Compass and Camera

Yesterday, October 2nd, was the Tyranena Brewing Company 's Oktoberfest bike ride around Lake Mills, Wisconsin.  With Autumn in full swing, I expected a pleasant ramble through the changing leaves of Southern Wisconsin, between Madison & Milwaukee.  It was breezy, veritably blustery save blue skies, with winds around 20 mph.  We set out amongst the clumps of 1750 riders, Jeff, Ed and I together, leaving Jan, Nancy and Kim to ride their own ride. Trek Factory - Waterloo WI It was pleasant enough to be begin.  Some rolling hills greeted us, but the legs were still fresh.  I'd applied Mad Alchemy 's embrocation before the ride hoping for a pleasant warmth on my legs, feet and lower back as the temperature was just north of 50 degrees.  I'd grabbed my favorite bike, my custom John Cherry steel frame wearing Campy Chorus, Easton EA70 wheels and Continental GP4000S tires.  It seemed the perfect mate for a long day in the saddle. The first 12 mile...

At the Ibis Amsterdam Airport about to catch the shuttle, but wanted to get up the last of the Scotland Pictures.  Great trip.  Can't believe we're flying home today.  At least tomorrow is Labor Day! Thanks for following along - I really hope everybody enjoyed the pictures! Scotland Days 13 & 14 Pictures Kevin

Sorry it has been a few days.  We've been without wifi.  I apologize that these are not captioned yet so that you know where we were, but for the quick summary, Loch Ness, Uqurhart Castle, Isle of Skye, and finally Oban, Isles of Mull and Iona with Saint Columba's Abbey.  Scotland Day 9 & 10 Scotland Day 11 & 12 I'll caption as soon as I can, but for now just enjoy the beauty of Scotland.  Today we are going to Glencoe, Stirling Castle and finally back to Edinburgh to start the journey home.  Hard to believe the trip is nearly over! Thanks for reading, Kevin

Did probably 16 miles of hiking with 2000 vertical gain today and we are both feeling it!  It was a beautiful hike, though the best view was shrouded in rain and fog.  Thank heavens for waterproofs.  We definitely had a well earned pint at the Loch Ness Inn at the conclusion of the hike.  Most of the photos are not captioned today as they just took place along the hike.  They are all from between Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit along Loch Ness. Scotland - Day 8 - Great Glen Way Photos

Hiked along the Great Glen Way today from Fort Augustus to Invermoriston. The route followed Loch Ness, but as of yet, we've not spotted the monster. I hold out hope, though. Tomorrow is a 16 mile hike! Day 7 Photos Tonight's dinner is in a CAMRA Pub of the Year which means one thing: Real Ale! Thanks for following along! Kevin

Happy Birthday, Kim!  Today is Day 6 and we went to Culloden Battlefield.  The Highlanders and the Jacobite Rebellion were crushed in 1746.  The weather was perfect and the lighting really dramatic with the sun and clouds! Day 6 Photos of Culloden We also visited Clava Cairns, an ancient stone circle and cemetery from 2000-1000BC! Dinner was tapas and now a bottle of wine and books.  Hope everybody has a great weekend! Thanks for following along! Kevin

Well sorry for the delay!  We arrived in the Highlands this afternoon.  Did a 3 mile hike r/t to a small distillery, Edradour outside of Pitlochry.  Our B&B tonight faces out onto Inverness Castle with a beautiful view of the Highlands which is veritably relaxing.  Tomorrow we're going to the Colluden Battlefield which ended the Jabobite Revolution over 350 years ago.  Had fish & chips and real ale for dinner.  Getting spoiled having real ale everywhere for certain.  I haven't found the Scottish ales as memorable as the English ales, but we've still plenty of time.  Botanic Gardens National Museum of Scotland & Highlands Thanks for following along! Kevin

Well today was another packed day of adventure.  A lovely breakfast that included a Scottish pancake left us fueled to take on the day.  We first took the bus to the Brittania, Queen Elizabeth II's yacht for many years.  It was really spectacular in both its beauty and in how it was operated to provide her luxury at sea.  Holyrood Palace saw drama with Mary Queen of Scots and was a lovely palace to tour whilst it rained.  The attached abbey ruins were perfect on a gloomy day.  After stopping for a pint we toured the Museum of Edinburgh and St Gyles Cathedral.  We ended the evening with a literary pub tour that was quite entertaining.  Two of the girls on the tour were NWU theater grads acting in a show at the Fringe.  We spent awhile after chatting with them which was quite fun as they probably enjoyed hearing midwestern accents for a pleasant change.  A stop for a pepper steak meat pie ended a good day.  Pictures Day 2 Thanks f...

Departed Amsterdam on a 10:30 flight for Edinburgh.  Got a bus downtown and then a taxi to the B&B.  After unpacking, we set out, found pies for lunch, and then wandered a bit of the Royal Mile.  With a beautiful day, we set out to Holyrood Palace Park with the intention of hiking to Arthur's Seat, but took the route with a bit less climbing, but still had lovely views of the city.  We quickly went through the People's Museum.  Several pints and fish & chips were well earned after all of the walking.  We returned to the B&B, donned warmer clothing, and headed back out to wander the streets, watching all of the street performers in for the Fringe, and finally took a walking tour, Murder & Mystery, that was quite campy, yet quite entertaining.  A quick pint followed and a blissful 8 hours of sleep.  I think I'm over the jetlag and ready to go!  This morning, Monday, I had a lovely Scottish breakfast with a potato scone, which wa...

Landed in Amsterdam and caught a bus to Haarlem.  Haarlem is a great Dutch town with lots of small shops, a lovely church, and plenty to see.  The center-point of the church is the organ that Mozart once played when he was about 10 if I recall the signs.  It has been a long day after getting just a few hours of sleep on the flight.  We found a great little cafe to sit out and watch the people go by! Pictures from Day 1 Tomorrow morning we fly on to Edinburgh and so begins the real vacation! Thanks for reading, Kevin 

Got done with work and wanted to see something new in El Paso, TX.  A glance through the guide made Hueco Tanks State Park seem interesting, and the 45 minute drive to the mountains was appealing.  So off I went.  The drive was beautiful and once I got off of 180, I never saw another car.  I took advantage of it and stopped frequently for pictures.  Once I entered the park, I asked about what I could see in the less than two hours I had before closing and Buck volunteered to take me around.  We had a great afternoon and he showed me so much more than I'd ever have seen on my own.  I never would have ventured into the crevices to find the pictographs!  I was kicking myself I didn't have my Canon travel camera that usually floats around with me and so I had to make due with my phone camera, but the results were good and you can find them here.

Well gang, it was a really tough hot race in Geneva.  As the lone WFR rider I knew I was going to have to be smart, but at Superweek you can't cheat on good fitness.  About 50ish guys rolled up for the Masters 4/5 35+ crit in downtown Geneva.  It featured a final turn with some nice smooth brick, unnoticeable in the heat of the moment.  The 6 turn course saw tricky turns 3 and 4 where the road narrowed dramatically in the turn causing speeds to drop with the caution and then a hasty acceleration up a slight hill out of 4.  It would prove my downfall.  I chose to race my Cherry as I needed every advantage I could get - my favorite bike with light fast wheels that would hug corners like a mom saying goodbye to her kid on the first day of kindergarten.  Temps were 94F at the start with a slight breeze. At the start a guy from Freeport Bicycle Co. lined up just ahead.  As I grew up out there, I tapped him on the shoulder and introduced himself....

I know it has been awhile since I've posted any racing updates.  It isn't that I haven't raced, though Saturday marked only my 4th race of the season, it is just that the races have not been terribly exciting.  Though I often tell my tales from the back of the peloton, the tales of me fighting alone after being dropped are just rather dull.  It has been good to race with Stephen and Chris, and see that Jason is coming close to joining us in the 4's.  This past Saturday at Sherman Park was better. It is great to get to race at the 105 year old Sherman Park.  Designed by the Olmsted brothers and Daniel Burnham, the 10 new parks created in 190 5 would serve Chicago's burgeoning immigrant population and Sherman Park with its water, bridge and beautiful field house and pool is lovely.  The road was also designed for bicycle racing, a very popular sport in the days before the automobile.  One of the magical things about racing bikes in Chicago is the oppor...