Part One of what may well be a long long recount of the Trans-Wisconsin....

The Trans-Wisconsin: 620+ Miles from Hazel Green, Wisconsin to Point Detour, Wisconsin in just under 88 hours…Jeremy Kershaw and the aging author…. [photo and beers by Rich Hendricks, savior of the photographed]

This is a tough one to write up….everything is all jumbled together in my limited brain and thus itz hard to develop a central theme. I know that I remember having a great adventure on a beautiful and varied course, enjoying Jeremy's company immensely, and that we spent about 76 of the 88 hours on the move….

So, I am going to start with a basic narrative that has to do with my mundane bike/gear list in the hope that a review of these elemental, albeit less-than-inspirational aspects of the journey will get me on track to write up a good “embellished” report in the near future…

May be itz that I am still too tired to put ink to paper….with imagination and soul….Maybe I am still too close to the subject at hand...OR...Have I been so reduced that I have lost any and all semblance of emotion? Am I devoid of human sentiment?? Has the treachery of the unfeeling road numbed me??? Is the poet within DEAD????………….But alas, fear NOT the worst!!! Perhaps there is hope for I am still stirred to tears by the thought of a cold bottle of Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout (or ten)!

Part I: Gear list for the Trans-Wisconsin: “Light is right…Go light and fight” My mantra for preparing for this event...

1. ___Titanium ’86 mtb Merlin frame equipped with ‘cross wheel-set (including Tim Ek recommended 35c Continental speed-cross tires), Salsa Bell Lap drop-bars, ‘cross gearing (48/36 by 11-32), seat-post rack, and Jannd frame pack, supplemented by a nifty little “mt feedbag.” The bike set-up was spot on even though the relatively narrower tires did not do well in the sandy sections. Yet the sandy sections were so sandy that for Jeremy and me it didn’t really matter as we both had to walk long sections. Jer had standard 2 inch Nano Raptors on and he was having nearly as much trouble as I was in the loose sand. One problem that we both shared was the lack of a granny gear, which prevented us from spinning “snow-bike style” through these sections. Luckily, taking into consideration the context of the full 620+ mile course, these sections represented just a fraction of the entirety. The fact of the matter is that I’d bring this set-up again with the only change being the addition of a granny gear. The Ti Merlin frame, which was built in 1986, is made for off-road, (it originally had 26 inch mountain bike wheels on it when "I found it"), and is incredibly comfortable to ride. The single track and northern ATV trails posed no problems for me as I am use to cyclo-cross racing. It is noteworthy that early into the event, less than 75 miles into it, my rear wheel (like me, itz old) started to show the early signs of essentially splitting along the right sidewall. This discovery and subsequent remedy to the problem represents the most important “hinge factor” in my personal outcome and will be covered extensively in the main body of this report. So at this point, let me simply submit to you, Dear Reader, that had it not been for the generous and selfless efforts of Joe Meiser and ultimately, Marty Larson of the Prairie Peddler Bike Shop, I would have been out of the race for good before the first hundred miles had been covered!…So much for “self-support and self-reliance!” So it goes……

2. ___The Haven is a super lightweight net-tent w/o poles marketed as a Granite Gear product (of course itz made in China). I was determined to go as light on the camping gear as possible. I brought only the Haven, an “emergency” space blanket, and a tiny little piece of foam padding for me old hip. My entire camping gear (listed above) thus weighed less than two pounds. To supplement, I brought along a Craft cycling jacket, fleece hat, a lightweight wool face-mask, wool gloves, and a pair of light wool “sleeping” socks. The system worked well, but I was unprepared for rain and I simply lucked out as we never had to sleep out directly in the rain. The first night we slept for a few hours inside a roofed pavilion that was part of a big fairground; Jeremy on the cement while I curled up on a picnic table. The second night, we rested for a few hours in a campground, Jer next to Mother Earth and I once again on a picnic table. Miraculously there were no bugs at the first two bivy sites. The third and final night, we slept next to the route and there the bugs took their revenge.

3. ___ Miscellaneous gear included an odometer, maps and cue sheets (no GPS), a multi-tool, tire pump, chain lube, Brave Soldier chammy lube, Petzel headlight (note: it stopped working!), Princeton EOS light, three AAA batteries, tube-patch kit, three tubes, ample doses of Ibuuuuz & Caffeine, Rich's cell phone to call him for pick-up, and a little food--all stuffed into a sweet Go-Lite “Rush” backpack. Note: Since I was unable to figure out the workings of the Cell Phone, early on Jeremy agressively took it from me...which was fine with me as it saved me weight! Again…I think I was about spot-on regarding the bike and the gear, given Dave Pramann’s weather forecast, which was as accurate as such things can get…As stated above, the only thing that I really longed for during the event was a granny gear to allow spinning up some the steep hills, especially in the northern CAMBA sections and beyond, for on the final day, fatigue had set in and thus the climbs seemed longer and farther…so it goes. I am sure that I had the lightest set-up of anyone there, with Joe M. coming in a close second and then followed by Jeremy, who was quite a bit better prepared with warmer clothing, but also significantly heavier. Near the end, when we were drenched and very cold, wearing Jeremy’s extra jacket that he loaned to me was a great comfort…to be continued...

Look forward to...

Part II: How little the non-cycling community really knows about their immediate living space and how during our first bivouac, Jeremy Kershaw stole my tiny sleeping pad in an act of unrivaled evilness!