Sporting Activities
Dave Nelsen
Payment Options for All Events (unless otherwise noted):1. Online Registration with Credit Card payment;
2. In person with completed Event Coupon and credit card or check;
3. By mail, send completed Event Coupon with check to Event Leader.
Labor Day Weekend Picnic Sept. 6
Whitnall Park
The Vagabonds will have Area No. 5 at Whitnall Park available for our annual picnic get-together on Sunday, Sept 6.
We have the area starting at 10 a.m. if you would like to set up a game or socialize.
The weekly bike ride will start at 12:30 p.m., followed by the picnic at 2 p.m. Parking is just across the road from Area 5, and restrooms are nearby.
Guests are invited. Please bring your own food and drink (adult beverages are allowed in the picnic area with our permit). Bring fruits or sweets
Sunday Bike Rides
Well, the end of biking season is upon us as the temperatures fall and the sun shines a little less every day. Fortunately, we have a great season of hiking in store. Hikes will start at the same time, gather at 1:30 p.m. and start 1:45 p.m., and will be followed by a group dinner.
Sept. 6 – Whitnall Park, 12:15 p.m
This ride will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We will meet at the parking lot for Picnic Area 5 at Whitnall Park, 5879 S. 92nd St., Hales Corners.The route is a round trip south on the Oak Leaf Trail and back for about 10 miles total on mostly flat, paved trails. We will complete the ride at about 2 p.m. Then we can join the Vagabond Labor Day Weekend picnic at Picnic Area 5.
Ride leader: Dave Nelsen, (414) 350-1433.
Sept. 13 – Bugline Trail/ Pollworth Park in Merton
We will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Pollworth Park, on White Tail Run Road, with its entrance near W286N7294 Black River Road in Merton (note that Google Maps may say Hartland).There is a porta potty at the park. We will ride on mostly flat, paved surfaces with a good amount of shade and turn around at Menomonee Park, which has restrooms, for a total of 19 miles.
Afterward, you have the option of meeting at Beer Snobs Ale & Eats, 122 Cottonwood Ave. in Hartland.
Ride Leader: Jim Shelbrock, (262) 442-2028. Sweep: Joann Jacobs, (262) 751-2693.
Sept. 20 – Veterans Memorial Park to Olive St, return on Oak Leaf Trail, 10 a.m.
This ride starts at 10 a.m. and is part of the Chris Kegel Memorial 10-mile Slow Roll.Register in advance at ChrisKegelFoundation.org. Scroll to Chris’ Slow Roll, click Learn More, click Register! Click the first box to get a free T-shirt, which you pick up when you arrive at the War Memorial parking lot, north of the Veterans Museum and Milwaukee Art Museum. If you have come before, register, click No Shirt, and continue through the registration process.
Park on Lincoln Memorial Drive, or you can donate $20 to the foundation and park in the parking lot, if you click on that option when you register.
The ride, shirt, beer, root beer and brat are free, sponsored by Wheel and Sprocket and Kegel’s Inn, both owned by Chris’ family. You can pay the costs or donate to provide the signs and tools along the Oak Leaf Trail, building trails and promoting biking.
If you have not participated before, arrive at 9 a.m. and meet Vagabond sweep Lorena Jacobson (239-851-4054), on the north end of the parking lot to be directed to the T-shirts. If you already have a Chris Kegel shirt, remember to wear it and arrive by 9:30. A Kegel family member will deliver a welcome speech, and there will be a group picture, by drone, of the huge group of bikers before the ride starts.
Wheel and Sprocket leads the ride and has people along the route to stop cars or bikes at intersections and keep us on the planned route. First-aid riders will patrol the ride. After the ride, we park our bikes on racks in the garage at the west end of the parking lot, get beer and brats, find a table with other Vags, and listen to live music.
Sept. 27 – Glacial Drumlin Trail, from Waukesha to Delafield, O/B
Meet at 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Glacial Drumlin Trail Head (Fox River Sanctuary-North), 810 W. College Ave., Waukesha. Bathrooms open.The ride starts at 1:45 and is 17 miles on a mostly asphalt path, with some crushed stone gradual inclines. The trail requires a state pass (daily $5, annual $25.). Food and drinks afterward at People’s Park Gastropub, 337 W. Main St., Waukesha. Indoor/outdoor seating available.
Ride Leader: Gary Kovach, (414) 712-3897. Sweep: Connie Sandell.
one–hour Midweek walks
Our one-hour walks are every Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon at parks and other locations. Meet at 10:50 a.m.
The organizer is Sherry Dobson, (262) 498-4067; she welcomes volunteers to lead a walk. All walks are geared for an hour of walking.
Lunch options will be discussed after each walk. If anyone has suggestions of new locations, please let me know. I have a few ideas but need to verify the easiest directions first. Hope to see you on our walks!
Sept. 3 – Al Stigler Nature Preserve
Meet at the Al Stigler Nature Preserve, 17400 W. Liberty Lane (off Calhoun Road) in New Berlin. Liberty Lane is a quarter-mile north of Cleveland Avenue. The parking lot is small, so we can park on the road. The paths are mostly mulch, but some are just dirt.
Sept. 10 – Fox River Trail
Meet at the start of the Fox River Trail along Sentry Drive in Waukesha, six blocks north of Sunset. The trail is not marked, but it is near a large yellow recycling plant. We will park on the street and walk west to Sunset Drive. All paths are paved..
Sept. 17 – McCarty Park
Meet in the parking lot at 8214 W. Cleveland Ave. in West Allis. All paths are paved..
Sept. 24 – Wimmer Wetlands
Wimmer Wetlands is a natural wetland area adjacent to Alan Kulwicki Park at 10777 W. Cold Spring Road in Greenfield, just off Hwy 100. It borders the Root River Parkway. The paths are paved.
State park admission
Vehicle admission passes for Wisconsin state parks are now valid for 12 months from the time of purchase (rather than just the remainder of the calendar year).The fee is $28 for a vehicle with a Wisconsin license plate, with a senior rate of $13 annual, or $3 daily. To buy a pass online, go to yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/wi
Have an Idea?
If you would like to do something this spring or summer that doesn’t involve participating in a sport, please share your ideas and help make it happen with your fellow Vagabonds.
We can’t do it without you! Contact Greg Larson at 414-588-4998 HTCGreg07@gmail.com.