Thursday, September 02, 2010
Monday, September 28, 2009
Up and Down a Mountain
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
On a Roll
I can remember wheeling around the campus of NIU on an old Schwinn Continental that weighed a ton. I got it second-hand as an upgrade to a Huffy 10-speed I rode into the ground during my high school years.
My hometown was small and quiet enough that every street felt safe for cycling. Most of the roads surrounding the town were wide enough that I never felt worried about riding with motorists. Perhaps there was less road rage back then, or maybe life in the Upper Midwest rolls along as tranquil as the gentle hills that separate the fields of corn and soybeans.
To some it might sound odd, but I really enjoyed pedaling along with farmland on either side of the road. Throughout the year the scenery changes dramatically. Early in the spring, when rows of corn begin emerging from the ground, pedaling or driving past a field gives you a sense of anticipation. Winters are often harsh there. So seeing the green popping out of the dark, rich soil always gave me a good feeling. "Yes! Spring is finally here." Later in the early summer, the rows of corn fill in and get so tall that you feel almost fenced in. I would sometimes look over from my moving perch and simply smile as I pedaled past mile after mile of green.
In the fall, when the air becomes crisp, it was always fun to ride along the rows of brown. On a breezy day, the rustling leaves would rub against one another. The dry, parchment scratching cannot be mistaken for any other autumn sound. The air has a different scent around harvest time, rich with the aroma of corn.
I think I rode about every stretch of country pavement within a 12 mile radius of my parent's house during my high school years.
In addition to an extra roomy handlebar bag, the Schwinn was equipped with a flashlight bracket. Simply snap in any household flashlight and the road ahead was illuminated for night riding. I should mention, the road way ahead. Which meant keeping a keen eye out for large rocks and other debris as well as potholes that might appear within the light's beam five or six seconds before an evasive maneuver had to be performed. Even at the "blazing" speeds I could achieve on that 1970's hunk of metal, there was plenty of time to weave to the right or swerve to the left. Night riding wasn't a problem for me.
Tree roots are another story.
One summer day while cruising around the campus of NIU, my buddy and I opted for the sidewalk to avoid a rather busy four-lane road. Still pedaling hard, we changed places as pedestrians and other bikers made their way toward us. This particular stretch of sidewalk was also the victim of time and natural processes. I imagine at one time, a crew of hard working men began surveying, digging and pouring concrete in the most precise manner of the day. I'd like to think that somewhere in DeKalb there's a photo of the crew, posing with shovels and trowels, on the day this lengthy project was completed. If such a photo exists, the maples and oaks behind the crew are probably shoulder high and perhaps rather anemic-looking. Not the stately shade trees that pushed up massive sections of the sidewalk like cement icebergs floating atop the soil below. So cycling became a game of dodge-ball that particular day. I had to get in a rhythm of bobbing and weaving between the slabs of concrete that were upthrust to my right and then on my left.
I could have slowed for the chunk of cement that was pushed upward across my entire path, but I didn't. A root growing at the pace of a glacier underneath a carefully poured sidewalk, finally raised the heavy barrier about three inches after a few decades. It only took the blink of an eye for the front tire of my Schwinn to come off as I jerked the handlebars up to avoid denting my front rim on the fault zone. That's how fast things moved in real time. To me, time slowed to the pace of the growing root. I watched as the tire appeared to drift away from the front fork and past my feet. I could clearly see the fork lowering toward the ground. As the fragments of sidewalk were chipping and fluttering into the air in slow motion, I could hear Kenny Rogers singing, "You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel." When something like this happens, time expands for the first few seconds and then compresses upon collision. As I was falling face-first toward the sidewalk for example, I recall thinking, "Oh, boy. This is going to hurt. Golly." Or something like that. And then WHAM! Time and reality became reunited as I cartwheeled head over handlebars several times before coming to a stop on my back.
Traffic on the four-lane road stopped. It was that bad.
Helmets were not exactly standard riding equipment back then, so I ended up with a pretty nasty concussion.
That wasn't the end of my riding that old Schwinn, although it was the last time I hopped on it for a spin without checking the front tire.
That two-wheeled hunk of iron ended up hitching U-Haul rides to Atlanta, Southern Illinois and Texas. After each move, it grew more dust-covered and a bit more rusty.
I ditched the Schwinn somewhere along the line, although I can't recall where. Seems like it went with a lot of life's other flotsam on a yard sale. I'd like to think that someone else put a a lot more miles on that behemoth before it went to that great, spare parts garage in the sky.
Anyway, for the past year I have rediscovered cycling and reflecting upon how I got diverted away from the sport. It doesn't really matter. I am just glad to be an avid pedaler once again.
In fact, on a recent trip to the Midwest I had an awesome ride with my nephew that brought back fond cycling memories. We were spinning through the rolling farmland of central Indiana, corn on one side of the road, soybeans on the other.
If you're "in a groove" while riding, you push hard to keep up the pace. But occasionally, it's fun to look back and enjoy where you've been.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Icy Hike on Lookout Mountain
Here are a couple of views of the falls on Lookout Mountain. You'll notice that the thicker ice at the bottom of the falls has a pale blue cast. This reminded me of another icy hike I once took on the Matanuska Glacier near Chickaloon, Alaska. If you'd like to see one of the pictures from that hike, check into this blog's archives and you'll see one wayyyy back. If you want to compare and contrast consider this- while on the Alaskan hike, the air temperature was 80 degrees off of the glacier. Probably between 50 and 60 at our most distant point on the ice. Warm days like that are unusual in that part of Alaska, but it was July. That glacier stretches back up the valley for miles even though it is, like other glaciers, receding at an alarming rate. On Lookout Mountain, it's uncommon to have mid-morning temperatures in the mid-teens, but it is January. I wouldn't want it to remain cold for months on end like the winters I remember from my younger days in northwestern Illinois. That was ridiculously cold. But I must admit, this recent cold snap has been refreshing. Perhaps that's because I'm comfortable knowing that like these icy scenes, the harsh temperatures are fleeting.
January Hike at Lula Lake
Every once in awhile nature provides a great opportunity to see something special, but you have to be willing to accept the challenge. For instance, when the air temperature is 15 degrees most people don't want to lace up the hikers to stomp around in the woods. If you are willing to face the cold however, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you'll find. I phoned a like-minded friend about just such a hike last week. As it turns out, he was considering a similar adventure. This video is the scene we witnessed at Lula Lake this past Saturday. Keep in mind that all of the elements had to line up for this scene to play out. The falls were spectacular due recent heavy rain and the cold temperatures caused the spray to freeze and accumulate on the surrounding ledges, rocks and trees. Tremendously long icicles formed along the surrounding terrain, animated by trickles of water behind the translucent ice.
Hiking to the bottom of the falls isn't normally terribly challenging. But about the time the lead hiker was urging caution about the "black ice" coating the landscape timbers which help form the steps, my left foot was flying out from under me. Or at least I would have preferred that smooth of a foot motion. Actually, my boot had enough traction left to twist my ankle into an unnatural position just prior to my headfirst downhill slide. Luckily I landed on my back, but it's pretty difficult to fight gravity when you're staring skyward with all four limbs pointing out the cardinal directions of the compass. I'm lucky I didn't do any serious damage. That would have ruined the rest of the day's hike among some of the most gorgeous scenery that will soon disappear. There are many things that are fleeting. Fortunately, I have these clips to remind me to accept challenges.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Pefect Time For A Waterfall Hike
Today's weather was perfect for hiking to area waterfalls. This time of year offers clear viewing of the cascading water while temperatures are comfortable, but have not warmed to levels that encourage a lot of insect activity. A couple of smaller falls were visited in Marion County before heading up to Foster Falls and a few other waterfalls in Grundy County. Hats off to everyone who has worked to improve the facilities at Foster Falls. The overlook boardwalk is outstanding and makes this impressive set of falls easily accessible to everyone. It has been a few years since my last visit to this fantastic area, so I was pleasantly surprised by the new additions. Many other people had the same idea to visit and we noted license plates from several other states in the lot. One couple commented about visiting Foster Falls this past summer and as I learned visiting Savage Gulf, the drought turned the falls completely OFF! Thanks to recent rainfall every waterfall was roaring today. Let's hope the rainfall is more steady the rest of spring and into summer.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Kayakers On Suck Creek
Friday, February 23, 2007
A few bumps in the road ahead.
Thanks this morning to Shamane Barkes for sending this nice sky shot. I really appreciate it. We had a gorgeous day across the area yesterday, although it was windy. A lot of people were out and about yesterday afternoon in shorts just trying to soak it in. A lot of sunshine again today, but it won't be AS warm. But for this time of year highs near 60 is still doing pretty good. The models show a pretty good drop in temps later next week, but even that won't last long. This is afterall the time of year when we see some pretty dramatic ups and downs. There will be plenty of time for freezing temperatures in the morning hours, so even though gardeners may be a little itchy to start planting flowers the wise ones will hold off for awhile. Another big system will bring us some thunderstorms late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. Some may be strong to possibly severe. It's awfully dry across the Tennessee Valley right now as evidenced by the number of brush fires we had yesterday. Hopefully this storm will deliver average rainfall amounts between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch.
Today: Mostly sunny, breezy. NE 10-15 High: 60
Tonight: Fair and cold. Low: 33
Saturday: Clouds thicken, warm. South 10-15. High: 65
Saturday night: Rain and storms move in. Some could be strong to severe. Low: 45
Sunday: Rain and storms early. High: 62 Low: 36
Monday: Mostly sunny, pleasant. High: 60 Low: 38
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High: 60 Low: 37