More Rules They Only Hope You Will Obey

These signs appeared on the Eisenbahn and presumably on other state trails this year. Let me know if you ever see a law enforcement officer with a radar gun on a state trail. Let me know if you understand how a law enforcement officer can determine that a motor was engaged when the rider exceeded 15 mph. Most riders of non-motorized bikes are capable of bursts over 15 mph, and many riders of non-motorized bikes are capable of sustained efforts over 15 mph. It can be hard enough to distinguish, at a glance, an e-bike from a non-motorized bike; it can be harder still to distinguish one class of e-bike from another. So, what? Pull over everybody, just in case? I don't expect the City of West Bend, Washington County, or Fond du Lac County to devote any resources to enforcement on the Eisenbahn. Things might be different in a more heavily urbanized area like Milwaukee, where 28 mph e-bikers on the Hank Aaron State Trail are an obvious danger to other users.

"We're from the government and we're here to help!" Yeah, thanks again.

99,000 Lifetime Miles

Summer in Washington County is a shorter season than the calendar would have you believe. Already we have reached the time of year when 80° is warmer than average, and already you can see leaves beginning to change from a robust green to a sickly yellow. Wednesday will be our last day this year with an 8 p.m. sunset. Let me have the next seven weeks. That’s all I ask. When October arrives, you can have your sweaters and your pumpkin spice lattes and your yards full of trashy Halloween decorations.

On today’s bike ride I surpassed 99,000 lifetime miles. I want to reach 100,000 lifetime miles by the end of September. I will reach my goal before the end of 2026, even if I have to travel somewhere warmer to get the last miles. September 30, though, is my self-imposed deadline because I want October 1 to be the start of a new chapter in my life. On that day I want to feel free to do whatever I want for my fitness. That might be mountain biking: same time commitment, but fewer miles. That might be hiking. That might be some combination of exercises in my home gym. With 100,000 lifetime cycling miles behind me, I won’t be chasing every last mile anymore. If you care at all when I get to 100,000, then surely you won’t care when I get to 100,001. We love our round numbers, don’t we? Getting to 100,001 will be a greater achievement than getting to 100,000, but no one will look at it that way.

With the big mileage goal and summer behind me, you can count on me not to fight very hard against cold weather. In October, I plan to spend 2-3 weeks back in Pennsylvania, where the average daytime high should be 7° warmer than it is in West Bend. Those are 7 precious degrees at that time of year! And sometime around November 1, I will fill the kitchen pantry with supplies for the winter. By December 1, grocery shopping might be nothing more than a weekly order of perishables delivered to my front door. I’m not dealing with winter anymore. I will shovel my sidewalks – municipal code demands they be kept clear – but otherwise I’m done. This week I purchased a battery charger to keep my car from dying during the long periods of disuse I predict for it. I kid you not: full hermit mode this winter.

Offseason cycling goals have always been tricky for me. There will be turbo trainer sessions, but probably not Zwift sessions. I still have three very worthwhile Garmin Connect challenges to attempt: the Tacx 75K Ride (75 km / 46.61 miles), the Tacx 100K Ride (100 km / 62.14 miles), and the Indoor 4-Hour Ride. All sound terrible while the weather is still fair, but we’ll see what depths of desperation I reach in winter. Hey, with just 16 more hours of indoor riding before January 1, this year would be a Top 10 season on the trainer!

I legitimately want to get into a new strength training program in the home gym. That will happen. And I am committing to try each of the seven preset walking workouts on my treadmill. I have had the machine for 2.5 years now and still haven’t pressed those buttons! The last big walking challenge on Garmin Connect is Stepping Up 50K: 50,000 steps in one day. My current PR is 41,635 steps. Completing the challenge would take something like 7.5 hours. That’s an insane amount of walking in a single day, and it’s probably something I would attempt indoors only if there were a full day of sports on TV.

Cycling has never been my only tool for fitness, but for more than two decades it has been the most dominant. Starting this autumn, I will try to find a better balance. I don’t want to feel guilty for doing other things and “neglecting” the bike. The focus isn’t competition anymore. I haven’t done a bike race in almost two years. The focus is now longevity. To be on the bike for years to come, I need to pay more attention to other activities that can support my overall fitness.

That Was A Good One

I finally had a chance to do a Thursday evening group ride, and it was great! I missed the June rides because I was in Pennsylvania. Last week, bad air quality caused by wildfires in Canada and Minnesota prompted the ride organizer to cancel. There were no weather worries today. Even the wind cooperated. I rode to the start location and then home from there after the ride, adding about 3 miles to the official route. That made today’s ride my longest so far this year: 36 miles. I’m still living in that 25- to 30-mile range, but my average is starting to creep up. Today’s ride also was my fastest so far this year: 18 mph. So, no, it was not all Zone 2. I spent roughly half of the ride in Zone 2 and most of the rest in Zone 3. Speed on the flats was not an issue; dragging myself over the hills was the stimulus that pushed me past Zone 2. Today’s 1,237 feet of climbing was my highest total so far this year.

One of the more interesting stats from today’s ride was my average cadence: just 73 rpm. That’s really low. I wasn’t aware of the number during the ride, but I was aware that I was turning the pedals far less frequently than my fellow riders. And that doesn’t count for much. Do I dare say, “Different strokes for different folks,” or is that too obvious a play on words? I was pushing a bigger gear. By itself, that fact is neither good nor bad, it’s simply different.

As usual, today’s ride was offered with two route options. I had planned to do the shorter route, but as we approached the point at which the routes diverged, everyone agreed to complete the long route. Now, having completed it in good style, I would be disappointed if I had cut off early.

If you’re not already familiar with West Bend’s group ride on Thursdays, then check out the Washington County Bicyclists page on Facebook.

Back From The Big Road Trip

On this busy day, I had time for only a short "Welcome Home" ride.

I returned to West Bend early this morning, ending a 25-day East Coast trip. During my time away, I was on the bike 15 times for a total of 375 miles. And I walked 65 miles, so that’s good. I even managed to lose 5 pounds, though I was not careful with my diet. At today’s weigh-in I recorded my lowest number so far this year. Carrying too much weight is the biggest drag on my cycling performance. With tighter control of my diet now that I’m home again, and with more structured training, I expect significant weight loss between now and the end of Daylight Saving Time.

My overall training volume was comparable to what it likely would have been if I had not been away from home, but strength training suffered. That needs a big reboot.

I had a serious problem with my car during my trip, and I paid serious money to get it fixed. Overall, though, the trip was a huge success. In addition to the time I spent with my mother, I visited with one of my nephews and two of my cousins. I also saw a Pirates-Nationals game in Washington DC with my closest friend since childhood. He and I last attended a baseball game together in Pittsburgh in 2000, the Pirates’ last season at Three Rivers Stadium. This year’s short visit to DC was my first there since 2014.

Lots of driving? You bet! I covered 2,356 miles through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Not DC, though. I met my friend at his home in the Virginia suburbs and we took the Metro to Nationals Park and back again. You don’t want to drive in DC if you don’t have to … or park there. Like almost everything on the East Coast, it takes forever and costs a fortune. I think I’ll be content to have a quietly productive (and cost-conscious) remainder of the summer here in Washington County before I think about my next trip.

Tales Of Brave Ulysses

"How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing."

Enjoying those 90° days, Washington County? I know you’re not used to them. They are far more common here in the Philadelphia suburbs. Considerably less common are 105° days, but that’s what we got at Mom’s house today. By visiting at this time of year, I expected honest-to-goodness summer weather. I have not been disappointed.

A couple of days ago, I was talking to Mom about Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. To me, they are foundational works of Western literature. To Mom, they are completely unknown. She missed them somehow, and she was unmoved even when I told her how Odysseus, a/k/a Ulysses, was tied to the mast so that he could hear the sirens’ song without driving his ship onto the rocks. Their ears stuffed with wax, the ship’s crew passed the danger while Odysseus alone heard the call that had doomed all who had heard it before. He might have stuffed his ears with wax too, but he had to satisfy his boundless curiosity.

Mom is 93 years old and a firm believer in all of the dire warnings about heat exposure that the TV news people are repeating ad nauseam. She really didn’t want me to go outside today. I wanted to know what 105° felt like. At home in West Bend, I have never felt anything like it. We briefly touched 100° back on July 4, 2012. I remember that day. But 105° … ? So, this afternoon I did a 42-minute walk around Mom’s neighborhood and, yeah, it was hot. I had the neighborhood to myself; everyone else was inside with the AC on. With that walk I earned the elusive Toasty badge on Garmin Connect:

The Toasty badge didn’t exist in 2012 – Garmin introduced it in 2018 – and who knows when West Bend will see another 100° day? I couldn’t pass up today’s opportunity.

The temperature dropped below 100° late in the evening, so I tacked on a 20-mile bike ride to complete my day. Mom thinks I’m crazy. I think I really made today count.

Halftime 2026

Today brings the first half of 2026 to a close. I have covered 1,400 miles so far this year. By this date in 2025, I had ridden only 894 miles. I’m happy with the difference, but a lot of work remains before I reach my goal of 3,075. Today’s ride was my 60th this year, so I’m averaging 23.33 miles per ride. That would be my lowest average since 2004, my first season of cycling, when I averaged only 16.52 miles per ride. I can’t live with that. Longer rides are coming soon.

Last year on this date, I reached 555 miles of walking. I finished 2025 with a personal record: 1,141 miles. This year, I have 600 miles already. I didn’t set a walking mileage goal for 2026. Nonetheless, a new PR is a strong possibility.

Strange but true: I didn’t plan to end the first half of the year with exactly 1,400 cycling miles and exactly 600 walking miles. It just worked out that way.

Garmin Connect’s Appalachian Trail Expedition

Early this morning, I completed Garmin Connect’s Appalachian Trail expedition. It was the longest of the 17 “hiking” expeditions. I did all 17 in ascending order. This is another kind-of-neat Garmin challenge. Completing it didn’t require any unusual effort on my part; it required only the accumulation of steps over the last 11 months. Completing the 13 “climbing” challenges will be much harder. I have completed only 2 so far. The climbing challenges track elevation gain, and most of my walks have almost none. As I did with the hikes, I will progress through the climbs in ascending order. Each will be harder than the one before. I needed 73 days to complete the first climb and 125 days to complete the second. I have been working on the third since February 19, but it’s still only 79% complete. Even if I were to commit to regular stair climbing workouts, it would take years to reach the summit of Garmin’s virtual Mount Everest. Because of their long time horizons, Garmin’s expeditions don’t work well for motivation. There’s no deadline; you will get there eventually. But there is something to be said for consistent effort over time, so I will take those little rewards as they come.

Well Done, Doylestown!

I really enjoyed today’s ride here in eastern Pennsylvania. Mom lives just outside Doylestown, the seat of government for Bucks County. It’s still a pretty place despite the urban sprawl that comes from being squeezed between Philadelphia and New York City. Doylestown itself is charming. Imagine Cedarburg WI with a county courthouse and stately homes that go back to the 18th Century. There’s a lot to like … for those who can afford it. My biggest complaint about Doylestown is its motor vehicle traffic, which is far greater than you would expect in a community of only about 8,400 residents.

When I lived here in the late 1980s, riding a bike never occurred to me. I don’t know where I would have done it. The region’s 30 miles of bike and pedestrian infrastructure didn’t exist yet. Now it forms the backbone of my rides when I visit Mom, but by itself it’s still not enough. The network of trails is growing in piecemeal fashion, requiring many on-road miles to link the pieces. It will be great someday.

The photo above shows the most recent piece of the network. That 0.3-mile section along New Britain Road is so new that you can still see sawdust on the ground under the fence rails! On previous visits, my rides down New Britain Road were a little uncomfortable. Motor vehicle traffic wasn’t too bad, but the road surface was poor and there was no shoulder. As you can see, the road has been resurfaced and there’s now a physically separated bike lane. It’s a beauty, and all it took was a little extra asphalt. This new link in the trail system doesn’t change where I go, but it changes how I feel about that section. For some local riders, especially kids, the new link probably opens up a part of the system that seemed too dangerous to access before.

Eastern Daylight Time

Today is the end of an unconventional week. Monday looked normal enough, but Tuesday began on the treadmill in my home gym. I was determined to get my 10,000 steps early in the day, because the rest of Tuesday would be very busy. At 2:30 a.m. CDT, I pulled out of West Bend and headed for West Newton PA, my childhood home. I got there early in the afternoon and immediately embarked on a 2-hour ride on the Great Allegheny Passage, one of America’s great rail trails. The GAP stretches from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, roughly 300 miles. There’s a very nice access point in West Newton and a very well supplied bike shop at the trailhead. None of it existed when I was a kid; the railroad corridor was still active. If it had existed in the 1970s, then I would have been all over it!

After a Tuesday night hotel stay in western Pennsylvania, I arrived at my mother’s house in eastern Pennsylvania late Wednesday morning. I didn’t get on the bike that day, but I did find time for a long walk around Mom’s neighborhood. Back in the saddle on Thursday, I rescued the turtle pictured above. It was on its back after failing to get up a curb that was too high. It probably was far enough from the flow of motor vehicle traffic to avoid death by that method, but it was baking under the full sun of an 80-something-degree day. I turned the turtle over and set it on the grass. Seconds later, it waddled off to safety.

I rode again on Friday, on Saturday, and earlier today … solid, maintenance rides of the Zone 2 type. There will be many more of those over the next two weeks. This week I covered 127 miles in 8:44. That’s almost enough weekly volume for the remainder of my time away from West Bend. In July, when I’m home again, I will look for bigger numbers.

West Bend Adopts New E-bike Rules

Last night, the Common Council of the City of West Bend adopted new rules for e-bikes. The move was largely an incorporation of existing state statutes into the municipal code. The new rules confirm that riders 16 years old or younger may ride on sidewalks except in the downtown and Barton business districts, which are off-limits to all riders of any bicycle, motorized or non-motorized. The new rules also confirm that no riders under 16 may operate Class 3 e-bikes, which are capable of high speeds.

The revisions to the municipal code also include the removal of bicycle registration requirements–something that should have been done long ago–and the establishment of clear rules for bicycle parking, abandonment, seizure, and impoundment. Long story short: don’t leave your bike somewhere in a way that inconveniences others.

Click here to read the city’s official news release on these subjects.