Double B-day Ride

July 28, 2012  PEDALS adventure: 

One of the benefits of having Tom’s and my birthday “next-door” to each other (his is the 28^th, mine is the 29th ...one year and one day apart!)  is that you can more easily have an “event” that celebrates both.  We did that by having a Double Birthday Ride on the Monon with Jon, Ashley, Ryan and Heidi on Tom’s day, July 28.

Meeting at the Monon as it crosses 86^th  St. in Nora is a great place because  (1) there is a shopping center with great parking away from the stores, but close to the trail and (2) there is a Huddles Frozen Yogurt store at this spot on the trail…always a bonus to have food on the trail!  Not an official trailhead, but it ought to be.

Booth Tarkington Theater in Carmel

We love the Monon because it is almost all wooded and shaded, which helped on this sunny afternoon.  The beauty balances out the challenge of the high number of users on the trail…I always keep an eye on my  rearview mirror for speed bikers coming up behind us on this trail. After a short ride north (about 3 miles) , we were in the town of Carmel.  We took a side trip to look at the two new performance venues that were built in Carmel along the trail.  The Palladium and the Booth Tarkington Theater share a large area with a garden in between the buildings....and absolutely REEK of wealth and affluence.  You can tell a place is “rich” when they “draw” the parking lines in the brick street with other different colored bricks (as pointed out by our resident building cost estimator Ryan).  Checked out the 2012-13 schedule at the Booth Tarkington Theater….My Fair Lady in the spring….one of my favs!

A few blocks north and we stopped at Bazbeau’s outdoor seating for pizza!!  I’m sad I forgot to get a picture to remember this 3^rd time we’ve stopped here during a Monon Ride, but the 3 pizzas were amazing (The Luke, The Meat Lovers and The Margharite).  Since this is as far north as we have ever been on the Monon, our goal was to continue north to see the end of the Monon. 

That goal was cut short when we reached a “road closed due to construction” sign on the trail a mile or so north!  We had noticed several side trails in Carmel and Heidi suggested we take one of them as an alternative.

The Gang at the Hagan-Burk Trailhead

We happily rode down the Hagan-Burke Trail, which turned out to be another urban trail filled with trees and peacefulness.  The H-B trail had a  connector trail, The Greyhound, which took us to Carmel HS, where we reminisced about HS tennis matches that the guys had played at Carmel.  Back on the H-B trail, we found ourselves going through lots of trees, passed a Carmel Police officer (immaculately dressed in shorts and a golf shirt driving a golf cart on the path), rode under Keystone Blvd) and came to the end at 146^th street in the town of Westfield.  Jon was impressed we were so far north of Indy.

The Monon Tunnel under I-465

The ride back was just enough to get us ready for frozen yogurt at Huddles, where we enjoyed loading up our bowls with awesome flavors and yummy toppings.  My personal favorite was Grapefruit frozen yogurt. It was perfectly refreshing, "as is" without toppings, after a long ride...and after a bigger helping of chocolate and caramel fro-yo with oodles of chocolate toppings that Tom and I shared.

Heidi's and Ashley's Fro-yo creations

We finished the Celebration Ride with a shopping visit to Marshall’s, conveniently located in the same shopping center (along with a Starbucks shop).  The day was filled with good people, good times, good food….and a shopping trip to boot!  Happy times and happy birthday to Tom and me!

The stats: 15.7 (RT), Time: 1 hrs. 47 min, ODO: 344.51 miles

Notable Nature Sightings:  None…too many people on the trail

Fast, Slow and In Between

July 23, 2012  PADDLING  adventure: Blue Lake in Churubusco, IN

Sometimes the simple trips close to home are just what a person needs.   We were invited to our friends’ home on Blue Lake for late afternoon and evening water activities.   Because of local guidelines, all “fast” water activities can only take place between the hours of 1-4 pm daily.   We got to Liz and Bob’s beautiful waterfront home in just enough time to tear around the mostly empty Blue Lake on jet skis.  Tom was given the “slow” jet-ski, while Liz and I jetted around the lake as fast as possible.  Sorry, but there are no pictures, because actually, it would have to be a video to get the true contrast between our jet-ski rides.

After speeding around, a gentle pontoon ride with swimming off the side seemed in order….until we realized that the pontoon was quickly drifting away from us because of a brisk wind, despite being anchored in the water.   We clamored on board again and finished the leisurely trip around the lake.  After being treated to a great dinner of chicken enchiladas (yes food is important on paddles too!), it was time for the main event. 

Bob and Tom kayaking on Blue Lake.

Tom’s favorite paddling times are in the evenings at sunset, when you can get some pretty colorful skies as the sun goes down. 

Blue Lake during the week is a quiet spot (except for the crazies who blasted their pontoon stereo as they swam nearby…seriously..is that necessary?), perfect for leisurely paddles, and tonight was perfect.  However, as we paddled and chatted, a strange motor was heard, and, across the lake, an unusual boat hit the water…it was an AIRBOAT!

Not your typical Blue Lake watercraft.

Now, we know about airboats from visiting the Okefenokee Swamp in Florida a few years back ….and from watching FLIPPER during the 1960s.  Anyway, during our Florida trip, Tom got to DRIVE an airboat, almost upsetting it and sending our real driver into the swamp, complete with alligators!  He hasn’t lived that down yet!

Since I was sure I wasn’t in Florida, and pretty sure there were any alligators in Blue Lake, an airboat would be the last type of watercraft I was expecting to see.  I quickly paddled over for a closer look, and chatted with its owner, who has a goal of using it to provide river trips in FW.   He had a fairly successful business on the river during the previous week’s 3 Rivers Festival, but struggles with a consistent business as the FW rivers have been recently lowered to allow for summer maintenance.  He envisions strapping on a couple of kayaks, airboating up the river for a while, and then allowing the kayakers to paddle their way back to the start.  If he ever gets that business of the ground, sign me up.  I HATE having to backtrack on a paddle just to get back to the car…..ride one way, paddle back.  Sounds like a great plan to me!!!

Thanks to Liz and Bob for fantastic afternoon and evening water adventures  of all speeds  on Blue Lake…and thanks Bob for being Tom’s helper with our kayaks…I enjoyed sitting that part out.

The "Show-Me" Trail

July 20, 2012  PEDALS adventure:  A recent trip to St. Louis to visit family afforded us the opportunity to ride one of the country's premier Rail-To-Trail paths called the Katy Trail.  Long before the superhighway system, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (hence Katy) railroad was a line that connected the east and west side of Missouri along the Missouri River.   The entire  Katy Trail is a Missouri State Park and is considered the largest state park in the country.  While we are not the type to do all 200+ miles of the trail, we made a plan to cover 16 miles of the Katy that is close to St. Louis.  Since Missouri is The Show-Me State, it is fitting that our ride will be told primarily with pictures.

We started at the Weldon Springs Trailhead, a site that served as a munitions area during WW II and "cleaned up" in the 1980s.  We were dropped off by my parents...and hope to see them 17 miles from here!

The path was heavily wooded with a nice canopy of trees to provide shade.

The Missouri River could be seen at times
through the trees on our right....

...while tall walls of limestone
were on the left side of the path.

Because of drought conditions, we walked down
to banks of the Missouri River on dry land.

"Away, I'm bound away, 'cross the wide Missouri"
from the folk song "Shenandoah"

Out of the trees (and the shade)  and into the crop land.

Riding under Highway 70...this is a perspective that is rarely seen. 
Bikes can take you interesting places.

A welcome trailhead rest spot @ Greens Bottom Road.

The map I was looking at showed a road called "Upper Bottom Road"

....yet another oxymoron street (see previous blog "300 Miles").

Great explorers....Tom and Lewis and Clark

End of the line for us at the old  St. Charles Depot.

  The trail is crushed limestone...

not as bad as we feared for riding, but oh so dusty!!!!!!

 This sign for a restaurant in St. Charles sums up my biking philosophy!!!!

 

 We were met in St.Charles by my parents....and more gatorade.  We were lucky because it was the only day of the week with temperatures less than 100 degrees!!!  Lunch (mandatory  of course) was at an Irish pub located in a converted bank in downtown St. Charles...Gourmet grilled cheese with sweet potato puffs and deep fried pickles...YUM!  It was a great day, a great ride....and maybe someday Katy will see us again!!

The Stats:    17.66 miles; Time: 2 hr. 11 min.  ODO: 328.81

Notable Nature Sightings:  A peacock at a pathside farm, a snake in the road, an Indigo Bunting

Festival Ride and Junk Food!

July 15, 2012  PEDALS adventure:  I could be wrong, but I think this is the first back-to-back 10+ mile bike trips we have taken, and on days that  90+ degrees with full sun, no less.  However,  we are happy to say that it went without a hitch but it did need several water bottles.

Chalk street drawing of
Tom's favorite book

We picked up the Maumee trail, which happens to be my favorite Rivergreenway Trail, at a trailhead close to Kraeger Park near New Haven.  We were joined on the ride by Ryan and Heidi, who like this path because it is just a short drive from their house to the trailhead.  It is a couple of miles east of where we typically start the Maumee, but it was worth it as it is (at least half way) wooded and shady!  We met quite a few people coming back on the trail (the parking lot had quite a few cars in it) so others must have been inspired also to brave the sun and heat for a chance to ride along the river. 

"Balloon Dogs Playing Poker"

Again storm damage in the way of trees downed were all along the path.  However, the path itself was clean of brush , limbs and trees…way to go FW city government.   I was reminded about a letter to the editor that I read this morning in the Journal Gazette, thanking city workers who were seen by some bikers on the trail as they were cleaning up the path.   Without their work this week, this ride would have been impossible.   There are still trees that are somewhat propped up by other trees, so the effects of the storm will not be over in just one clean up.

Butterfly Sidewalk Chalk art 

We arrived downtown and, after parking our bikes, walked among the chalk drawings on Main Street, which was one of the 3 Rivers Festival Events.  The creativity, vibrant colors and variety of subject matters made for a lot of interesting pictures.  We also walked through the booths of the Art Show where we unexpectedly reconnected with fellow teachers (now retired) from over 25 years ago.  It is fun when various time periods in one’s life collide into a unexpected connection. Time sure flies!

Of course, a trip to Junk Food Alley had to be part of the adventure, so we braved the crowds (which were curiously low) and got spiral spuds, a funnel cake and a lemon shakeup which we shared.  YUM! We did have a few raindrops (not enough to count), but nothing significant. 

The trip held nothing unusual or different, just a great ride along the river,  a chance to experience the 3 Rivers Festival and some of our favorite junk food...a perfect ride in my book!

The stats: 10.82 m (RT), Time: 1hr. 12 min, ODO: 311.14 miles

Notable Nature Sightings:  none, except for the shade of the trees on the Maumee River bank, for which we were very thankful

300 MILES!

July 14, 2012  PEDALS adventure:  Today was a milestone ride…my Odometer rolled over to 300 miles!  Since I didn’t have the odometer from the first day I owned the bike, it is accurate to say that there are over 300 actual miles that I have ridden on the bike.  But, it is fun to watch the miles roll over and put some “stakes in the ground” so to speak and celebrate 300 miles of pedaling adventures.



Largest tree we have seen that was toppled by 90+ winds

The momentous ride was the FW Rivergreenway Towpath that started at Rockhill Park.  It is one of my favorite FW rides, because I have done it twice at night (in the dark in September) with the FW Parks Department.   It is a little urban and then goes out along some crop land, through some wetlands, and ends at Lutheran Hospital by I-69.  It is a flat ride, with lots of green, but not a lot of shade!

 We had stopped at the bike shop for some equipment adjustments, so we didn’t get started until late morning.   Consequently we were riding in the middle of a very sunny 90+ degree day.  It actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds because the humidity was relatively low.   We have rides planned in Missouri and Michigan in the next few weeks that may have to take place in hot, humid weather if we are to do them at all, so this was good training for those rides.

The bad part about the towpath is that there is no place to stop for a snack or drink.  We knew that we were close to Jefferson Blvd. where there is a strip mall with a coffee shop, but  there was no way to get there without riding on a busy street.  We did investigate a small housing addition for a thru-way, but the only thing we got for our trouble was the most awesome street sign we have ever seen: Octagon Square.  Talk about an oxymoron.

OCTAGON SQUARE
Seriously? 

The path ended on Jefferson Blvd. across from the entrance to the Lutheran Hospital Campus, which actually serves as a link to the Aboite trails on the other side of their property.  Under the category of  “Every Successful Bike Trip Contains a Food Stop,” we decided to cross on over and visit the Lutheran Hospital cafeteria for a break and some food.   Actually, it was an enjoyable meal as we split a giant tenderloin, a large bottle of G2 and a chocolate Otis Spunkmeyer muffin.  We were glad to get out of the sun and get some drink into us before heading back.

The ride back was uneventful, except for pedaling our 300^th mile just as we returned to Rockhill Park.  We took some time to inspect the storm damaged trees at the park and decided they were the largest  we had seen that were just ripped out of the ground.   Wonder what it would have sounded like to be in the park at that time? 

The stats: 11.56 (RT), Time: 1 hrs. 15 min, ODO: 300.31 miles

Notable Nature Sightings:  The largest trees we’ve seen that were uprooted by the storm.  

Oxymoron Sighting:  A street sign that says “Octagon Square”

I Have a Need for (No) Speed Too!

July 11, 2012  PADDLING  adventure: Waldron Lake/Elkhart River

In contrast to biking where speed and distance are at the core of the adventure, kayaking (for me at least) is about none of those things.  On most trips, I have no idea how fast we paddled, how far we went, and, because of a lot of “drifting time,” the time we were on the water has no correlation to either category.  Instead, it is about the experience of being on the water and surrounding nature.  Today was no exception.

Amish Buggy pulling boat trailer

We paddled today on the Elkhart River/Waldron Lake area.    Arriving at the public access site, we were greeted by an Amish buggy (so unusual here) with an empty boat trailer attached (now that was a first for us).  There is a small area downstream where we know many Amish moor their pontoon boats.  Every time we have been on the Elkhart River we have seen at least one Amish family on their pontoon either beginning or finishing their pontoon adventure.  It held true today, except we have never seen a boat trailer/buggy combo (with the requisite horse) at the actual public access site.   It did make me smile.

Because the Elkhart River at this point has an almost negligible current, we are able to travel in both directions from the access point without undue paddling effort either way.  We chose downstream first, away from Waldron Lake, in order to check the water level and increase our chances of spotting dear or other wildlife.   We soon turned around as the underwater aquatic plant growth became too dense and gross, in part because of the low water level from the lack of rain.  There were a few trees that were down from the late June/early July storms, but the level of damage was conspicuously less than the damage in FW. After a short paddle, we passed the access site on our way to the Waldron Lake basin.

View from my kayak as Tom comes into view

We like this paddle because it is heavy on trees and nature and light on houses and people.  Much of the northern bank is protected wetlands and the southern bank is not densely settled with cottages and houses sitting on top of each other.   We floated a lot, looked around a lot, and listened to what was around us.  It was a perfect weather day, and perfect paddling day because there were few boaters around, only the occasional slow fishing boat “putting” by us. Weekend paddling can be hazardous to kayaker on these northeast IN skiing lakes!!

There was not a lot of nature to see besides trees, but as I dozed while floating (yeah I catnap in my kayak while Tom paddles around)  I noticed many bird calls, both near and farther away.  The newest sound I heard was the soft, popping sound of sucker fish coming up for air.  I have often seen their presence on the water, but the quietness of the day revealed the sound of their unusual habit. 

While reloading our boats onto our car after our paddle, we were interrupted by  an elderly fisherman I remembered passing earlier in the day.   He was frantic because the rope  attached to his fishing boat broke while he was maneuvering his boat trailer into the access point and the boat was floating away.   The other anglers at the public access site already had their boat loaded on their trailer, so Tom and I quickly unloaded my boat (which had just been hoisted up!).  Tom paddled around to the other side where the fishing boat was floating further away from the loading area and carefully (so as not to tip himself) shoved it back towards shore.  Being the only one on shore with water shoes on, I waded into the water to grab the boat from Tom, guiding it up to the winch so its owner could get it up on the trailer.   We left the fisherman and the others to finish the job while we again lifted my boat up on the car.  I shudder to think what that elderly fisherman would have resorted to in order to get his boat, and it was worth the effort of lifting the boat AGAIN in order to help a fellow boater.   God had us in the right place at the right time to be of service.

Notable/AUDIBLE Nature Sightings: A rooster with an apparently late alarm clock who repeated crowed at 8:30 AM as we unloaded the boats---sunrise was 2 hours earlier, a couple of hidden woodpeckers, many different bird calls, and soft popping sounds from the sucker fish coming up to the surface to breath.

On the Path Again

July 8, 2012  PEDALS adventure:  The computerized weatherman  promised a day much cooler than the previous three days of 100+ temperatures:  highs only in the upper 80’s (it’s all about perspective).  So we knew this was our chance to get back outside again.   Tom proposed the St. Joseph pathway of the Rivergreenway by starting at Shoaff park, riding through IPFW campus, Johnny Appleseed park and towards downtown.   This path has a little bit of everything, street riding, sidewalk riding, dedicated bike path riding and a decent amount of nature.   What we didn’t account for was that nature was going to be ON the paths our bikes would take.

In a second post-Summer 2012  storm ride, we witnessed a lot more of the wind damage that was sustained by FW.  Trees were down all over and lots of small twigs and leaves cluttered many parts of the bike path, causing us to concentrate more carefully than usual on the bike paths so as not to lose our balance on the uneven path.   No major problems, just amazing sights of large limbs snapped off and huge trees totally uprooted.  We could see where trees had been laying across Spy Run Ave. extended and were still laying on some power lines.   But we could also tell much clean up had already gone on as large trees had been cut up, waiting for their leaves to die off, making them easier to move.      Shoaff Park is one of the designated drop off points for residents with tree limbs and the pile was huge with a steady stream of pickups and flat bed trailers coming to unload their limbs.

Tom talked me into this path because of it goes right past a Dunkin’ Donuts (different one from Wednesday’s ride) and we stopped there for a treat.  The sky was looking a bit menacing so we almost had to pedal on by.  However,  we kept an eye on the radar on Tom’s phone, and, as has been the case this summer, the rain dried up as it approached FW and we only had a few sprinkles.  

BTW, we ordered (and shared)  the new Oreo cream donut (on the advice of the DD counterhelp)….all I can say is YUM!  Now if we could just get a DD on the side of a lake or river, paddling could be so much better!

Ride stats:  12 m (RT), Time: 1 hrs. 22 min, ODO: 289 miles

Notable Nature Sightings:  About 2 minutes of light raindrops, enough to see as they hit  the river, but few enough that I could count them on my shorts.   This being the Summer Drought of 2012, raindrops ARE a notable nature sighting.

I Have a Need For Speed

July 4, 2012 Independence Day PEDALS adventure: Make no mistake about it…it was hot!  But the Independence Day morning ride was not as bad as one would think, considering the day reached a high of 103 degrees.  In a reprise of our Memorial Day breakfast ride (see blogpost Spring Launchings) , two sets of neighbors joined us for an 8:30 am ride to Dunkin’ Donuts via the YMCA path, the Pufferbelly trail and a couple of neighborhoods.  By waiting until 8:30, the overnight humidity had burned off and the middle of the day heat hadn’t yet come.  Note to self, early rides are better if they are not too early.

As we rode on the YMCA path, we passed many people jogging the trail, looking (in my opinion) at us enviously as we sped passed them, wind whipping through our hair, quickly on our way to the end point of our ride.   I, on the other hand, did NOT look at them enviously, struggling with each step, NO WIND whipping through their hair  and far away from their end point.  That was when I realized why I like to bike;  I have a need for speed.  IF (and it is a big IF) I am going to expend the energy in an activity to increase my physical fitness, whatever activity I choose must give me the most bang for my exercising buck:  what can I do that covers the most distance with the least amount of discomfort with the greatest chance of natural and shaded surroundings (sounds like a bad story problem).  The answer of course is biking.   In the amount of time it took for us to ride to Dunkin’ Donuts, and back again (not counting the relaxation time and yummy donuts) we covered more miles and got out of the heat faster than most of those joggers…that’s a win in my book.  Yes, I did at one time train and complete the Indy Mini 13.1 mile race, after which I never really ran another step (so much for the philosophy that once you start running you become addicted to it) , which confirms my statement: I have a need for speed!

My fellow riders standing in front of the large tree blocking the path

The most interesting part of the ride was looking at the storm damage from the previous week’s 90+ mph winds.  In fact, the Pufferbelly trail at one spot was blocked by a very large tree, which we went around on the already well worn grass.  Other assorted limbs and trees were scattered about, reminding us how fortunate we all were that we suffered no damage.  Oh yeah, the demented looking squirrel who stood frozen on a limb, staring us down, was a pretty good laugh too!

Ride stats:  8.5 m (RT), Time: 59 min. 50 sec. (should have gone around our cul de sac a couple of times) ODO: 276 miles

Look carefuly for the deranged squirrel.
I'm glad he wasn't related to Rocky the flying squirrel.

Notable Nature Sightings:  Large tree covering the bike path, one slightly deranged (and too tame) squirrel.