May 31, 2015
Fishing, Biking, Camping, Bird-Watching, ATV-ing--What's YOUR Obsession?
Chequamegon National Forest
Before I could leave Hayward there was something I had to see. I backtracked a mile for a visit to The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum. Now don't go jumping to the conclusion that I'm a big-time fisherman or anything. I am not a fan of fishing. I've tried it several times and it bores me to death. I don't consider it much of a sport, though I probably feel that way because I'm terrible at it. I can't catch fish and I bring bad luck to those who can.
Back to my point: I went to the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum (NFWFHOFAM) not to see pictures of famous fishermen and huge stringers of fish, or exhibits on bobbers and lures. As I said, I don't care about those things. What I DO care about are "world's largest" concrete and fiberglass animals. In this case, the NFWFHOFAM is the home of the world's largest muskellunge.
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My business in Hayward complete, I started biking north. But wait! What's that? Why, it's The Angry Minnow! A brew pub!
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Highway 63 led me north through the popular ATV and mountain bike territory of the Chequemagon National Forest. There are many well-built trails for those riders, and there must have been a big mountain biking event here this weekend because I saw hundreds of mountain bikes being transported on trailers, on bike racks, and on top of cars. Many of the bikes still had their official race numbers attached as a badge of honor. I thought of something even MORE honorable: Try riding your mountain bike from your home state, participate in the event, then ride back home. I'm already thinking about that idea for my tour next year.
At Drummond, I took a five-mile detour on a Forest Service road (FR 213) to the Twin Lakes Campground. The road twisted and turned and went up and down, deeper and deeper into the enclosing forest. I saw a deer. Later, a roadie raced past me. He only said "hi" after I did. There was no other conversation as he was clearly more focused on speed than on a goofy rider with wider tires and a month's worth of gear attached to his bike.
I really like National Forest campgrounds. Generally they are not over-developed and they usually have some very nice natural features. Here, the natural features are Owen Lake and Bass Lake and almost every campsite overlooks one of them. I could have ridden to Lake Superior today, but I am so glad I split the last 60 miles in half and decided to camp here tonight.
Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 1,776 miles (2,858 km)
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