Today we finally had the option, as Ann put it, to “get out from under their thumb” and I (Jeannie) was glad of it. We’ve logged more miles per day and in shorter time windows than I’m accustomed to and my legs are complaining pretty loudly!
Tom and I opted to spend our day riding and explorng in Peninsula Park which is just a couple of miles from the inn. Peninsula Park was very busy today but we’ve discovered that all Wisconsin drivers seem to think that the cyclists are packing guns. They will only pass you if they can give you an extremely wide berth and will hang back so far and for so long that you finally start slowing way down and trying to pull off just so they’ll go around you! Interestingly, the same does not apply to crosswalks. It’s every woman for herself in a crosswalk – they do not stop, even if you are in the middle!
So, Peninsula Park was loaded with car traffic but we managed to have a really great ride all around the park with lots of stops to enjoy the scenery
We spent some time at the beach and ventured in to the water. It appears that the sea snot that is currently plaguing Turkey has made its way to Wisconsin. Nasty, nasty muck at the shore that is warmer than you would want to consider and then you get the blast of ice when you venture a bit farther out. Felt great except for that muck part.
Tom’s been looking for a good tower climb and we found a brand new one in the park. I’ll let him fill in the details. I didn’t get details about how tall it is, but the superstructure is all wood – which someone in the climb said it was a good thing they finished it last year before the price of wood quadrupled. If it were just a tower with stairs and two large viewing plaforms it would be quite impressive, but it also has an ADA-compliant ramp to get to the top. Since ADA ramps can’t have an incline greater than 5%, it is an amazingly long, curved ramp. You can see the start of the ramp in the photo on the right below, and the slow climing curve of the ramp in the photo below that. Quite amazing, and a great view out onto the lake when you get to the top. Kudos to Wisconsin for building this. Now they need to spend a few dollars to fill the potholes in the park roads.
Tonight is the final group dinner. Tomorrow we’ll shuttle and then bike back to Green Bay. We’ll be off then to Appleton to start the rest of our tour.
We’re looking forward to lots more good riding and generally getting back to our usual on the road mode of doing things.