Reading the road

Jefferson and Wells,  downtown

Well, I've biked about 1,750 miles on Sally Ride so far this year, and hope to hit 3,000 before the snow flies. For me, this is pretty good. I usually ride about five days a week, between 20 and 30-something miles at a go, with a goal of 100 a week. I did one longer ride to Port Washington, 60 miles roundtrip, and suffered for it, but I'll try that again when I get my gumption up.

Sally Ride is a truck, as bikes go, made of steel and thus heavy -- built for loaded touring -- and I am routinely passed by hotshots on featherweight bikes. And then again, I'm not the rider I used to be. But none of this really bugs me. I see it as not about speed so much as a way of exploring, a way to keep in touch with the world, a way to be out in it. This is also why I really prefer to ride alone -- I can putter if I want: sit and watch the boats at South Shore Marina; do a hill twice in a row to get a little work in; watch the anglers at Kletsch Park; grab Chinese take-out for dinner; whatever. This would drive some riders crazy.

What I think holds a serious Milwaukee rider back -- someone who rides from home and can't spend all day at it -- is the lack of challenging hills hereabouts. My friend Bruce, who rode with me last summer, takes daily rides in northern Michigan and gets in 1,000-foot climbs on a regular basis -- and there's nothing better than that to get you in tip-top shape.

When I started my cross-country ride last summer, I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I was only in good Milwaukee shape, and I was easily the slowest and weakest rider among the four of us, really struggling on the hills. It took two weeks of mountain riding to abate my dread of climbs, and by the end, I wasn't daunted by much. Even so, there were a few ridiculous hills -- like climbing out of Fort Benton, Montana -- where I had to take a break, or two, or three, on the way up -- but I knew by then I could make the top.

A few findings from recent rides.

Okay, I confess, this is not from the road, but from the roof

Protestors on State Street

There's a story here somewhere

Scripture is good for the soul, they say, though I do think it's "vengeance."