The Ahnapee Bike Trail, Wisconsin

Day 1:  Sturgeon Bay to Algoma.

Confusing sign and watch out for thieves!

I started my trip Just South of Sturgeon Bay, following the signs from highway 42.  They directed me to a parking lot off of Neenah street.   The sign is attempting to tell you to go past the intersection then go to your left.  Myself and others included, took the next left before realizing we had lost the trail.  The parking lot was so hidden and out of the way that I was a little nervous.  And for good reason.  More on the thieves later.  I would strongly suggest to use a more public open parking lot.  You may be able to get away with parking up the street at a company or a neighborhood park.

Farmhouse just south of Sturgeon Bay.

Rest benches are placed every few miles.

Endless roads of limestone, trees, and farmland.

Typical view of the trail.

A few miles south or Sturgeon Bay, I passed through the thriving metropolis of Maplewood.   It consists of about a dozen homes, a lumberyard with a few townies hanging out, a ramshackle dilapidated house, and a bar.  What more do you need to  make a town in Wisconsin?

View from the Forestville dam.

View from a small bridge overlooking the Ahnapee river.

Around this time, I noticed my rear tire was flat.   I used my Topeak mini-pump to pump it up and I was able to go several miles before I had to do it again.  This got old real quick.  I finally made it into Algoma to try and find a place to get my tire fixed.  I was unable to  find a bike store or some help.  Fortunately, I had some patches and tire levers.  I borrowed a large ash tray from the BP gas station in Algoma and filled it with water to locate the hole.  Unfortunately the vulcanizing contact cement tube had completely evaporated.  Fortunately I had some old quick patches also.  I was able to complete the job with the quick patch.  I don't think it held 100%, but I was able to complete the trip.

I finally reached my car some 40 miles and 5-3/4 hours later.  I loaded my bike in the back of my car and headed back to my parents time-share in Fish Creek.  I noticed that my stereo didn't sound right.  I have a powerful system with a JL Audio subwoofer in the back.  I seemed to be missing the power and lower register, so I fumbled with the CD player looking for tunes with lots of bass.  I finally thought that maybe the wires had popped out of the subwoofer so I pulled over to a wayside.  I opened the hatch and to my horror, there was no subwoofer! Only bare wires! Shit! This is vacationland Wisconsin, there are no thieves here... Wrong!

A short time later, I discovered that my CD case with 12 of my favorite cd's was gone too.  It had all of my favorite cruising CD's with the likes of Chicago II, Terry Evans, John Mayall, Subdudes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steely Dan, Indigenous, and Muddy Waters.  Assuming it was kids, probably the only CD they might have liked was the Joe Satriani that they didn't get as it was still in the player.   I hoped that my musical tastes helped to expand their musical appetite, but nah, they're probably coasters...

I reported the theft to the Sturgeon Bay police, but since the total value of the merchandise was $400 and my homeowner's deductible is $500, I'm stuck flipping the bill.  Actually I was very lucky as their was other stuff in the car that they could have taken or destroyed but chose not to.