The Big Meltdown?

Earlier this week, Appleton was enduring overnight lows of -8 to -10 F with daytime highs of less than 10 degrees. But in the last 24 hours, a warm front has moved in, sending temperatures on Sunday up to an almost balmy 41 degrees. Here is the forecast for the rest of the week.

A lot of snow melted today. A lot more is going to melt in the next few days. I went skiing at Plamann Park on Saturday, and there were a few spots where the snow was pretty thin--a base of just a few inches. After today, that has to be bare ground. And in the next few days, there will be a lot of bare ground. It looks like ski season may be over. Unless we get another major winter storm hat drops 6-8 inches of snow, I think it is time to hang the skis up. Last year one could ski until the end of February, but this early thaw will leave us with little snow, even if it does cool back off.

So now the question becomes when can one get out on the road bike. Wednesday and Thursday both look promising. I won't be able to get out both of those days, but I'll try to get out probably on Thursday and do about 20 miles to warm up the legs. And then maybe next weekend, with highs around 30, it may be possible to get some short 10-15 mile rides in. Not much, but it looks like it is time to start thinking about the bike again.

Nordic Skiing - Reforestation Camp

Probably the best place to ski in the Appleton-Green Bay area is the Brown County Reforestation Camp. At 1600 acres, it is much larger than either Plamann Park or Bubolz Nature Preserve here in Appleton. The result of this is that there are 15 miles worth of trails. Furthermore, once you get about half a mile away from the parking area, you really have the feeling that you are out in the woods all alone.

There are 4 main trails at Reforestation Camp. They are

• Pines - 1.8 miles - Intermediate
• Oaks - 4.8 miles - Advanced
• Birches - 4.9 miles - Intermediate
• Maples - 7.4 miles - Intermediate

Each time I have been there, the trails have been in excellent condition. Brown County does a superb job of grooming the trails and keeping them in top notch shape. This facility is popular with folks in the Green Bay area, but unlike Plamann park, where the cross country tracks seem to take a beating, the tracks at Reforestation Camp always seem to be in great shape. They also have a lot of signage to remind skiers of the right way to ski as not to damage the trail, so this probably helps too.

There is a $5 daily fee for the trails at the camp, but the sign says all of this money goes into supporting cross country skiing in Brown County. Given the quality of the trails, this fee is very fair. An annual pass is also available, but since I live in Appleton, I have not really looked into one. There is also a lodge building at the parking lot that is open daily until 4:00 PM. Inside there are restrooms, tables and vending machines. What is nice about this is that if one wants to make a day of it, they could ski, take a break in the building and then ski some more. I can't recall, but I may have seen a microwave in there too.

I have now been to the camp three times, and I have done the "Oaks" trail twice. I have also done the Pines trail a couple times and the Birches trail. The Birches and Pine trails are similar. Some moderate hills, but nothing terrible steep for either and up or downhill. The Oaks trail is my favorite. This trail is rated advanced and does contain a couple of steep downhills. It also contains several good uphills--and longer uphills than what you would find at Plamann park. It is an excellent workout. One other difference, Birches is groomed for both skating and classic, where as Oaks is groomed jut for classic. So you have even fewer people on Oaks.

I think my only disappointment about the camp is that it is about 45 miles away from my house, so I can't go there more often. While our places to ski in Appleton are good, the camp is just a couple notches above them in terms of length of trails, variety of terrain and trail conditions. It is the best place I have been to ski in NE Wisconsin so far.

Nordic Skiing

Cross country skiing is the traditional activity for cyclists in northern latitudes to do during winter when it is too cold and snowy outside to ride. I learned to ski about 6 years ago while living in Idaho. I missed a few years while living in Virginia, but now living in Wisconsin, it is a natural activity to do during the long and snowy Wisconsin winters.

Why do I like to ski. There are lots of reasons:

• It is a terrific aerobic workout. A lot of cycling is about aerobic endurance, and cross country skiing will help you build or maintain aerobic capacity.
• It is a terrific full body workout. After skiing for two hours, your whole body feels like it got a workout: your legs, back, abdominals and shoulders. Basically to balance yourself on skis, a lot of muscles have to work together in unison, and these are a lot of muscles that don't normally get worked.
• It is much more interesting than other alternatives in the winter. Going to the gym, about 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer is all I can handle. Boring! But I have no problem skiing for 2 hours
• It is an opportunity to get outdoors in winter. And, we have some great parks and natural areas that you get to ski through. Being able to get out on the ski trails in the middle of a forest away from it all is a big draw for me.
• It is relatively inexpensive to get into. Skis, bindings, boots and poles will run you about $300. The clothes you wear cross country skiing are the same as you wear in cold weather cycling (you burn enough energy that you stay warm). So really the other things you need are just gloves and a hat. Plus, most trail passes are very inexpensive, $5 or less.

In Appleton, we are fortunate to have two places to ski just essentially in town. The first of these is Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve. It is only about 5 minutes north of Appleton on County Road A. Trail passes are $5 for non-members or free for members. The area is essentially a forested wetlands. The ski trails are almost completely flat, so it is a good place for those new to cross country skiing or for those first couple times in the season when you are trying to remember how to ski. You tend to see a lot of families at Bubolz. The trails are cut right next to the trees, so all of the trails have a very natural feel. Finally, Bubolz does rent skis and have a warming shelter at the parking area.

The other place to ski is Plamann Park. This is a county park, so there is no cost to use the trails. There are not rentals or any type of warming shelters however. They do a good job of maximizing the 250 acres of the park with a trail system that loops you around the perimeter of the park. One thing that is immediatly apparent about Plamann is that the course is hilly. Not hilly in an Idaho sense of long climbs, but you are constantly going up and down short, steep hills. Doing a "lap" of Plamann takes me close to an hour and includes no less than 8 different hills to go up and down. Some of the areas in Plamann do feel very natural, but some are skiing through the baseball fields and the park boundary next to a subdivision. However, I do think they do a good job of making you feel like you are in a natural setting and you never really seem to notice there is a house just beyond the row of trees. Overall, Plamann is an excellent workout. If you do 2 laps at Plamann, you have a terrific cardio workout.

The one other place to ski in Appleton is Reid golf course, but I have never been there. I have been to the Brown County Reforestation Camp, but I'll write about that in another post.

November's End

There are fewer and fewer days to ride now. In the last week, we've have a day with a sleet snow mix, days where the high did not get over 30 degrees and days with crazy wind. Today, Sunday was the best day we've had in two weeks. 40 degrees, winds out of the south at 10 mph. It felt downright warm compared to a couple of the other days I've been out the last month. Very possibly, this could be the last day riding outdoors for three months, so I wanted to be able to get a ride in just in case.

Even though I've done most of these roads many times before, the landscape is different. The ground is back to earthy yellows and browns. All of the fields have been harvested. The trees have lost all of their leaves. Looking out onto Lake Winnebago, there was an area extending about 25 feet into the lake from shore that was some sort of slushy/ice mix. Winter will be here soon. Gone are the lush greens of summer with a landscape that is alive with plants and colors. The sun is different too. It sits lower in the sky. The light seems softer and always a little hazy compared to just a few months ago. With temperatures not warming up until noon and sunset coming just after 4:00 PM, there is not much time to ride.

I did almost 41 miles today, so I stand at 5941 for the year. Getting to 6000 is within sight, but with so few days left, it will still be tough. I may be taking a day off to drive south for some warmer temps if I need a ride. But for today, I'm happy to get another ride in for the year on a terrific fall day.

Last Days of Autumn

Autumn is fading fast in Northeast Wisconsin, the way it always does this time of year. Within two, perhaps three weeks if we are lucky, the ground will be covered with snow and the cycling season will be over. Then it will be a few months of cross country skiing to try to keep the fitness level up, but also to give the body and especially the mind a break from cycling and a new activity to try.

This last weekend was a dose of real cold weather, a preview of what is to come. Saturday the high was in the mid 40's, not too bad, but a lot of cold rain all day with wind. Then Sunday, the high was just 38, windy and more cold rain, occasionally freezing, occasionally a few snowflakes mixed in. I actually did a 19 mile ride on Sunday. It was miserable. When the damp and cold get together, it is cold as cold can be. I thought I had picked a spot where the precipitation had let up for a while. I was wrong. I was glad when the ride was over.

Today was a much nicer day. I had some vacation that needed to be used by the end of the year, so I took today off. The high temp was 48 degrees, dry, and no wind at all. After Sunday, it felt like summer. I had on a base layer, jersey, arm and leg warmers, toe warmers, ear warmers and a wool jersey over the top. This was perfect for the weather today.

I went west of Appleton on Rock Road out to New London. Then I swung south on Bean City road and then headed back to Appleton on School road. The route is very rural and low traffic. The only services are in New London, but on a day like today you don't really need any. Overall, it is a nice ride, a little over 50 miles.

Bike route 757217 - powered by Bikemap

Night Riding

I did my first night ride of the fall tonight. Nothing crazy, just 18 miles, so a little bit over an hour. Last year, I did quite a few night rides, maybe 8-10 and ended up with anywhere from 200-250 miles (It is hard to be exact, because I didn't mark every ride I did at night last year). Tonight was a lot of fun. Perfect evening, about 55 degrees. A great chance to get out on the bike.

I know what you are thinking. Perfect evening, except for one thing. Its dark! And it is hard to see in the dark! So why do you go out at night? Isn't cycling a sport better enjoyed during the day, when you actually can see?

In general, yes, cycling is a sport better enjoyed during the day. So why ride at night? Here are a few reasons why I do?

Brevet Preparation

As a randonneur, you are going to have to get adept at riding at night. You can do a 200 km brevet without any night riding, but the longer brevets generally require some night riding. On a 300 km, this may only be 60-90 minutes as you finish up in the evening. But on the 400 km last year, we were out until almost 3:00 AM. Given, we were taking some long breaks after dark, but that is several hours of night riding.

As with most things, you want to do what you can to prepare for a situation before the event. I have ridden enough at night to know that I can do it when called upon. However, I also find it useful to brush up n night riding even when I don't have any brevets coming up. I do not have a ton of after dark experience, so any I can gain will only improve my night riding skills. This will be helpful if I do a super randonneur series next year (a series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevets).

Extending the Season

As of today in Appleton, sunset was at 6:17 PM. It is harder and harder to fit rides in during the day unless I leave work for an extended lunch hour, which is really not an option for me right now. Even commuting to work is squeezed by the available daylight hours. So riding at night gives me another opportunity to ride that I would not have if I limited myself to the daylight.

A Different Experience

Riding at night is a very different experience than riding during the day. You see less, sure, but what you see is different. It is getting 10 miles out of town so you can really see the stars up in the sky. Its so you can see the glow of the city as you come back into town. Its so you can see the lights flicker of the river as you cross the Fox River. And it isn't just the sights. Thre is much less traffic at night, so you hear more. There is a quiet, a peacefulness to riding at night. Same roads, yes, but a different experience.

Better than the Stationary Bike

Lets face it, getting on the trainer or stationary bike or the elliptical trainer is B-O-R-I-N-G. Later in the year when I get home and its 25 degrees (or less) outside, I'll have plenty of time to go to the YMCA and do all that stuff. But on a night like tonight where the temp is in the mid 50's, it is a whole lot more fun to do an outdoor activity than head to the Y.

I'll follow this post up with a post about the equipment I use to ride at night, because like I said above, its dark out there. And you need to see where you are going and you need people to be able to see you.

Ledgeview Ride and Fall Colors

Fall is in full swing in northeast Wisconsin. To take advantage of some of the fantastic colors coming into view, I reprised a route I created in the spring to go riding east of De Pere up onto the ridge line. The name of the road at the top of the ridge is called Ledgeview, so that is kind of what I call this route. What I like about the route is that while close to De Pere, it is actually quite rural and scenic. The area around Ledgeview and Sportsmans roads seem to be more established with more trees. In some ways it reminds me of Door county, but it isn't a 90 minute drive away.

I did a bit of a variation on my normal route today. First, I took the Fox River Trail all the way to the point where the pavement ends and the trail turns back into crushed limestone. This is now at Lasee Road. It is also new this summer. The pavement used to end at Rockland Road, but 4 more miles of trail were paved this summer. The trail is nice in town, but out of town it is even better. Trees line each side and there is less traffic. In one place you are enveloped in trees as you cross a wooden bridge over some low marshlands. This is a terrific amenity for the citizens of De Pere and Green Bay.

Bike route 716544 - powered by Bikemap

Otherwise, the route is pretty much the same. I did the climbs up County W and County X but skipped Scray Hill Road this time. I like loping up through the neighborhood on my way back to De Pere as well. Much less traffic than Chicago street, and this time of year, many trees in this well to do subdivision are turning colors. I ended up getting back to the office on Main. Not something I like, but Grant is under construction at the railroad tracks, so Main is the only choice to get across without going out of your way.

Otherwise, enjoy the photographs