Sunday, September 20, 2015


Finished Fat Tire Ride in Lake Geneva WS.  The ride around the lake is short, 23 miles, but quite hilly.  1,700 feet of climb in that short a space involves several severe climbs.  The last major uphill was a 16% grade.  While it was only a mile long it was challenging.  And, it is the only bike ride I do where I will have a beer.  Starting at the Mars bar, Bloody Mary's were in order.  The second stop was with no alcohol.  Stop three I had one beer.  Stop 4 a brat and a beer.  Then the "climb".  Stop 5 one beer.  The actual riding time was only an hour and a half but with all the stops it was around 5 hours. So, the beer consumption was not a factor.  My friend, Roger, and I were probably the oldest riders of about 2,000 bikers.  Many, of course, were novices and few made it up the "climb" biking but most walked.  Roger and I were one of the few who actually rode the entire hill.   Looking forward to next year.
    As it turned out we were very helpful to fellow riders.  At the beginning we put air in the tires of 7 people who did not bring anything to fill their own.  During the ride we fixed the chain of one of the bikers who did not know you should not shift gears when climbing hills.  Another had a very low tire and stopped to ask if we had an air pump.  All I carry is CO2.  So I used one to fill her tire.  She was very grateful. All in all a great time was had by all.