Pontiac Lake - "Who's a Good Doggie?"

The bike tour got some bonus entertainment yesterday at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area as after the loop I got to witness what a spectator told me was the Grand Prix of the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA). This was not a walk in the park as these dog owners I would have to guess work each and every day for the event. Some of the dog owners, however, don't appear to share their dog's passion for exercise. The mission for the dog is to get through the entire course as fast as possible with points deducted for failing to properly execute the course. There were some pretty talented dogs out there as my old dog Angus would have been sniffing the crotches of the spectators rather than listening to me yell "jump."

Good dog.

Trail Head



 

 

 

 

 

Chippewa River - Blind Squirrel Theory at Work

Yep, this here blind squirrel threw a blood red hook with a half worm into one of the many holes on the Chippewa River Saturday and.....waaa-laaa, what I thought was a fun sucker fish fight turned into a frisky bass with some nice girth. I learned from my Lake St. Clair experience earlier this year as I was patient in bringing the fish close. It's too bad we didn't have a big fish kitty as I would have been a rich man. Al and Doke probably caught 40 each as all you had to do was "let it roll down the hill" in the current and it was fish on. We again managed to stretch a designated two hour float into five hours. A beautiful day. And U-M almost lost. So close to the perfect weekend.

Trail Head

    

Doke working his craft

yep, pretty stressful

Badwater End of the Year Celebration

After eight grueling fish outings (we were fishing, there was no "gruel," unless you count waiting six hours for the fish that never came at Kent and Portage lakes), it was time to celebrate another season on the Badwater circuit. The final stats below tell the story as Team AMSOIL (AKA the Vaden brothers) dominated the league this year. Hopefully Greg V. will use his prize money winnings to finally wash his AMSOIL shirt as I've never seen the guy without it on. Yours truly has some work to do as I couldn't crack the AOY (Angler of the Year) point totals. Sad. Joe A., while hanging in the cellar near me in the standings, made it count each time he brought a legal fish aboard as he had the highest average pound per catch to garner the Rookie of the Year award. While a three-plus pound bass is not too bad and a nice big fish prize for Jeff V., the club members better get some bigger hooks next year as you would expect something larger for an award titled "Bassquatch."

A great season it was though. Good people.

Until next year, fish on Badwaters.

Trail Head    



Greg V. - Angler of the Year



Joe A. - Rookie of the Year



Jeff V. - Bassquatch (big fish) award

Gus - Mitchell award

 

Milford Trail - Local Deer

The deer in the attached had to have been born in Kensington as it was pretty much posing as I was fumbling for my camera tonight in Milford. I'm pretty sure he/she considers the bike trail area home as unless I need thicker glasses (not yet), that is the same deer I've seen many times before. I passed (yeah, I passed!!!) two people admiring the deer later on. They just happened to be watching it right in the middle of the trail. It's a deer, whoopee whoop; I grew up here and have seen them. Get out of the way! Ha.

Trail Head

Spartan In Badgerland - Bicycle Paradise



The field trip destination last Thursday and Friday was Madison, Wisconsin via car onto boat (ferry from Muskegon to Milwaukee), back into car for the drive to Madison, and onto my Schwinn cruiser once I hit town. Why Madison? Why not. I had read about the UW campus what better way to see an area than by bicycle. I was pleasantly surprised by the bicycle love in the area. As the pictures below illustrate, it seems like the bicycles have the right of way over everyone in town and that is not a bad thing. My hotel was about two miles from downtown so I packed the saddle bags, popped the iPod in the ears and had one of the most enjoyable pedals in some time over the two days in town.

As for the UW campus, I have been to East Lansing, West Lafayette, Bloomington, Evanston, Columbus, State College, and Ann Arbor (of course they are listed last - ha) and would have to say Wisconsin's campus is one of the better ones in the conference. Three good size lakes surround the campus with paths surrounding a good portion of them all. That would be a nice study break taking the bass boat out for a couple of hours, eh? Oh, and it is Wisconsin so you do have a few taverns to choose from. The pub crawl via bicycle is a fun one. I felt my age when I told this bartender that I graduated from MSU back in '89 and she came back with "I was born in '89, what a great year!" Yep....I'm still young at heart though! My favorite local beverage on the tour was probably the Wisconsin Amber. Good stuff. 

On, Wisconsin!

Trail Head

Lake Monona

 

 



trail around Lake Mendota



State Street



ferry leaving Milwaukee (about 6 AM)

 

 

Badwater Bass Club - Unlucky Session VII - Portage Lake

I had the camera available to take fish pictures but when 10 people spend six hours on a lake and can't catch a fish that is even two pounds, we're not worthy of a picture. There are no stories of the one that got away; only ones of seaweed on the hook and bass that are way too small. Portage Lake, it was nice knowing you.

Trail Head








my fish production

 

 

Bike Tour Heads West - Yankee Springs Recreation Area

The tour headed west this past Friday (hooray for vacation!) with a destination of Yankee Springs Recreation Area, just south of Grand Rapids. The recreation area itself reminds me of Highland's version as it is quite a large piece of land. The trail, the Deep Lake Mountain Bike Trail, is 13+ miles and would probably be compared to an easier version of Pontiac Lake. The trail, which also has a hiking path mixed in, is well marked with short cuts throughout for those that aren't feeling it and a handful of emergency access points for those who decide to break an ankle (no, I did not). I was warned in the parking lot beforehand to watch out for a few areas that would supposedly have me riding out of control but thankfully it was nothing compared to the Pinckney, Highland, and Pontiac Lake versions of riding out of control.

Overall, I give Yankee Springs a thumbs up. Nice pace with manageable hills. 

Trail Head