Back in the Saddle

The mountain bike I will use on the upcoming adventure tour. It isn't anything special, but it will work for me.

I'm back in the saddle again.

That classic truism is apt in more than one way. As many of you probably know I was recently lost off the Appalachian Trail in central Virginia. I was lost for six nights and during several of those nights no one was looking for me (unbeknownst to me). I will have plenty to say about this incident in the future but it is only indirectly my focus now. As you might expect my confidence in myself was shaken because of this incident. Sure I came out of it whole and sound but it was a harrowing experience. So when Andy asked me if I was interested in taking part in the Fortune Bay Company's 887-2009 Adventure Tour, something I had pondered but mostly dismissed for reasons that I'll explain shortly, I was very happy to say, "yes."

The Adventure Tour is a non-competitive version of an adventure race. Like the race it contains a hiking, canoeing or kayaking, and biking segment. Hiking and canoeing are no problem for me. I do both. I have not ridden a bicycle in at least fifteen years and the last time I did ride a bike things did not go smoothly for me. This adventure tour starts out with an 8 mile road bike from Lowell, Michigan to town of Saranac. From there we paddle 8 miles down the lazy Grand River back to Lowell where we don our packs and hike the final 7 miles to Fallasburg County Park.

My concerns with the biking portion were, in no particular order, (1) staying on the bike itself, (2) maintaining a reasonable straight line, (3) avoiding obstacles, especially the large moving kind, and (4) not having my butt fall off due to the bike saddle. I am certain that biking a mountain bike trail complete with its rocks, dips, swells, and roots would not be something I could really do. I felt a bit more confident about a quiet road bike as long as I could follow someone who could warn me of upcoming things like Stop signs and hills. However, that still left the big question of just being able to physically get the bike going and managing to stay on the bike open. On that score I was far less sanguine.

Yesterday afternoon my friend Lil, who is an avid mountain bike racer and does her share of adventure racing to boot, and I went to a local bike shop to rent a mountain bike. The bike probably isn't worth much more than the deposit I had to put down on it. It's certainly many cuts below the snappy bike Lil was riding but then that is hardly a surprise. She showed me how to snap the front tire on and off and how to adjust the seat to get a proper fit. We put on our helmets and with her in the lead set off to bike around the Old West Side of Ann Arbor.

When I got on for the first time I felt a rush of nerves. A thrill that I was so high off the ground and I felt sure I couldn't possibly stay on once I lifted my feet from the ground. After all a bike is quite wobbly when it is not moving. Somehow I got going, my front tire wiggling back and forth as I started to bike downhill along 5^th Street. We adjusted the seat to be somewhat higher still after this very brief ride and then I was off again. Lil led, probably never more than 50 or so feet in front (her guess) of me. When something like an uphill climbs was about to start she gave me warning. If a Stop sign was coming she told me about those too. She even said when she was going to actually stop (something I could see her doing, but the extra reminder isn't a bad thing). We made a few circuits of the immediate neighborhood including climbing the lengthy hill along 5^th Street that runs from Madison towards Pauline. That was quite a climb for my untrained fat body, but I made it. All told we probably biked about 3 miles on roads, sidewalks, across short grassy bits, and in and out of a parking lot. I did not hit anything or anyone. I prefer the street to the sidewalk as it is wider. I think downhills make me more nervous as I pick up speed, 8-10MPH is fast enough for me.

But I did it. A huge confidence boost. I know now that I will be able to do the 8 mile ride with Andy as long as we work well as a team. I have no reason to believe that we won't.

To learn more about the Adventure Tour visit the Fortune Bay Expeditionary Team's Fortune Bay Expeditionary Team's website and click the Upcoming Events like. this link should take you directly to the Adventure Tour.

Wandering Knight Episode 13 Photos

Episode 13 of Wandering Knight Podcast ((direct link, We’re Not 25^th) is now online.

The photos you see here were hurridly snapped by Paul Haan.

 

The scene at the start/end point before the rally begins. I would later learn that 22, of a possible 25, teams would enter the rally. A pretty good turn out considering it is winter and many people probably would rather stay inside. 13:49.

On the road again. Heading for our second geocache. 14:39.

We found the second cache. We could hardly believe it especially since we found it very quickly. Sure pausing for a minute to snap a couple photos cost us precious time but hey sometimes you gotta just go for it. 14:46.

Triumphal Return. We would finish 15^th. We actually were checked back in a bit before this photo was shot. 15:00.

The Gathering, November 2008 - Part 2

Episode 11 of Wandering Knight Podcast ((direct link, The Gathering, Part 2) is now online. You may also find Episode 10, part 1 of the two-part series, of interest.

I did not take any photos Saturday and only a few on Sunday. However, fortunately for us I was not the only one with a camera. Debi Pilkington took several photos on Saturday both of the short hike group and inside the Schoolhouse. I hope you enjoy what you find.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 12:04.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 12:06.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 14:13.

Photo by Debi Pilkington, 16:23.

On Sunday our small group did an approximately 6 mile long hike that covered the North Country Tail and the Coolbaugh Natural Area. During much of that hike I kept a GPS log of where we went. The map below gives you some idea of where we hiked.

Photo by Ken Knight, 12:49.

Photo by Ken Knight, 13:12.

Photo by Ken Knight, 13:58.

A map showing, pretty accurately, the hike we did on Sunday along the NCT and within Coolbaugh Natural Area.

North Manitou Island, August 2008, Conclusion

Episode 7 of the Wandering Knight Podcast (direct link) is now online. While I took a lot more photos and shot a great deal of video (which you'll get to see in due time, I'm still catching up on video from The Great Outdoor Challenge hike of last May) I wanted to share at least a handful of photos from our first day on the island.


Photos

Morning dew still sits on these flowers that abound around our campsite not far from Swenson’ Barn. August 16, 2008 08:20.

I enjoy walking through changing scenery. The island is full of open spaces like this one. This though is the only one I saw with a swath of these purple flowers. Anyone know what they are? August 16, 2008. 12:08.

Part way up the steep ascent of the second, I think, major climb to get to the top of the sandy hills around Old Mont Baldy. This is a bushwhack plain and simple, tough going but worth the effort. August 16, 2008. 15:21.

After passing a cloudy night with just a hint of rain at our final campsite we would be treated to one last day of great sunny weather. August 17, 2008. 07:00.

Bushwhack Map
During the afternoon of our second day Andy, Doug, Matt, and I would venture forth on a bushwhack hike that would take us up to Old Mount Baldy, down to the southwestern shoreline, around teh beach, from the forests, onto Dimmick Point, and eventually to our campsite. The total trek was only a few miles but they were invigorating miles and we had a superb island experience visiting portions of the island that I feel certain most people do not bother with. You can get a bit of a sense of what we did by looking at the map below.

North Manitou Island, August 2008, Part 1

Episode 6 of the Wandering Knight Podcast (direct link) is now online. While I took a lot more photos and shot a great deal of video (which you'll get to see in due time, I'm still catching up on video from The Great Outdoor Challenge hike of last May) I wanted to share at least a handful of photos from our first day on the island.


Photos

Some remains of rusting out hulks of cars that were probably brought to the island back in the logging days over half a acentury ago.

Jerrilyn framed by Lake Michigan at the overlook at the end of the unmaintained trail that we followed through the “Pot Holes.”

The beach at the cliff just below the overlook. The hike along this stretch of beach would be splendid.

Moonrise. With the moon rising and the sun only just setting well after 10:00PM at night we had ourselves a very full day.

Wandering Knight Podcast Is Born

Some of you know I have been working on a lot of audio and video lately. It's material from trips I've taken primarily this year. Trips as varied as my cross-Scotland trek in May, building trail along the NCT, hiking in Sedona, going to Ground Hog Day in Punsxultawny (sp), and attending music festivals, to name just a few. Some of these adventures have been shared on my website and/or blog (www.wanderingknight.org and this blog respectively). But that hasn't been the best way to share them. With this in mind I have created a new podcast. The Wandering Knight podcast will feature, in time, I hope more than justmy own personal trip diaries and experiences. I hope to make it more than that with contributions from other people in the form of interviews and the like. You can access this new podcast in a variety of ways.

From its blog
From its RSS feed
itunes Podcast Feed

You should see subscription buttons in the navigation sidebar of the blog. You can click those to access the podcast's feed as well. Also direct download links to the most recent episodes can be found just below the subscription buttons.

Right now you will find part 1 of my adventure across Scotland as I took part in the Great Outdoor Challenge of 2008 last May. Subsequent episodes will appear on a more or less weekly basis.

I hope everyone enjoys what they find. Please do visit the podcast blog over at wanderingknight.libsyn.com to comment.

Happy Wheatland

The 35th Wheatland music festival Is winding down and it has been pretty good if not quite as good as last year. The music has been varied (as has been sound quality), people fun, vonversation pleasing, and the various kid a source of boundless e energy.

You come for the music but a hood festival is more than that. The vibe at a good event raises the spirits of everyone present. The Main stagfe here really does that well. I saw performers ok side stage venues here who took it up another level on the big stage. Audiences do the same thing. Hours fly by under hot sun and. Crisp star filled nights. All have fun and rejoice in good company.

I must close now, before I want to so I can save battery, but I'll have more later. Signing off from Wheatland.

** Ken **

Sent from my iPhone