The trail goes on forever
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 2:52 PM CDT
Jim Swanson, Outdoor Columnist
Have you noticed the great increase in the number of bicycle riders this summer?
With gas prices fluctuating around $4 per gallon, biking has become a popular means of transportation as well as a wonderful means of recreation.
Nationally, bicycle sales are booming. In Menomonie, Pete May, owner of Bad Cat Bicycles, reports that sales have made a major jump this year. Pete reports that bike sales are strong among all age groups. Many families are turning to biking as a family recreational activity.
Bike design has become very specialized in the past decades. May noted that he sells four main styles of bikes: road bikes, commuting bikes, cruisers and mountain bikes. Road bikes are designed for long road trips such as traveling from Menomonie to Alaska. Mountain bikes are off road warriors. Mountain bikes are at home anyplace there isn’t concrete or black top. Commuting bikes are designed to get one from home to work and cruisers are for recreational trail riding. There are also several specialized bike designs such as recumbent bikes, BMX stunt bikes, racing bikes and the three-wheeler, (which if the price of gas tops $6 per gallon may be the SUV of the future).
Given the specialized design in bikes, the consumer must decide what the bike will be used for before purchasing a bike and match the use with the design. I purchased a new bike this spring and May helped me to answer many questions before I made my final decision. First, where would I ride? I ride the Red Cedar Trail a lot, but it also wanted something that would get me around town. Secondly, I am a bit taller than average so I wanted a bike that would fit me. (More on that later). Despite the fact that I spend a lot of time in the woods, I don’t plan on riding a bike in them. Plus, on the road, mountain bikes require much more effort than road bikes so mountain bikes were ruled out. Hence the choice came down to a road bike or a cruiser type. I decided on a road bike. I liked the fact that it was built to last under very hard use. The bike has saved me hundreds of dollars in gas money this summer and has eliminated the effect of too many donuts from my waist line.
Fit is very important for both comfort and efficiency. My last bike didn’t come close to being the proper size. It was way too small and as a result, left me with numb hands and a sore seat. It was difficult to pedal up hill. I bought the bike used and its main attribute was that it was cheap. It got me places but it wasn’t always real fun.
Proper fit begins with the right frame size. Naturally taller people need a larger frame. Next, the height and position of the seat must be adjusted and then the handlebars need to be correctly positioned. Finally, the length of the peddle cranks needs to be factored in so one makes efficient use of each peddle stroke. Now that I have a properly fitted bike, I can ride further, faster and more comfortably than ever.
Bikes can be equipped with many accessories to make them more useful. A water bottle or two or even three is a necessary add on. If you are commuting or hauling home groceries, then a bike rack and baskets or panniers is a good thing. Both front and rear lights are a safety necessity for night or low light conditions. Kiddy trailers and even heavy-duty hauling trailers can be hooked up to a bike.
Fall is a great time to get out and ride. A fall color ride on a bike is much more fun than a color ride in a car. The slower pace allows the cyclist to really see all the colors and sights.
There are many places to ride in Western Wisconsin. Lowes Creek Park in Eau Claire has a great mountain biking trail system. Up in the Hayward area, the Chequamegon Area Mountain Biking Association (CAMBA) maintains more than 300 miles of mountain bike trails in the Chequamegon National forest. The Red Cedar Trail is the gateway to the Chippewa Valley Trail system than runs to Durand, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and Cornell. In fact, the state of Wisconsin is a national leader in bike trials through the rails to trails system.
Two good resources on biking in Wisconsin’s are Short Bike Rides: Wisconsin by Greg Marr and Biking Wisconsin 50 Great Road and Trail Rides.
One of my favorite rides is to head down Stokke Trail to Highway 29 and then swing over to 410th Street (aka Irvington Road) which follows the Red Cedar River to Irvington. Then I catch 420th Street to 390th Street (aka Rustic and River Road) and end up in Downsville. These roads run along the west side of the Red Cedar River and top out on some truly spectacular views of the area. Plus there is a down hill glide that is over a mile long.
In Downsville, I either take the Red Cedar Trail back to Menomonie or ride County C to County Y and then follow it to Menomonie. While riding the Red Cedar Trail, I have seen countless deer, rabbits and a small flock of Sandhill Cranes. The Sandhills were always on the trail in one of the open spots between Irvington and Downsville. I would ride in the early morning and the birds would be on the trail picking up gravel.
I never realized how tall a Sandhill was until I was eyeball to eyeball with the birds the first time I got close to them. I once saw three deer, a doe and two fawns, on Stokke Trail. They were standing on the trail watching a man sitting on one of the park benches talking on his cell phone. The deer were about five feet from the man who had absolutely no clue the deer were there.
It was fun to watch the puzzled expressions on the deer’s faces as the man carried on an animated phone conversation. As the deer walked away, I also had a fleeting thought that it’s a good thing for cell users that this isn’t grizzly country.
So hop on that bad bike and ride. You never know what you might find down the trail. |
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