to accommodate off-street parking, a bike repair stand, portable toilets, and more. This picture gives some idea of the orientation of the parking spaces:

Several local dignitaries were on hand from the City of West Bend and from Washington County government. County Executive Josh Schoemann read a proclamation honoring the work of Bike Friendly West Bend President Jeff Puetz, who addressed the audience:

Bike Friendly West Bend raised $20,000 for the project and played a key role in keeping the conversation going for more than 5 years. The project stalled when a telephone company raised the issue of liability if construction disturbs its underground lines. BFWB helped to coordinate conversations with all stakeholders at the local, county, and state levels to overcome the opposition.

Puetz is now the outgoing president of BFWB. He is retiring from corporate life at the end of the month and will step away from his leadership role in the advocacy group soon thereafter as he moves on to a new set of goals. Replacing him will be hard—it might be impossible—but there’s still more work for BFWB to do. If you have an interest in that role or would like to volunteer to help BFWB in some other capacity, then let me know. Let’s keep the ball rolling!

Meh

April 3-7 was uncommonly nice in Washington County: 5 straight days in the 70s. That’s about 20° above the average daytime high for that time of year, and of course it couldn’t last. When things went back to normal I went back to accepting any excuse not to ride my bike. On the days that failed to reach 50° I could argue—if only to myself—that it was too cold. On other days it was too windy or too rainy. One week ago today it was too snowy, and for proof I recall to your memory the 100-car pileup on Interstate 41 that left one person dead and sent several others to the hospital.

Today was … just OK. Yeah, you read that right. Sure, we got back above 70° for the first time since April 7, and I did my first full-distance Eisenbahn State Trail ride of 2021. But it was 74° when I started at 1 p.m. and only 61° when I got back at 4:30. The wind shifted from southeast to northeast when I was about 12 miles into my 50-mile ride. I had studied the forecast and expected the shift to come a little later and a little more gradually, but when it came it was like somebody threw a switch labeled “Screw you, Dave.”

And keeping with the theme of just OK, that badly neglected bridge south of Old Fond du Lac Road in Kewaskum has been repaired. It’s far better than the decaying mess it had become, but I’m not a fan of bridge decking that runs in the same direction as bicycle traffic:

The perpendicular decking is great: a bike rider will hit that at a 90-degree angle. But the middle of the bridge will be a problem eventually. Decking pops up when it wears out. When the perpendicular planks start to pop up, they will do so at the edges of the bridge where there’s no traffic. In the middle of the bridge, planks will pop up in a high traffic area. That’s a tripping hazard for walkers and a potential over-the-bars danger for bike riders. There’s also expansion and contraction to consider. It’s not a problem when the gaps between perpendicular planks get a little wider—your tires will handle that easily—but it’s a bicycle tire trap when gaps appear between planks running in the same direction as the trail. I asked a Washington County administrator with oversight for this project to ensure that all bridge decking be perpendicular, but I was ignored. So, good luck to you. Don’t be the person who proves me right.

Coming Soon: Celebrate Trails Day

Next Saturday, April 24, is the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s nationwide Celebrate Trails Day. Here in Washington County we have lots of trails, but only one rail trail: the Eisenbahn. Washington County government will provide cleanup kits and instructions for volunteers who want to help with litter removal. If you can help, then please see the county’s Facebook event page or go directly to the signup website.

Breaking Ground South Of Town

This is a big deal! Bike Friendly West Bend, the City of West Bend, Washington County, the DNR, the DOT … lots of different groups have looked at the southern terminus of the Eisenbahn State Trail over the years and always they have agreed that the trailhead needed to be improved. Standing in their way, however, was a telephone company whose buried lines in the old railroad corridor might be compromised by construction. All opposition is finally laid aside and the trailhead improvements are coming soon! Watch for off-street parking, a portable toilet, a bike repair stand, and other amenities. The new trailhead will have come a long way from its origins. Check out this picture I took in 2004, before paving and even before the old rails were pulled from the road:

2021 Washington Park Velodrome Schedule

Track racing is returning to the Washington Park Velodrome in Kenosha. Here’s the schedule for the 2021 season:

The 2021 WORS Schedule Redux

Way back on July 6, 2020, WORS announced its 2021 schedule. Yesterday it made a big splash across social media with a new announcement, and people reacted as if all the information were minty fresh. In truth, the new schedule is almost identical to the original. But whatever; people are excited about the return of bike racing, and that’s a good thing. Here’s the revised schedule:

For Sale: Cycling Fan Bundle

All items: cash only.

DVDs

$5 each or $20 for the lot

• American Flyers
• Breaking Away
• The Flying Scotsman
• Joe Kid on a Stingray: The History of BMX
• 2003 Liege-Bastogne-Liege & Flèche Wallonne
• 2004 Paris-Roubaix
• 2006 Giro d’Italia

Rabobank Replica Jersey (Men’s XL)

$10

Team Discovery Channel Fan Pack

$10

• 2 water bottles (never used)
• 1 LIVESTRONG bracelet