Bikes, Storms and Bogs

Monday, August 29, 2016

During breakfast, we had a storm. Thunder, lightning and heavy rain to wait through before leaving the dining hall to attend our class. Mike from a bike shop in Rhinelander came to give us some lessons about bikes.

 

We are gathering for our lesson

 

Our ice breaker the day before, as much as most if not all of us did not want to do, proved very helpful for learning everyone's name. We started around the circle with our first name and something we liked that started with the same letter. Each person after that had to retell the name and thing liked of all those before as we went along.

Deb (who likes dates) Rob (who likes robins) and Nancy (who likes nene birds) pay close attention to Mike's instructions.

 

Deb got a little tired of sitting and so did some stitching.

After the indoor class, Mike put each of our bikes on the work stand and gave them a once over, insuring that our gears and brakes would serve us well on our rides.

 

 

Soon we were ready to saddle up and do our short shakedown ride around Eagle River.

 

Joe (likes jam) and Mary Jo (likes mice)

 

Laurie (loons) and Susan (science) get to know each other before our first ride

 

Kim (kakapos -- look it up) is our bike tour leader for the week.

 

Kathleen (katydids) can hardly wait to get rolling.

And then we were riding. Silver Lake was on our route to explore just a little of the town as we checked out Mike's work on our bikes and before returning for lunch. Breakfast and dinner (and some lunches) are served in the dining hall.

Lunch time

Now we would actually take a ride for the day. We left from campus on our bikes to roam around back country roads through the Eagle River area to experience the local environs.

 

Van support is always with us and we have a number of breaks in the ride for water or other needs.

 

Deb talks Paul (pears) into a smile for the camera

 

Marty (martens and meadowlarks) entertains some of us at this stop.

 

Dan (dancing) ...

 

...and Margaret (marshmallows) enjoy the break as well.

 

Kathleen and Cindy (children) look back at something going on back there.

Our major stop (the one that had our first outhouse opportunity) was at Burnt Rollways Dam.

 

 

There is an interesting lake-to-lake boat crossing here -- a lock like thing.

 

You put your boat on the transport device here...

 

...you and your boat get rolled over the road...

 

...then you get lowered to the next lake here.

We had a very full day by now and it was time to return for dinner with barely time for showers and a mini-rest.

We thought we had had a storm this morning? During and after dinner the ear shattering thunder and the sky lightening lightning struck and brought torrential rain. But it passed!!! It passed. Unlike the rain in Seattle, it passed. There would be some thunder and a bit of rain through the early part of the evening while we attended our bog ecology class. Would we or would we not be able to do our Bog Walking Adventure!?!

More about that in the following post.

 

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