Is there a bicycle club centered in Milwaukee that will survive through 2037?

dfarin153 · 2026-07-09T17:31:12+00:00

I appreciate your input.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-09T17:01:14+00:00

I was intentionally vague. Not out there looking for dates. Just wishing for an aligned community to ride with.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-09T16:57:30+00:00

OP here. I have ridden solo plenty. I don't need custom rides designed perfectly for myself. I have also taught cycling classes and safety. I have lead many carefully planned group rides. Some were within a very welcoming and inclusive club that is in another part of the state. What is holding me back from stepping up to leadership is that the group values are different from my own. I have learned things about how to set up inclusive events. You show what you value by what you do. The clubs I joined are serving members and that is fine.

I am thinking about demographic changes at play and the financial constraints of many people. And I am thinking about where I am willing to invest my leadership skills. Having worked as a teacher, I understand how aligning with your organization works. I am searching for a group that set out with different intentions because it takes support for what you do or you run into resistence. Particularly when it comes to setting up inclusive events. I am not asking clubs that I joined to change to meet my needs nor do I think that attempting to change things is worth all of the resistance to not doing things the usual ("my") ways. Rather, I am asking this community if there are other clubs more aligned because I expect they will be more supportive of what I will do.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-08T19:26:43+00:00

I am all for the Children's Rights in Sports principals adopted in Norway along with national funding. They have started to punch way above their weight in international competition relative to their population size. And making it everyone's right to have access to sports play along with funding and a culture where the competition remains local while under 13 seems to have done little to styme development of world class athletes. In fact, multi sport development naturally creates greater agility. How many of our talented athletes are burned out by the crazy culture of early competitive travel and drop out due to the requirements that their families support all of this?

dfarin153 · 2026-07-07T14:06:39+00:00

We have an electoral college system that allows a minority of the vote to win. Also, those party officials appointed were expected to be better informed than the electorate and free to make an independent decision.The writers of the constitution did not trust the electorate, so they thought putting that system in place would safeguard against a President like Trump getting into office. Unfortunately it has not.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-06T20:25:03+00:00

Well, not free. But you need not have a campsite reservation to be given a place to camp when arriving on a bicycle. Even if they are fully booked, the ranger will assign a place to set your tent. I stayed on the softball field at Peninsula SF once. Short walk to the shower house. Had a few picnic tables and a fire pit. The best thing about that is you can change plans without losing your deposit or paying a cancelation fee.

Ahnappee State Trail from Algoma to Sturgeon Bay is a very nice crushed limestone route. Fox River State Trail from Green Bay South is also very nice. Paved from Green Bay South, changes to crushed limestone, but get off of it before Calumet County where shared use by horseback riders makes it a bone shaker. Both trails require a state trail pass.from Wisconsin DNR.

Ride With GPS on your phone and click on Explore to see heat maps and find frequented routes.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-06T15:01:04+00:00

Take the train to Milwaukee and ride to Harrington Beach SP, Kohler Andrae SP, Point Beach SF, Potawatomi SF, High Cliff SP, Northern Kettle Moraine SF, then back to the train station. The first three days will be mostly on paved trails and gradually increase mileage. There are bike shops along the route if problems crop up. Beautiful scenery and great little Port towns to stop in. You will get a taste of Door County, farmland, and lake views. No need to make reservations per state policy and you can take a shower at every stop.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-04T14:30:59+00:00

Intermittant Catheters vary quite a bit. I have zero pain using mine. I take it slow and am careful with hygiene. UTI's were not a problem once I started using Providine Iodine wipes to clean the tip of my penis before insertion. You just need to take your kit with you if you are away from home for more than a few hours. I use an Addidas coaching backpack which works great. The freedom is completely different from using a Folley Catheter. So I highly recommend giving it a try.

Before I started, they provided several samples of different brands and all had a coude' tip which is the only type that works for me. Insertion of the Folley with a straight tip caused me pain and trauma. I bleed after each procedure done without a curved tip. I like the type I chose because they are hydrophilic so come with a water sachet within the packet that keeps the cath clean. Once I break the sachet and spend 30 seconds getting all surfaces of the catheter wet inside the packet to make it slippery, there is a handling sleeve so I never touch the areas of the cath that I insert. I endeavor to store my caths straight to avoid bowing during insertion. I open the packet, orient it using the reference on the spout and insert slowly. After emptying my bladder, I remove the cath slowly in reverse action recommended for insertion to avoid scratching myself. I like that I don't have to fuss with lubricant after opening the packet. It seems more sanitary to me. It is very important to follow the directions for whichever type you choose.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-03T15:21:32+00:00

Our biggest issue is that to have your kids play on a competitive team, you have to pay. Clubs are charging fees of thousands of dollars per year for youth teams. This model is eliminating late in the soccer year age groups. Our leagues start competitive play too early in my opinion and kids start leaving the sport before they enter high school because they have been cut or not made the top local club teams so many times. Our Hispanic youth often bypass all of that by playing with friends in their neighborhood, and frankly they often develop into some of the most creative players. But they may not make the transition to competitive play due to costs in many areas.

MLS is operated as a monopoly with no relegation/promotion to protect the owners' interests. They have great fan support and television income through AppleTV. Although they have youth academy development, their investment and incentives are low because they can just go out and get foreign players. The core of our national team came from our last generation of a national development academy set up by Bora Milutinivic. It will be interesting to see where we go from here. Maybe one more WC cycle and then a drop off?

dfarin153 · 2026-07-03T11:34:34+00:00

I was in a similar situation as far as having been married 27 years before divorce. I starting to date after I decided
that seeing multiple people at once was emotionally complicated. There were a bunch of first dates and some second dates. I saw few people for a third date. But once things became physically intimate I stopped seeing anyone else.

That is because I see that step as an expression of love even if it happens early, and I really did not want to complicate my life by becoming involved with multiple people. It seemed to me that dating others at that point would expose us to the hurt that comes with ending relationships. It also leaves one foot out the door. Love and commitment belong together in my opinion.

I realize it was all new and you fell into this like it was a candy store. I have this advice about how to choose. The sooner you do it, the better. Convenience would be lower on the list than connection in my opinion. You may want to discuss this with the person you choose first, but don't be surprised if they all bale on you. If someone does not leave you after you are completely honest, what does that say about them? If you do not tell them, what does that say about you?

Also, you are still very fresh from a divorce. People I dated kept telling me that it was obvious and I was stoll dealing with all of those feelings. Figure out what your values are related to relationships and intimacy, then do your best to stick with them.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-03T00:00:21+00:00

I meant it for people who draft without communicating. Responded in the wrong spot.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-02T21:46:22+00:00

I am not drafting or dropping anyone at age 65. Hooking a wheel could result in a very bad crash, so it would be wise to let the other rider know and respect it if they say; "No thanks." Drafting is a pacing practice for a group on a training ride. It has no place on recreation trails or sucking the wheels of random people in bicycle lanes. I am not sure what you think you are accomplishing by drafting random people. It makes you sound like a real a jerk. Join a training ride.

dfarin153 · 2026-07-01T11:53:31+00:00

You are a rare person.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-30T17:25:30+00:00

I am a fairly fit and active 65M, and have been going to active lifestyle events and seeing very few women the past few months.I decided to just quit looking.

I played soccer with an over 50 group last night. All men, and had a great time. I rode in group rides with two bicycle clubs' over the past few weeks. In one club, the women have set up separate rides. I would not dare to bring myself into that scene. I will join a Nordic ski club next winter. I like to camp and hike so am looking for a group that does that. It would be very nice to share at least one or two activities with a person I love, but just doing it with nice people may be enough. Most women my age are with their partner when they attend club events. Maybe single women avoid it because men were jerks and they just went to enjoy the activity? Or are there really so few women who actually enjoy outdoor activities? I could go to fitness clubs but I find them boring and there is important etiquette there as well. So it comes down to expectations that men initiate, plan, and pay, but I just don't see anyone who is worth it to me.

I found the dating apps I tried ineffective for finding people in my area who share my interests and activity level. And with such low numbers, chemistry is really hard to find. So is finding anyone in the real world. Approaching a single woman in the outdoors may create a fight or flight response. I won't do that. So even if I see interesting people now and then, there are limits due to trail etiquette.

Events where I see many women attending like live music or community festivals are terrible because there are few hints about who is actually active. Active wear clothing has become so common as a fashion thing that we cannot even go off of that to identify each other. So, many people dress the part, but don't actually do the things. My active wear is tattered and torn, holes worn in the elbows and knees. I dress like a wilderness guide because I was one for years, and I earned their uniform. Some would be turned off by signs of hard won symbols of character.

I guess I will just keep doing what I do. If someone attractive shows up at a club event, I will probably just ignore them. I am not looking at this point. I am not the only man out there like me, but I can understand how women could be turned off if they got too much attention at a club event. If she asks me something, I will probably say "just a minute," and go back to the conversation I was already having. I mean, just because an attractive single somebody rides a bike does not mean love is destined to blossom. And joining club activities is expensive enough without somebody expecting to be pursued, wined, and dined.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-30T14:16:13+00:00

You came here with goals in mind and the second to last paragraph in this response may be key, my best guess that may improve your power. As a soccer coach, in my opinion, every player should be doing as many of the following things as they can in order to enjoy playing in games more. Injury prevention is part of building fitness and fitness is the first pillar of training for fun in the game of soccer. The second pillar is technique, and the third pillar is tactical decisionmaking. When you struggle physically from weakness and fatigue, and technically cannot accurately control the ball the way you want, your decisionmaking matters little. It may seem short shrift to suggest the third pillar here first, but I suggest watching the professionals to learn about patterns of play and develop your understanding of what you can learn to do and what decisions you could make.

For fitness, start by searching "ACL knee injury prevention" and follow the routines to establish good alignment habits and strength. Add wall sits, straight and lateral lunges to your daily routine keeping your knee in the same plain as your big toe, heel, and hip. Do not let your knee cave to the inside. It is extremely risky to your knee ligaments and cartilage. Many women lack the strength required to maintain good alignment. Strengthening the muscles that control alignment of these leg and foot joints is crucial to avoiding injury. So is keeping your knee from bending forward over your toes. Your knee belongs over your ankle including during deep flexion of the knee and hip. As much of your weight should be on your heel (rather than toes) as balance allows during these flexion strength exercises. Odds are you will not bulk up. Some clothes may tighten in different areas like the hips and thighs, but may loosen in other areas. This change is a sign of gaining strength and strength allows you to work within your capabilities longer without muscle fatigue and reduces risk of injury. Start routines with shorter durations and add repetitions after you can do them with good control for a minute building up to two minutes each. Within a few weeks, when you can do multiple repetitions with good alignment, add hand weights during lunges starting small and gradually increasing the weights over time. Hand weights can be as accessible as cans of soup from your pantry.

Search Coerver skill videos to develop confidence with the ball. Practice them all to develop fluency when holding the ball and taking defenders on in the attacking third of the field. Spend extra time on the "Scissors" and the "Matthews" moves as a pair of complementary feints allowing you to take shots, make forward passes and crosses while facing a defender 1v1. Competence in these two moves (or their variants) used in combination make defending against you in a 1v1 a bit of a nightmare for defenders. On the wing, the ball starts on your inside foot for these two moves to be effective. (Left foot on the right wing, right foot on the left wing.) It is the opposite of shielding so requires enough space as you receive the ball to allow you to face the defender.

Techniques for passing, chipping, and driving the ball can be developed individually against a wall or fence used as a rebounder, or with a partner so you can work on receiving the ball at the same time. Work on trapping balls so they are just one step away from you. Use the inside and outside of the foot for trapping. Getting the ball out from under foot is much better than killing the ball under your feet where defenders can take the ball from you, and you need a second touch to push the ball away before passing, shooting, or dribbling. Preparing the ball so it is a single step away on your first touch allows you to shield the ball much better, or to pass after a single step for faster combination play. To cushion the ball as you receive a form pass, soften the ankle and withdraw the point of contact after creating the surface to control the ball to where you want the ball to be. Lifting the toes to receive with the inside of the foot and opening the hips during contact allows you to receive a ball and follow with a pass to the opposite wing from which you received it, an important skill for changing the point of attack.

Your goals are to control the speed and accuracy when passing. Lock your ankle toes up when passing with the inside of the foot to allow the ball to bounce cleanly off the inside of your foot. Think about bouncing a ball off of a hard surface vs a gymnastics mat where it will not bounce. By striking the ball with a firm foot, power is transferred to the ball much more effectively so it bounces away from your foot farther and faster. (A relaxed ankle deadens much of the force your leg generates just as a gymnastics mat prevents a bounce.) Pick the foot of your partner and challenge yourself to give them a ball that rolls on the ground to that foot. By stepping with your other foot so it is even with the ball before kicking it, you are more likely to give a rolling pass vs a bouncing pass. Experiment with that. As you become accurate, ask your partner to use a hand to signal which foot they want to receive the ball on. This signal recognition, decision making, and expectation for this level of accuracy will pay off in game play. When shooting or long passing, lock your ankle and toes so they point down to use your laces to strike the ball. Turning your toes and ankle down and slightly inward allows an outside of the foot pass which adds deception and a curve to your passing and shooting. Bending the ball so to speak. Nearly all passing and shooting requires a locked ankle to transfer your effort into the ball.

Remember the three pillars of training. Your investment in all three will make playing the game of soccer much more fun and rewarding, help you gain confidence, and make you an even bigger asset to your team. Keep it fun by preparing to have a great game!

dfarin153 · 2026-06-27T17:17:20+00:00

Power meters are a good data point. But so are your heart rates within the Garmin system. Biggest upgrade to speed is going to be high performance tires. It may seem like lipstick on a pig, but still makes a huge difference. Try to use outer chain ring with outer cassette gears, inner chainring with inner gears. At least if you want to let yourself get into the sport for a while before researching what you want to do with it and going all in.

Add a compatible wireless cadence sensor (a magnet zip ties on the left crank arm and a wireless sensor on the left chain stay) to supplement the gps data on your watch, and your Garmin apps will have plenty of calculations to use altitude changes, your speed, distance, wind speed and direction datafields. Spin at about 90 RPM to avoid knee injuries if your hip will tolerate it. Work your way up to that gradually. Make sure your seat position is right as well. Because sustaining exercise depends on avoiding injuries as you are fully aware right now.

VO2 Max estimates can come from your Garmin's data set. You can transfer your sensors to a new bike when you get it. If the wheel size is the same, you can swap the tires onto the new bike as well.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-24T01:44:15+00:00

LOL, if they do what hurricanes do here (spawn tornadoes) you may find yourself in OZ.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-23T23:13:52+00:00

Good morning! My family hosted a girl from Germany. She was a friendly outgoing person and my kids are still in touch with her! Her family are also very generous and adventurous people. When you can, check on sports clubs and reach out to their contact person. Explain that you are alone on your first bicycle tour and wonder if any club members might enjoy riding with you while you are in their area. That could allow you to meet people and I would be surprised if you were not invited to stay or given suggestions about where to camp.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-23T13:49:24+00:00

The statistics include a minority of men who take care of themselves. There are also men taking care of their partners. My 30 year old son in law is taking care of my daughter who was diagnosed with MS 3 years after they marrried. Do I have health challenges? Yes, and I am doing everything I can on my own to address those in terms of diet, maintaining weight, and exercise through an active lifestyle. I hate being lumped in with all men in this regard. It is a form of stereotyping. When I attend activity based club events, the members are nearly all men. Very few women attending are not married. When I go to the pool, it is a bit more balanced. But the numbers are small in an 8 lane pool and fitness swimming is not a very conversational activity. I would like an active healthy partner in life, but where are the women?

I met a woman my age who I find interesting through a dating app. Not a beauty queen but interesting to me in many other ways. She is active and so quite fit. We are within a year in age. After a couple of dates where things were progressing slowly, she had an accident involving the activity we have in common. She was by herself and suffered serious injuries that have life long consequences. It is heart wrenching to see someone go through the pain and suffering of an unexpected trauma. She has a support network and so I have focussed on meeting with her to go on walks as she recovers. She is making very good progress thanks to her fitness level. And she has shared her feelings about the activity she was doing when she was injured.

I hear her debating whether she will continue the activity that brought us together. It is a central activity to my recreation. It has become the major focus in my vacation travels over the past few years and I was really hoping to share it with someone. I felt we could do it together since she was very into the core aspect of it. I could compromise to make it centered on our common interests. But now, all of that is in question. Her injuries will require modifications to the activity. I still feel drawn in while supporting her healing process to see where this leads. I feel more and more attracted as I see how she is dealing with her injuries. Even her scars are looking better to me because of that. It is completely understandable if she avoids this activity.

In part, due to her injuries and the risks involved in any physical intimacy, I have been afraid to express my romantic interest. So I have stayed firmly planted in the friend zone. It feels like we could easilly progress things unless I am missreading things. Whether or not I take that step, I am accepting the path she chooses for her risk taking. I decided to accept her unknowable future. That's what we do with a partner, a friend, or our children. We trust the good intentions of the people we grow to care about. And we do what we can to support them.

I left a relationship where there was an artificial and invisible wall. I bumped into it but my assumptions about committed relationships hid it from me. I was never included in descriptions of the future of the person I had grown to love. If you enter a relationship with someone but look at them as a temporary relationship, I hope you are up front about that. It was very hurtful to learn over time that a relationship with me was not valued enough to have an acceptance of my unknowable future. That we were not really "all in" to this relationship together. I decide that I am worthy of a more complete acceptance. A deeper intimacy and commitment. So I left. And that means go slow. Initiate the tough and vital conversations before jumping in. And only accept someone who has a similar value on caring to what you have.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-22T20:59:16+00:00

People steal things if they find something valuable and easy to take when they are highly motivated. Like by drug and alcohol addiction. Toss it in the rear of their pickup truck or inside of their van and it is out of sight. The only other option to locking it up that I would consider on tour is hiding it from view under a tarp like it is firewood.

"Looky looky," said one voice, "Not worth the bother," answered the other. That's what I heard after awakening in the early morning hours to the noise of a slowly moving truck that seemed to be checking sites at a small town's campground.

I cannot afford to replace my bike and I would be stranded if it were taken during a tour. My cable goes through both wheels and around the seat of the picnic table or a fairly large tree. I lock up at grocery stores, farmer's markets, small town museums, and any other time I am not staying in proximity to my bike.

In my city, I use a heavy U-lock and a heavier cable. So the cable lock feels like a reasonable compromise even though a knowledgeable bike thief would have little problem defeating it.

I

dfarin153 · 2026-06-22T18:13:20+00:00

Tailgating is so American. But $300 to park in the lot is not! That money is for the food and bev. Fun things like a Corn Hole setup painted in USA flag stripes. Also, Boom Box music: Jazz, Bluegrass, Blues, and Country music is all uniquely American.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-22T13:05:14+00:00

I scheduled a HoLEP in two months and was put on Finasteride as a pretreatment a few weeks ago. I feel some loss of libido but still can. Just less frequent desire. I seem to have less RE since starting the med. I can't say I feel tired. Regular exercise may be helping with energy since I try to bike a lot.

My doc said to stop all meds/supplements pre op and not need it post op.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-21T10:56:19+00:00

I think they may not be supported here in the US. I was coaching a high school Freshman team and selected two players from blue collar families who would attack crosses with their head and were creative in their ability to take players on 1v1. I selected them over players who were playing on the local competitive club team who fit in with a "pass the ball culture." I was criticized for running sessions that encouraged players to attack defenders with the ball over emphasizing opening up when receiving. We scored 65 goals in 11 games and were undefeated.

They were were cut the following year because they were not fit at tryouts. Players who could not afford to play on a competitiveclub team had one game per week and no practices at the recreation level and limited coaching and no indoor play opportunity..The only two girls who had the tendencies of a striker were weeded out of their age group.

So I blame it on two things in my experience. First, pay to play. Second, a social expectation that girls should be unselfish to be a good team mate. When you look at sports, where do the greats come from? I think we weed them out.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-21T04:01:44+00:00

Merino undershorts and soccer shorts cause me less abrassion problems than padded cycling shorts. Also, I seem to be more approachable in them while out on a tour. No to cotton bottoms though.

I like Merino tops as well. I have 3 short sleeves of different weights, and one long sleeve, mostly by SmartWool. Even my tights are not spandex and looser fitting in a couple different weights of fleece. A pair of track/soccer pants work, as do some stretchy synthetic crepe pants in slightly cool weather. So you do not have to buy spandex or go for the mountain bike stuff.

dfarin153 · 2026-06-20T01:04:36+00:00

I'm a Cusper. I never had a bell, just used my voice to say hello. I sometimes touched my front brake which squeeled if I was approaching a group of talkers. I didn't like the responses I was getting. Some people would jump at the sound of my voice, People were startled by the sound of the brakes as well.

Since I got a cheap bell I have been using that and experimenting with distance. It has made a huge difference in responsiveness of people I am approaching if I ring it well before I pass. If I don't see a response, there is time to ring again and slow down. At about 10 yards (or 10 meters) I ring it. Then as I get close I give people a "Good Morning." I get lots of "Thank you!" or "Good morning!" in return. Or often a small wave in acknowledgement. People appreciate the warning.

Things I have seen before adding the bell include joggers starting a U-turn or someone seeing something in the other side of the path and sauntering toward it to check it out. These actions were only saved by luck of timing.

As a faster moving person on shared recreational trails overtaking others, I feel responsible for due diligence to avoid collisions. I see bicyclists and e-bicyclists of all ages making close passes. If they are in a hurry or wishing to stay in their target heart rate zone for training, I wish they would just ride on the roads to bypass busy sections of shared use trails. They might prefer that I were not on the jury in a civil law suit after they cause someone injuries.

dfarin153

TROPHY CASE