All of This and More!

On this day's ride the temp soared to the middle 40's fahrenheit.  Last week we had a temperature of -31°F and on Monday we reached +57°F.  That is a welcome change for the overwhelming majority of locals.  In the picture above, I had overdressed for the ride and needed to shed some clothes. That is goooood sign.

The roads are starting to clear off nicely.

The above spot was where lunch was served today.

I have been toying with an idea of getting a GoPro camera to use while on the bicycle and also the motorcycle.  Because of that I have been loading some videos up on Youtube. These have been shot with the Iphone.  I am trying out this video stuff but as of yet do not know if it is something I want to get into.

I faced a not so friendly wind when I headed it back towards home.

There are some whitetail still around,

Every indication is that the Whitetail Deer population is going to suffer a large mortality rate as of a result of this years severe winter. The record breaking snows and cold are taking its toll on not only the deer but other critters too.  Humans included!  

For these deer the walking was easy for them on the river.

In the area where this picture was snapped, the roads are also getting hit hard.  I believe this is a result of the type of soil along with the very cold weather.  Because of very cold winter, the frost levels went deep in the areas that were cleared of snow, such as the roads. We live in the sand country and the frost is usually not a problem. But in this particular area, the soil is heavier containing more moisture than the normal for our area. This road above is running along a river bottom and through some very wet soil. Similar to freezing a can of pop or a bottle of water, when water/moisture freezes, something has to give. 

This entire stretch of road is like this and these cracks are huge.  You DO NOT want to drop a bicycle tire in one of them. We are fortunate as I only noticed these cracks only along the river bottom and not on the numerous other roads I have been riding.

The days are getting longer.  The sun is heating us more.  The rivers will start to open. The buds on our hardwood trees will also be opening.  The sap will be running. The birds will be moving to and from. The raccoons and skunks will start to make appearances. All of this and more in the VERY near future!!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Fun Comparison

 Daylight savings starts this weekend.  Whoop!  I am a fan!  I wouldn't mind if we used daylight savings year around.  

 This has been a record breaking winter for us in northern WI.  The frigid temperatures along with a huge amount of snow has caused difficulties for some. There have been roof collapses in the area with some of them being business's. Along with some of the human population suffering, the critters are suffering also.  The whitetail deer, turkey just to name a couple. Along with the creatures above ground, the ones below the ice are also getting hit hard this winter. Some of the lakes are suffering fish kill due to freeze out. I know this to be true because I witnessed it first hand. 

I was on a five mile snowshoe hike on February 2nd when I snapped this picture. This is a spring hole near shore on one of the area lakes. The fish in the lake were running out of oxygen.  The hole was full of fish squirming like a can of worms or a snake nest. Freeze out is what locals call it. This happens because the weeds provide oxygen to the lake are dying this winter from the lack of sunlight..  The sun usually can penetrate the snow and ice to keep the weeds alive during most winters.  This year we had a small layer of ice and then we were smacked with a heavy snow which caused a layer of slush, which then froze another layer of ice and more heavy snow on top of that. No sunlight to the weeds...weeds die...too little oxygen in lake...fish die. Disclaimer, I am no expert, but this is what I understand happens.

OK...just a little fun comparison here.  The pic above is from a recent ride.

hehehe...Same spot earlier this fall.  

It is another great day here in the northland! 

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Thanks for reading

A Stripper!?!?

 This was the warmest day of the year so far. We had a high of about 40°F and a slight wind from the WSW.  After riding thru the recent colds we have had this year, I knew I couldn't pass this day up. Excellent riding in these warmer temperatures. I dressed a little warm, so I was stripping clothes today. BUT, I didn't mind!

 We had about 6" of snow this last weekend.  That meant the snowmobile trails by us were not packed, so I stuck to the township roads. They are perfect to ride on.  

In the 2 plus hours I was out today I saw one truck...two times. 

Still trying this video stuff out.  I don't know whether to keep messing with this video stuff or not.

Let's get outdoors and have some FUN!!

Enjoy the Weather

 I recently have packed the trails on our property with a snowmobile.  It works well, but I had planned on making a type of groomer to smooth it some.  That was last summer/fall...fail...never did it.  But it has hardened up nice with the cold we have been having. They are nice to putt around on. 

 The trees above have fallen victim to the heavy snow this year.  

  

 It has been a good year for the snowmobilers this year.  I try to stay off the trails Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but during the week they great fun to ride.  I do not want to get in their way. But there are not many sleds out during the week, so lets play.

  In the picture above a snowmobile climbed this log pile along side of the trail.

 This was the side he exited.  I wonder how that went for him.

There seems to be a lot of talk of the weather as of late.  Not only locally, but throughout most of the States...and the rest of the world for that matter.  We have had our share of cold and snow, but parts of Australia are calling for 45°C.  That is 113°F.  Ummmmm -20F at night, +10F during the day...or...113°F.  Which one for you?

I have been playing around trying to load some video to Youtube.  It is a steep learning curve for the old guy. All of the video I have loaded has been with my Iphone, but I have contemplated getting a action camera. With what I have seen so far, I don't think that will be happening. I think it is probably best to just scrap making the videos.  

Weather, Weather, Weather...it is the talk of the World.  One would think we have never had weather before.  It always different.  And...I am guilty too!! Thanks for reading and the comments:-)

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!  ENJOY the weather!!

           

Snow and Cold...but Fun

 Hey hey hey, a ride with temps above the 0°F mark. 

 A little lake I rode by on todays ride.  The lakes have a very deep layer of snow on them.  I am hearing that it is deep enough this year to possibly have an effect on the fish. When the snow depths get high on the lake, it cuts the amount of sunlight that gets through.  Not enough sunlight getting through means the oxygen levels falls and that in turn affects the fish.  

 A lone snowmobile track down the powerline.  A case could be made that this winter has been rather chilly, but with all the snow, I think it has been a good year for the sleds. 

 I see there are few ice shanties showing up on the local lakes.

I have been riding mostly township roads today...and they are perfect!!

I decided to blog today only to show off a gift I received in the mail yesterday!!  Fantastic!  As much as I like winter biking, I would like to playing that hole right now...and that ain't no lie!

Another shaky one handed cell phone video loaded up.

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

Thanks for reading and comments!

Any Day is a Good Day on the Bicycle

 It was nice to get out for a couple hours today.  The temperature was a very nice 8°F...that is 8 above fahrenheit.  Sun out!!  Very little wind!!  Awesome!!  The bike is a size large.  As you can see in the picture above, we have some snow this year. If I am only going to be out a couple hours in the colder temps, I carry the water bottle pictured on the bike.  I fill it with warm water and it doesn't freeze in that amount of time.  Must stay hydrated...a must. 

 I started to ride some recreation trail, but I didn't get too far and met a couple snowmobiles. On the weekend the snowmobile traffic picks up considerably, so I decided to bail at the next road.  It didn't hurt my feelings as the conditions were not the best on the trail. It was doable though.

 That put me on to the town roads.  They were excellent!!

 I was the first track across the road pictured above.  They did a very nice job.  Groomed perfectly. hehe

It was nice to see some dirt, even if it was frozen.

Even though they are of poor quality, I am loading the videos I have taken with the phone on the Youtube.  I may invest in a action camera.  I am thinking a Gopro. As always, Thank you for reading and also a shout out to those who take the time to comment. It is great to hear that some people still check the blog out.

Old Fashion Winter

I haven't posted in very long time, so I thought I would load up a quick one tonight.

This had been what a lot of people from our region are calling an old fashion winter. I guess for some reason or another, we think this is what the winters of old were.  I do know this much, our media, whether knowingly or not, promotes weather fear.  It may be that is what sells.  Anyhow, back to our winter. Our snow level is butt hole deep to a Giraffe.  We have had several days this winter that the high temperature for the day hasn't gotten above the 0°F mark. I heard rumors of 14 days in December alone, plus a few have come in January.  And lows around the -30°F.  Then we have had piles of snow this year also. So yep...it has been winter this year.  My lovely daughter snapped this picture above that was from a day where our morning temp was -28° and it didn't come close to 0 that day.  Note...I do wear goggles with these cold temperatures.  

I snapped this picture of a bald eagle.  The conditions were not the greatest for snapping this picture, but I wanted to load it up. So I did.

This was a video I took from that cold day ride.  We had a warm spell these last few days, but I didn't get out for a ride.  I worked on vehicles, researched and shopped for some supplies we are going to need.

Lets get outdoors and have some FUN!!

Fortunate!!

 Last night we were blessed with about 3" of nice powder snow.  Add the current temp of 24°F, today would be a perfect day to ride.  That is all great, but it is the annual whitetail deer hunt here in WI.  Even though it is the week of Thanksgiving here in the United States, I have come to despise this week.  Despise would be putting it lightly.  One can not spend any time in the woods or trails without being dressed in blaze orange for the fear of wackos and stray bullets.  Even dressed in orange I don't feel comfortable riding a bicycle...I mean afterall, the bicycle is moving.  It shouldn't be that way.  I put a lot of the issues to the macho kill something mentality.  Brown it's down!!  Get that Big buck!!  That and greed!  Taking potshots at what they think may be a deer.  One of my cousins calls it hate your neighbor week...not too far off. Do not get me wrong, I agree with hunting.  Populations need to be controlled. And a meal of venison is delicious.  But the fact of the matter is the hunting tactics of many are something to be improved upon. Although this year seems to be safer than most.  

 A recent ride had me riding through the nearby Bird Sanctuary. 

 It is a very peaceful place. Serene.

 They have put in some new trails.  I am glad I had the fatty on this day!

 Nice remote trails.

 I was able to ride this ice...carefully.

 I snapped this photo a few days ago.  The geese were standing on the ice as the rest of the lake was freezing over.  Almost all of the lakes in our region are ice covered now.  

OK, after the opening rant, the best thing about this week is Thanksgiving.  Getting the entire family together to eat too much and shoot the breeze is PRICELESS!!  And I WILL eat too much. But that's OK!  I consider myself very fortunate.  Fortunate for family.  Fortunate for friends.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanks for reading and the comments!

As always...

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!

It's all Fun

 If you do not know by now, the 9:zero:7 has been the bike of choice lately.  If I had to choose one bike of the many I own, this would be the one. 

 On one day, I used the bike to get a few geo-caches that were behind this gate.

 Oooopps, looks like somebody forgot to lock it. I can't help but wonder if it was done on purpose.

 I came to this beaver pond where the trail crossed the creek that made this pond.  It was too deep to ride through.  I walked the top of the dam but had to hop on and ride the last 25 feet or so.  Can you say wet feet. Yep!!  I managed to ride through it, but the water was deep enough to where the feet were going below the water surface while pedaling.  Bad news because the high temperature that day was 18°F.  It was ok because I only had about 3 miles left to ride.

 Geo-cache in that tree.

 The ice wasn't froze enough to ride over this day.

During the last couple rides, the temperatures have been unseasonably warm.  Thats OK too.  It's all fun. 

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!! 

Loving the Entertainment!

 I was out for a 3 hour ride this morning.  Mostly two rut trails.  The above picture is at the Whitefish Lake boat landing.  The lake is over a 100 feet deep and will be the last of the lakes to freeze over in our area.

 The little ponds were froze this morning.

 This young Common Mullein was covered with frost, but the frost was beginning to melt from it as I rode by.

 This little lake is one of many I rode past today.  The locals call these potholes. I wonder if that is common in other parts of the world. It was completely iced over, but I don't think you would want to try to walk across.   

When I left this morning the frost was thick and the riding brisk.  It didn't take long to get warmed up though. On another note, I am toying the idea of partaking in a 5k on Thanksgiving day.  (notice I said partaking, not running)  SO, this evening I went for a mile long run...uuummm, should I or shouldn't I?  It will be a short window to train and I haven't been running lately. Although, it may work out good for me.  There are other family members doing it that would no doubt beat me to the finish and they could be there to cheer me on as I cross the finish. Or laugh, hehe.  It wouldn't be the first time I have been the entertainment.  Speaking of entertainment, the riding as of late has been entertaining. Perfect! And I have been loving it!

Thanks for reading!!

   Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!