SeptemberFest in Wisconsin

Current Seasonal Total: 1,676.6

On Sunday, September 26th, I drove up to the western suburbs of Milwaukee to ride with my friend Gary Sampson. Gary has been a good friend of mine in the planetarium field for many years. We often roomed together at planetarium conferences, and through our many discussions, he too developed an interest in cycling. . . so much so, that in the spring of 2009, he purchased a new Trek hybrid bike (very similar to mine). He's been a regular cyclist ever since. In June, Gary and I rode the 36-mile course of the Trek 100, and he regularly rides the paved and unpaved trails throughout southeastern Wisconsin.

We called our get-together "SeptemberFest," and on its first day, I followed the Glacial Drumlin State Trail with Gary and another planetarian friend, Dave DeRemer. Just as my love of cycling "rubbed off" onto Gary, Gary's frequent rides similarly inspired Dave to start riding his bicycle a few weeks before. Gary and I drove to the starting point in Waukesha (near Prairie and Cottage Avenues), met Dave there, and the three of us (i.e. the Three Amigos) rode westward to Wales, continued to Waterville Road, and then returned along the same route. We started our ride just before 2 p.m. and completed it by 4 o'clock. The weather was mostly cloudy, with temperatures in the upper 50s and light to moderate northwesterly winds. It was a little chilly, so I wore long tights and a long sleeve base layer under my Livestrong jersey. Our ride lasted nearly two hours and was 22 miles in length.

The following day, Monday the 27th, I pre-arranged a vacation day and rode again with Gary. This time, we drove to a starting point farther to the west, so that we could ride a slightly different section of that very long trail. Beginning just before 9 a.m., Gary and I drove from his house to Wales (after a delicious breakfast of Gary's famous waffles), then began our ride westward. We passed through Dousman and Sullivan before turning around near the intersection of Route 18 and County Road P. We then retraced our route back to Wales, which we reached at about 1:00. On the way back, we visited the Bicycle Doctor (a great bike shop!) in Dousman. They were nice enough to adjust my front brake pads at no cost, eliminating the squeal that had started the day before. In part to say "thank you," I purchased a pair of winter cycling gloves and some Clif bars. Temperatures started in the mid-40s and rose to about 60 with very light easterly breezes. Our ride lasted nearly three hours and was just over 30 miles in length.

As it turned out, these were my last two rides in September, a month that featured 12 rides covering 279.1 miles, bringing my seasonal total to 1,676.6 miles. With my seasonal pace nearly 500 miles ahead of last year, I started to entertain the idea that I might actually reach the 2,000 mile mark before the season ended. By mid-October, I would elevate this "possibility" into the most significant goal of my four-year cycling effort.