April 24, 2018
May is National Bike Month!
BICYCLING FOR FUN AND HEALTH
A recent note from our friends at Travel Wisconsin reminded us that May is National Bike Month! I remember many a spring and summer day when I would pull out the bike and ride around. My early youth was spent on Milwaukee's northwest side where my friends and I would bike to Noyes Park on Good Hope Road, out to the little league fields on Brentwood to play some ball, over to the school playgrounds to race around, or just around the residential city blocks. I don't know too many parents today that would let their kids ride like that at age 8-10, but it sure was fun!
When I was in middle school our family moved out to a small 40 acre farm just east of Johnson Creek. My bike became a necessity there. A mile into town was easy by bike, and thonly means to get there was to bike or walk if I wanted to see friends. I would ride into town and meet up with friends, then we would bike around town together.
I also loved baseball. Our farm was in the territory of the Farmington baseball teams of the Rock River League -Southern Division The Fe armington Ballpark where I needed to play was about 5 miles away . When my parents were out-of-town or too busy to drive me to the park, it was a healthy bike ride out to practice or games. The picture at right could have been me peddling down the road and through the fields to get to the ballpark, although this is just a stock picture
Over the years, and despite moving around the Midwest for my career, it seems my wife and I always had bicycles that we moved with us. During the early years of our marriage, Lori would bike while I jogged or ran for my workout, or occasionally we would just bike together for fun or exercise. We also started our kids on bikes at a young age. We found bicycling to be a great form of exercise that was easier on the body than running and jogging.
One of the benefits of purchasing the Franklin Street Inn Bed and Breakfast was finding out there is a bike lane right in front of the Inn that easily links to a local bike trail. The trail nearest to the Inn and pictured below is 8.6 miles ands also provides access to other trails for even further cycling trips. Now that the winter has departed and the snow has melted away, it is time for folks to get out the bikes and get them tuned up for summer. We have already seen several folks out on the streets with there bikes in the beautiful weather the past few days.
Happy Biking! Enjoy National Bike Month in May!
