Despite the gloomy and overcast weather I gathered up some ambition and headed out for a ride. It was breezy and cool with temperatures in the upper 30’s as I rolled out. With camera in my pocket I was hoping to come across some picture worthy scenes. I was in luck.
Doing my best to keep the wind in my face for the first half of the ride I rode west on Angling Road. I stopped near the base of a cell tower looming over US30 and thought the perspective of the tower and guy wires looked interesting. Picture #1 acquired.
A short distance later I turned north on Firestone Road and came across a pothole collection that caught my eye. Picture #2 acquired.
An even short distance later, still on Firestone Road, I saw something familiar alongside the road. I squeezed hard on the brake levers and pulled a u-turn. It was a cell phone along the edge of the road and looked like it had been there for a while. The phone was waterlogged and looked like it had been through a few freeze / thaw cycles. Picture #3 acquired.
After a few jig jogs I pedaled west out of Reedsburg and turned south on Funk Road. I wondered if this low lying section of road would be open after all the recent flooding. The road was open but there were many fresh ponds throughout the valley. Glancing over my shoulder at one such pond I spotted several large birds blending in with the scenery. I thought they were blue herons at first but later realized they were sand hill cranes. The quality of the digital zoom on the camera surprised me. Picture #4 acquired.
A short time later I was back to Angling Road. The “road closed” signs were up for Angling Road east of Funk but I thought it may be passable on bike so I turned left. Water was across the road at the road’s lowest point, yep that’s the way water works. There was a current moving left to right across the road but I decided it was worth the risk to pedal across slowly. Before crossing I pulled the camera out, took a picture, and securely sealed in a ziploc bag in case of a splashdown. Picture #5 acquired.
Crossing the water was mostly okay except it was deep enough in the middle that I was dunking my left foot with each pedal revolution. I had unclipped my right foot and held it up in the air when I realized the water was getting deep. Thank God for Thorlo socks, they kept my feet warm the rest of the ride home despite the left one being water logged.
To get back home I took Uhl Road to connect Jefferson to Smyser. Upon turning north onto Uhl I encountered an even better photo op of a ruinous pothole. Photo #6 acquired.
There’s nothing like a wandering, picture filled bike ride to help forget your body and mind’s confusion over setting the clocks forward an hour!
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