Glacial River Trail, Fort Atkinson to Milton 11/28/2020

We thought it was going to be warmer today but we headed into the brisk southwest wind and it was still chilly. Of course on the way back it was slightly warmer and a lot easier with the wind pushing us. This is a smooth asphalt paved trail that basically follows along Hwy 26. There's not a whole lot of shade at this time of year. This trail has small to moderate hills so it's fun to ride. Portapotty at boat landing and probably some places in Fort Atkinson.

So far I think this is the most scenic portion of the trail. The statues in Fort Atkinson are really cool and there's an ice cream place right on the trail you can stop at.  I liked seeing the activity at the boat landing. Even right now lots of boats. What are they catching? This time the hobby farm had sheep, goats, and llamas outside. And of course the covered bridge is really interesting. 

In the past we rode this trail from

• glacial drumlin trail to Watertown
• glacial drumlin trail to Fort Atkinson

Sometime we'd like to start at the northern end (Wild Goose Trail), head south, and see how far we get.

Connecting Trails

• North End Wild Goose Trail
• Glacial Drumlin near Jefferson
• South end labeled as Rock River Trail in Milton; however according to trail link you can go through Milton and after a little bit on road, pick up Spring Brook Trail that goes to Janesville

Lake Country Bike Trail, from eastern trailhead (Hwy G) to old downtown Delafield (Hwy C) 11/27/2020

This trail is a good work out with a nice big hill by the Nagawauki Golf course. It's paved with black top and smooth. So far we still have good trail conditions with no ice. Weather is between 40 and 50F with a brisk approximately 10-12 mph southwest wind. Bathroom at trailhead, also probably possibilities in Delafield. (I added in these bathroom notes for sister-in-law.)

We headed out from the eastern portion near the Springs water park on golf road just off Hwy 94 and G. It was quite chilly and a lot of work heading into the wind. On the way back we had a tail wind and it was warmer and easier.

Even though this trail is paved there is a lot of shaded portions so it may have ice come winter even if it gets plowed. 

Looks like it connects with 2 trails

• Meadowbrook trail 2.4 mi concrete
• Cushing park trail 3 mi asphalt which appears to connect to glacial drumlin trail

Social Media Do's and Don'ts by the Draftsmen

These guys are great. I really enjoy their podcasts. I thought this one was particularly interesting. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/draftsmen/id1465180342?i=1000493750927

I learned that you should first know what your objective is and why people should follow you because Social Media is designed for consumption not creation. You also should be on multiple types that lead back to your site?

You can use it to post art, create content, connect with friends, and curate good stuff. 

You need to be focused, consistent, post quality stuff frequently on a schedule so people can make it part of the routine to check on you. He talked a bit about algorithms. 

You should have checklist and template so you're consistent and don't forget anything. Plus it's quicker. Should be professional and have good quality photos.

Main thing though is to know your objective and post quality stuff.

Wiowash Trail, Southern Part, Oshkosh to Hortonville 9/5/20

There is quite a gap between the south and north part of this trail, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/wiouwash .

We parked at trailhead near Hexco motorsports and Tribal Heritage Crossing Trail, https://www.co.winnebago.wi.us/parks/recreational-trails/tribal-heritage-crossing-wiouwash-state-recreational-trail ,  that runs next to Hwy 45 over Lake Butte des Morts.

First we headed north to Hortonville. Wind was mostly out of the west. However on the way back it felt like it was behind us and we made better time. We were prepared with 4 repaired tubes. However we didn't have any flats probably due to the new back tire. (All the knobs had worn off our old tire.)

The trail had moderate traffic with quite a few families with kids. Also kids walking with fishing pools. It looked like there would be pretty good fishing along the trail in Oshkosh. There was less people between the Friendship trail and Hortonville, probably because of the mud.

It was mostly farm fields and prairie with occasional forest of deciduous trees. 1 maple and some sumacs were turning red. This would be a hard trail to ride on a super windy day.

There were warning signs about sediment basin and mud pond between friendship trail crossing and Hortonville. Apparently sediment basins can act like quicksand to young children who do not have the strength to exit. Also dangerous stuff like glass, rusty metal, and dangerous animals could be in the pond along with bacteria and amoebas that can make people sick.

https://knoxvilletn.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_109478/File/Engineering/BMPManual/ES-19.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sediment_basin
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/wrd-nps-sediment-basin_642076_7.pdf
https://www.clemson.edu/extension/water/stormwater-ponds/problem-solving/muddy-turbid-water/index.html
http://publications.tamu.edu/WATER/SCS-2013-02.pdf


Overall the trail surface is level and made up of mostly crushed limestone with grass growing in the middle. It ranges from very wide to quite narrow in places. You share the trail with horses (although we didn't see any) so watch out for their piles. Trail surface rating: 1 to 3 out of 5. Some areas were quite good. There was only a little loose gravel in places and not too many holes but still some bumps. There was some mud but it was pretty firm. Didn't sink in too much. Probably not the best trail to ride after rains. Especially north of the Friendship Trail crossing. The trail had a sign that said 7n and 7s corridor at this point.

There are quite a few muddy areas after you cross the western portion of the Friendship trail, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/friendship . It looks like you would have to ride along Hwy 10 to get to the eastern portion of the Friendship trail in Brillion in order to connect up to the Fox River Trail, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/foxriver , that runs along Hwy 57 and goes to Green Bay.

There is only one bathroom in the middle portion of this part of the trail. However it is a very nice one located in Trailhead Park, Clayton, https://www.townofclayton.net/index.asp?
There is lots of parking there, playground, picnic pavilion, vending machine, snowmobile club sheds, Fire Station #43, and a tavern down the road.

Entry off trail to Trailhead Park, Clayton, WI

Hortonville Trailhead signs

Here's a sign from a trailhead across the street from a large tavern near the southern part of the trail in Oshkosh.

Once we got back to the recreational trail parking next to Hexco Motorsports we decided to head south on the Wiowash Trail. It basically runs about 3 miles more or less along the Fox River to Steiger Park. It starts out as crushed limestone but then became a mix of low traffic streets, asphalt, and concrete. Surface rating 4 to 5 out of 5.

We went past some really neat stuccoed row houses. 

It was very entertaining watching boats race up the Fox River. I didn't know that a canopied pontoon boat could go that fast. You could probably ski behind it.

After that the trail basically followed along side the Fox River. We went past a hospital and Oshkosh University until we arrived at Steiger Park where the trail really ended.

Bike Log: New Berlin to Madison; 8/22/2020

I reverted to the legacy blogger version to type this up because the new blogger is inefficient and a struggle to use. However, after September I will be stuck with the new blogger.

Biking Notes:

• 9:47 Left home on New Berlin Trail heading into headwind coming from west.
• 10:11 New Berlin Trail ended
• 10:23 Fox River Sanctuary, beginning of Glacial Drumlin Trail. (bathroom available)
• 10:44 11.5 miles
• 10:53 Wales, rate paved surface 5/5. Crowded to Wales (bathroom available)
• 11:05 Hwy  C, 16.5 miles
• 11:09 Waterville, pass ice age trail entry
• 11:14 Bob called. water break. windy today, 10-15 mi/hr looking at flags
• 11:24 Dousman 20 miles (probably bathroom in bike store)
• 11:28 Crushed limestone surface, 3/5 dry. probably no good if wet after rain, but we haven't had rain for a while.
• 11:33 stopped to watched go-carts. Clouding over
• 11:39 back to biking
• 11:41 crosswind and wind, 2 kayakers in canal. Some bridges pretty bumpy at entrance and exit
• 11:45 removed stick from tree trimming out of chain
• 11:58 trailhead (don't know if bathroom open), low hanging tree branches, low to moderate amount of people
• 12:11 Hwy 18, 28.9 miles
• 12:22 Co Rd D, then cross Johnson Creek, gopher holes, trail 2/5
• 12:39 cross Johnson Creek again
• 12:41 Hwy Y
• 12:52 Hwy 26 bridge, eat lunch, about 15 minutes, 38 miles
• 1:07 trail head, 39 miles, low tree branches
• 1:16 popp rd
• 1:24 hwy !
• 1:26 mansfield rd
• 1:29 harvey rd
• 1:37 Lake Mills, 45 miles, N89, A,G, Bathroom and shower with hot water, nice picnic area
• 1:50 between lakes, crowded
• 1:58 picked up Lake Mills bird list
• 2:00 State Wildlife area, seems smaller than we remembered. moderate amount of people, noisy cicadas
• 2:11 Hwy O, London Junction, tavern with bikes, holly ridge lane, trail parking
• 2:13 50.8miles
• 2:18 prairie dr
• 2:22 London road, Koshkonog creek
• 2:28 Deerfield Industrial park, Industrial? rd, Deerfield trailhead, hwy 73
• 2:37 oak park rd.
• 2:41 Kessenich Rd to Dvorak Rd, Biker rode on road parallel to us on paved road, 3rd crossing of Koshkonago creek
• 2:49 ridge rd
• 2:50 uphoff rd, cross koshkonago creek again
• 2:55 heather dr.
• 2:58 Cottage Grove, 60.8 miles

Notes: bring ibuprofen, insect repellent, clear glasses on next bike ride

Notes: Make calico beans, empanadas, pasteles

When are library books due?

Steven Pressfield's "the War of Art" mentioned in 2 podcasts

I listen to a lot of podcasts; two of them mentioned the same guy, Steven Pressfield. 

The Draftsman podcast, https://www.proko.com/the-war-of-art-draftsmen-s2e16/#.Xzrzt-hKhqQ, reviewed his book, “the War of Art” and James Altucher mentioned the same book in 30 day book challenge podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-james-altucher-show/id794030859?i=1000488126497, to show how Steven used a historical/religious text “The Art of War” as a springboard for that book. 

I just picked up “the War of Art” from the library. I wonder how closely if follows “the Art of War.”

Summary of Andrew J Pizza on Kick in the Creatives podcast regarding Creativity

Today I listened to Kick in the creatives podcast of Andrew J Pizza, https://kickinthecreatives.com/andy-j-pizza-creative-pep-talk/.

He mentioned that there are 2 schools of thought regarding creativity, Grit, keep going till you get it done, and experimentation, try different things to see what you like. What he likes to do is do project based experiments. Do things, fail, get data to see if it works.

The big questions to ask yourself is: What should I be making next? How can I communicate to the people I want to give me opportunities, what opportunities to give me? 

In order to do that you need to refine and identify your target. He mentioned the bull’s eye method. The outer ring is the industry, the middle ring is the market, and the bull’s eye is the niche. 

He used the the fine art world as an example. First you need to identify where and how people like you are earning a living. Second: Where do you fit in? Where do you standout? Then define your niche.