Slowly Getting The Country Back

After not being on the bike for a week, I notice it. I think I feel much better physically and mentally when I get in some outside physical activity. I will try get out this week. Now on to a boring rant. X-out now if you do not want to read some bitching, pissing and moaning...Woe is me. lol lol lol lol

After putting up with inconsiderate belligerent macho deer hunters with gang mentality for a week, we will slowly resume to our normal life's...but we will be weened slowly, as we now have the Muzzle Loader season to deal with. So far, the muzzle loaders haven't been an issue. We hope it stays that way. Last year being 2008, this was the stats for the rifle week...nine accidents, one fatal, all either self inflicted or shooter and victim in the same party, during the nine-day season. Shooting at moving deer during deer drives contributed to 56% (5) of all of the incidents during the season, including the fatality. There were a total of (25) homes & barns, (3) cars and (1) tractor struck by bullets or slugs during the 2008 deer gun season. There also were a total of 1400 violations issued. This represents the hunting getting safer??

Now...I am a deer hunter, but I do not know for how much longer. This year, I had one hunter calling me a dick for me telling him he was trespassing...fine for trespassing is $1383.00. If I wanted to be a dick, I would have just called him in and not had to deal with him, and next year I will do just that. We also had two other hunters put their deer stands just across our property line within sight of our stands...and one our stands that has been there 25 years. This year we did not hunt that stand because of this deer hunting terrorist. I do not choose to hunt that close someone I do not know. I did find a nice peaceful place to sit, and although it isn't the best deer spot, it was an enjoyable spot...and I saw no hunters. So until the next deer harvest.........

Deer Season

It is the opening of the Wisconsin rifle Whitetail deer hunting season tomorrow morning. What that means is...no more daytime bicycling for over two weeks. It is sad that a person cannot be outdoors safely unless dressed in orange...and even then it's questionable. I would like to think that a person should be able to wear any color you want this time of the year even in the woods. It seems every year horses get shot, cows get shot and PEOPLE get shot. We do not look like deer. What is the problem? We do need to realize that accidents happen such as loading and unloading and falling out of stands, but purposely shooting at something that is not a deer I cannot understand. I could go on about deer drives and the mentality that they breed...such as brown is down???... and how some are just plain unsafe...but enough of that. I do hunt, although almost exclusively on our own land. If there is any week of the year that would be my least favorite...it is this one. Muzzle loader season is the week following and is getting just about as bad. Just one of the prices we pay to live in the country.

Now some Whitetail facts that I stole from our future daughter-in law Bobbi Jo. She knows a lot about outdoorsy nature stuff

Based on hunter reports, about one deer in 30,000 is an albino.-Melanistic deer are very dark sometimes even black and results from overproduction of pigment and is less common than albinism.-Albinism is a recessive trait and both parents must carry the gene before it can occur in their offspring.-The speed at which antlers grow, also makes them the fastest growing structures in the animal kingdom.-Largest body weight on record of a Whitetail deer is 511 pounds.-Recent Estimates put the Deer Population in the United States at around 30 million animals.-Deer do not have a gall bladder on their livers. This allows them to eat vegetation that would kill domestic animals.-A Whitetail has a top speed between 35 to 40 miles per hour.-Deer need 10 to 12 pounds of food per day to satisfy their needs.-In the early days of the American Frontier the skin of a male deer was worth a dollar--which is how we got the term "buck" for a $1 bill. -Saskatchewan, Canada has the largest White Tail Deer.-More than 1.4 million deer are believed to roam the state of Pennsylvania.-Tame deer will lick your hand, not only to get to know you, but to show affection.

Another Nice Day

More hooky yesterday afternoon. So far this week it has been Monday on the fixie, Tuesday we rode the tandem and Wednesday was 3 hours on the mountain bike. Wednesdays riding the rut roads amounted to fun, fun and more F U N. Both Monday and Tuesday, the temperature was 41 when we left the house. Wednesday was 39 and I dressed the same as the other two days. Conclusion is...riding the ruts == more work...need to dress a little lighter. Many of the roads were similar to this one...some were less traveled, some were more traveled, but all were back trails.

I did encounter some O2S sand. If you keep your speed up, slide your weight to the rear wheel and keep the r's up on the pedals, you can ride through a lot of sand.

We had another nice day yesterday, and Janice and I both took advantage of it...played hooky in the afternoon. We had a nice ride on the tandem with close to 20 miles put in. The temp was at 41 when we left home with very little wind and slightly warmer when we arrived back home...which amounts to more thievery from old man winter.

It was really nice to get out on the tandem again.
Some of these little Oaks do not know which way to go. They do provide food for the Whitetail deer and in turn I harvested one of the Whitetails last evening...and don't be getting all mushy now.

Nice day for a ride...so that's what I did. With the temperature at 18 this morning, it warmed up very nice by noon. We have had some unseasonably nice temps lately...as I gently tap knuckles to the head hoping not jinx it. The temp was 41 when I left the house and 44 when I returned. We live in sand country and on a day like today, when you look at the sand, it makes it seem warmer than it really is...maybe. It's just a theory.
This what we call a Pot Hole. Numerous little bodies of water that populate our area. There is a layer of ice on this one, although not enough to walk on. There have been years when we have been ice fishing by this time...not this year.

This is one of the first dirt roads I rode regularly. It goes in over 5 miles and dead ends...no cabins, houses, or cell phone service. As an added bonus, there are some rut roads that enables a person to easily put on over 20 miles of wilderness riding.

If you are reading this and are from this area...You snooze...you loose.

Cheating Old Man Winter

We robbed another day from old man winter today. Our average high temperature for today is 36 and today we had over 63 when I got home from what can only be described as stealing a ride. The forecast was calling for this, so I used a half day vacation, and rode the Black Bear Ride. Before I headed out for the ride, I had the bike on the stand and noticed the chain making a lot of noise. The last ride I was on it was misting some rain and even though I lubricate regularly with I consider good lube, it must have picked up some fine sand. I cleaned, re lubed and headed out only to discover I put the link in from the opposite direction it should have been. There was a snapping noise every now and then. I stopped at .4 miles in and corrected what could be considered an "opportunity." Nice and smooth after the fix.
When I came by Black Bear Golf and Tennis, two friends of ours were just finishing. I had actually thought about golfing instead today and even with golfing coming to an end fast this year...I will not get golfing until spring...and the fact that I ride my bike year around, in my mind I made the right choice.

Some geese on Lake Nancy enjoying the nice weather also.

Circle of life. One dead oak and more little ones coming in.

Night ride

I left the house around 8 this evening and put an hour on the bicycle. It was a warm night. Even though I was a tad over dressed, my clothes were dry when I got home. I guess that's a sign I didn't work too hard it, so I have been told.
I could hear the geese, saw a couple deer and did not see one automobile on tonight's ride...sooo...another good one in the books just after the Beaver moon.

With the tamaracks winding down and starting to loose their needles, it is time for a story from CAD.


OK, here it goes...Once upon a time, during a terrible winter storm, Chickadee was injured. The little bird struggled through the blowing snow until he stood at the foot of the tall Tamarack.



"Please drop some of your lower branches to shelter me from the storm”, the Chickadee cried.



The Tamarack refused. "I did not grow beautiful green branches to break them off for you.”



So Chickadee, near death, went to the foot of the tall Red Pine.



"Please drop some of your lower branches to shelter me from the storm”, Chickadee cried.



Red Pine quickly dropped enough branches to shelter the little bird.



The Great Spirit saw what happened and said to Red Pine, "From this day you will always drop your lower branches to remind others that you paid a high price so a Chickadee could live."



The Great Spirit said to Tamarack, “Every autumn, your fine green needles will turn yellow and fall off. You will stand naked in the forest all winter, as a reminder that it is always better to be kind and merciful than it is to be vain and selfish."

With the temp around the 40 mark, I headed out for a nice 20 mile ride. I nailed the clothing, fought a good headwind and ended with a 3+ mile tail wind that was great. I put the headlight and taillight on preparing for the upcoming night rides...thanks to no daylight saving time. I also switched the pedals to a set of Shimano M324's, which have the clipless on one side and platform on the other. That will give me the option of not wearing the bike shoes. I cannot remember the last time I rode as slow as I did today. It was just a nice day to putt around on the bicycle.