Bikes Don’t Belong on Rivers
The Rock River runs over 350 miles, through two states and 28 counties. It’s been kayaked and canoe’d, hiked and ultra-light’d, but prior to 2018, no one had ever ridden a bicycle the length of it, not even one time in its several million year history. Click here if you don’t believe me.
Not only were Radio’s Carl Nelson and I the first ever cyclist to traverse this challenging watery cataract, during the day, but at night we sat in local bars and we (mostly Carl with me contributing by complaining that it was late and time for me to sleep) but we broadcast our adventures each morning on WNIJ, Northern Public Radio.
But we changed history…
Not our strongest day radio-wise, we were just getting the hang of it plus it rained on us a lot that day. Click here to hear Day One of our epic trip. Biking biking from the Horricon Marsh (North America’s largest fresh water marsh, uh yeah, that Horicon Marsh) down to a bar Water Town WI to play dice with the locals. WNIJ’s page includes two drone shots.
On the first day…
Hooked up with super handsome English Professor, Beloit’s Christopher Fink to do some learnin’ about Wisconsin’s first poet laureate, slanky Lorine Niedeker. Click here to listen and to see some glam shots of Fink. Hubba-hubba!
Day two…
Radio’s Carl Nelson and I were joined by pro am stud and all around good guy Dom Cozzi who pedaled with us across the border into Illinois, had beer at Prairie Street Brewery while we steeled our nerves to interview the mayor of Rockford, and then unsteeled our nerves with some beer at Mary’s Place after we interviewed the mayor of Rockford. Oh, we also interviewed the mayor of Rockford, not too shabby, pal. You really need to click here to hear it and believe it. You will?
On the third day…
Carl and I got on the river thanks to White Pelican Canoe and Kayak out over Oregon, Illinois way. We got recognized in Dixon and one of us (Carl) lost his hammock in Sterling and one of us (me) got a flat in Prophetstown. You’ll never believe what happens next! (Okay, Carl bought a new hammock, I fixed the flat, and we ended up in the Stumble Inn eating burgers and drinking Pabsts and making the next day’s radio segment.) You don’t have to wait, you can click here and hear it for yourself!
Day four…
Nowadays it’s so common to hear bicyclists say they rode the length of the Rock River, it’s hard to believe that there ever was a time when it was just a dream!
Bring your hankies because you’re going to be bawling your eyes out, when Radio’s Carl Nelson and I meet the legendary Bareback (who rides a bike with no seat), come upon an awesome breakfast stop, and find ourselves at the confluence—the place where Rock River meets Mississippi River. This is where you click to hear the final installment of the radio series that made history.
On the final day…
Special thanks to WNIJ for letting us take this ride. Carl and I are grateful to Greg Farnham for setting us off on our journey and escorting us almost as far as the Horicon Marsh. Thanks to Augie Tietz and George Marsh and Joshua Mueller for hospitality and intel on both ends of our first day. Special shout-out to Professor Chris Fink for showing us things about Wisconsin we never knew before, and especially for introducing us to poet Lorine Niedecker, whose collected works I would already have ordered if one of my kids hadn’t changed the Amazon password. Also thanks to the Fink family for lawn-camping hospitality and for loaning Chris out for this project. Thanks to Dom Cozzi for riding with us out Oregon-way, and for Theresa Oldenburg for showing us around the amazing Nature at the Confluence center in South Beloit. Thank you Tom McNamara, Mayor of Rockford, for making time to speak to us and for nudging me out of the way of a speeding tricycle, but mostly thank you for accepting my Facebook friend request while ignoring Carl’s. Thank you to Andy Dettman for showing us around Oregon’s Eagle’s Nest art gallery, and to Bike Ogle’s Terry Schuster for talking to us, and to Scott Stephens for providing great Ogle photo-ops and great photography. Big thanks to Aaron and Christy Sitze for letting us take a canoe trip with White Pelican. Eternal thanks to both Bob bartenders, in Dixon and P-town, for offering free booze and food which we couldn’t, and mostly didn’t, accept. Special thanks to Ray Morrison for riding out to meet us, and especially to Dean “Bareback” Mathias, for organizing, arranging, and inspiring me and a generation of cyclists to ride better, be nicer, and to always talk to new people.
Last during this gratitude frenzy: Thanks to Radio’s Carl Nelson for putting up with me for a week. He produced radio in noisy bars while his partner whined about needing to go to sleep, to Danny K and the staff of WNIJ for including me on this wild, bottom-chaffing ride. Most of all, thank you to Molly McNett, for marrying me and then driving to both ends of the trail, once to pick us up and once drop us off. In essence Molly, you did the Rock River Trail twice this week, but no one interviewed you or gave you a badge. I therefore give you my 320 Badge as a show of love and appreciation.
Can you please sew it on my messenger bag?