(upbeat music)
- Hello everyone, welcome to our summer season
of In Wisconsin, I'm Patty Lowe.
This week, strap on your helmet and prepare for a bumpy ride.
This isn't a leisurely bike race,
and it lasts 24 hours.
Find out why this event is meant to go to the dogs
and come aboard for a trip down the Mississippi
in Grand Old Style.
All that plus we'll spend an afternoon
at a beloved joint in Wisconsin.
- Major funding for In Wisconsin is provided by the
people of a lion's energy who bring safe, reliable, and
environmentally friendly energy to keep homes, neighborhoods,
and life in Wisconsin running smoothly,
a lion's energy, offering energy saving
ideas on the win.
And by the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive
Cancer Center, providing cancer research,
education, and treatment, UW Comprehensive Cancer Center,
comprehensive as designated by the National Cancer Institute,
information available on the win.
(upbeat music)
For many, summer-like weather brings with it
the call of the open road, and some answer that call
by hopping on their bikes for a leisurely ride.
And then there are those who take bike riding a step further,
the type of folks who sign up for a wasa,
area mountain bike race.
It's 24 hours of hard pedaling, heart pumping,
grueling good fun.
(upbeat music)
It's the middle of the night, in the middle of summer,
in the middle of a forest.
(upbeat music)
More than 500 mountain bikers take to the trail
in the 24 hours of nine mile, Wisconsin's only 24 hour
endurance race.
It's a lot of fun, it's good exercise,
it gets your heart pumping, and so we have a blast.
It's the fifth year for this event,
held at nine mile county forest, New Yossam.
It's funny at night, the weirdest thing
for me is how quiet and how alone you
can feel out there.
At 25 minutes, we're out and see anybody.
You only have this little beam of light, you know,
and so you're pretty focused.
It's a nice big deer this afternoon,
you never know what you're gonna come on out there.
It definitely pushes your endurance limits,
and makes you think twice about why you're doing it
in the middle of the night when you'd rather be sleeping.
The racers ride through the night,
but the starting gun went off at 10 in the morning.
The race begins with a sprint to the bikes.
It's called a Le Mans start, named after the
Le Mans car race.
The function part of it is it spreads the riders out
before they get on their bikes and get out on the trail,
so it's a little bit safer too.
Some riders take on the 24 hour challenge solo,
stopping only when necessary, but most racers join a four
or five person relay team.
The team members take turns out on the trail.
24 hour racing is not for everybody,
but the competitors cite many reasons for saddling up.
I'm just a glutton for punishment.
It's mostly a team camaraderie type thing, it's fun.
Every year I'm pit crew and I'm sick of being on the sidelines
and said it's my turn.
I mean our families come up the kids and the wives
and we all hang out.
It's a good time.
The event can be fun for the entire family.
There's a communal atmosphere with a field full of tents,
lots of lawn chairs, and people of all ages
enjoying a day outdoors.
Some groups get into the spirit of the event
when choosing a team name.
Team full and why you call that?
'Cause we're all fools.
A light-headed crew.
'Cause that's how I feel about that I did the first lap,
a little light-headed.
The name of our team is Forest Hump.
And Armato is headl-forest, pedal.
And then there's the whistling pigs.
Race organizers have fun with names too.
There are 20 race categories, including the Clydesdale's.
A category teams can choose to enter
with members average 200 pounds or more.
And for a team with an average age over 45,
they've created a category called older than dirt.
These guys sometimes get the last laugh.
Oftentimes the older guys are the faster guys
because they're the really committed
and serious ones about it.
The race course weaves around curves
and over the hills of a densely wooded forest.
The trail features a few technical spots
with tight turns, trees too close, and rocks
that trip up riders.
Each lap is 15.6 miles long and takes between one
and two hours to ride.
It's a course for all abilities.
The better riders just ride it faster.
The beginning riders do it a little bit slower
and take their time if they're not comfortable
in a section, if you don't, they get off the bike and walk.
(upbeat music)
For the team competitors, there's plenty of
downtime between laps.
Time to cure on teammates, tune up bikes,
and after the sun sets, enjoy some camaraderie
around a campfire.
Relay team riders waiting for their turn
may be tired enough to catch some shut-eye,
but not everyone can forget the competition
and fall asleep.
Didn't sleep at all.
No, I tried, laid down a couple times.
It's surprising how fast time goes by.
You think about it, you're, you know,
we're turning about hour and 15 minute laps
and you think, oh, you've got three and a half hours
in between, but it goes by real fast.
The next morning, the tents come down
and sleeping bags are rolled away
and stalwart teammates head out for one last lap
before the clock rolls over the 24 hour mark.
Winners in all 20 categories are those
who complete the most number of laps
in the least amount of time.
It's exhausting, but race rules require each team
to have a rider cross the finish line after 24 hours,
so some riders simply wait near the finish line
for the final countdown.
After the race, riders head for home.
The cash rewards for winning are small.
The real rewards come from taking on this
24 hour challenge.
And while some of these bikers return year after year,
that decision is far away.
Right now, most are thinking about only one thing.
Sleep. Sleep, first I want to
shower if there's water left and then I'm going to
sleep for a very long time.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Wake up, wake up.
This year's 24 hours of nine mile bike race
takes place July 30 through the 31st.
Our next story is also about a race,
but instead of bicycles, you need four legs to qualify.
Last July, Cindy Brick and her dog, Ariba,
tried to nose out the competition
in ESPN's great outdoor games.
Madison, July 2004, ESPN's fifth annual great outdoor games.
Many of the events focused on individual strength and skill.
One was all about teamwork, speed, and communication.
Jump, jump, jump.
Higher. In the agility dog competition,
handlers guide their dogs through jumps,
turns, and obstacles.
16 teams nationwide were invited to compete
in the large dog agility category.
Cindy Brick of Stevens Point and her dog, Ariba,
were the only competitors from Wisconsin.
Good job.
Hey. Good job.
I guess I'm being built as a hometown favorite.
So I'm hoping that we can hold up our end of the bargain here.
So far, Ariba has held up her end of the bargain,
winning several national awards and certifications
by the American Kennel Club.
You're all very good.
Head down.
I knew when I got her that she would make a great agility dog.
By day, Brick works as a nurse.
In her free time, she trains dogs and holds clinics
at Camp Bandy and Amherst.
Border Collies are her favorite teammates.
You said?
Actually, Ariba is my third border collie.
They have such a zest for working with their people.
They have a lot of desire to please.
They're ambitious.
They're fast.
One of Ariba's greatest competitors is Misha.
Brick's second border collie.
The standard is for Misha and Ariba to come
in first or second.
And it's always a toss up of who's going to be in first.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, good girl.
Yay. Actually, what you're looking
at is a 10-year-old dog who does not know she's old.
And I refuse to believe it either because we've
been a partner for those 10 years.
And I'm not ready to have a retire.
Ariba is different from Brick's other border collies.
She's the princess.
She is very photogenic.
She loves to be photographed.
She's very self-confident.
[crying]
Teeter. Confident.
Enable to handle moves that don't come naturally to dogs.
In agility, probably the hardest thing to teach the
dog is the weave poles.
Simply because it's such a complex task.
But the teeter is probably the scariest for the dog because
they don't have any real life experience with that.
When something moves underneath their feet,
their first inclination is to ditch out and jump.
There's still one more thing that's different about Ariba.
Most dogs run quiet.
OK, let's go, go.
Ariba runs loud.
And she's really excited.
She's just like, hey, let's go.
Ariba. Ariba.
It's standard for handlers to walk through a course
prior to competition.
The dogs do not.
Communication between dog and handler is critical.
Come, get your pole.
Go, tunnel, go, tunnel.
Communication by sight and sound.
Pup, pup, pup, pup, pup, pup.
Woo, woo, let's go.
It's by body language.
So when she was coming out of the shoot, I was already
raising up my hand and making my turn, giving her the
indication that that's where we're going to go.
Welcome from Steven's Farm, Wisconsin.
July 2004 was Brick's first appearance at the
great outdoor games.
I guess I don't think I'll be nervous.
Usually when you get out on course, it's you and the dog
and I don't see the judge.
I don't hear the crowd.
In fact, you might think this is really hard to believe, but
a lot of times I don't hear ariba barking.
The full, entire focus is on your dog, your path,
where the equipment is.
You're like in the zone, so to speak.
In agility competition, the winner is determined
by combining the faults and times of each dog
during two rounds.
In round one, Ariba loses critical time when she almost
goes off course at the weave poles and hesitates before
jumping up to the table.
We could have done a whole lot better.
She's pretty wild.
And her first thing that she loves is the weave poles.
And I didn't catch her soon enough to tell her
it was a tunnel first.
The crowd gets a cool summer shower as the
final round gets underway.
This is the great outdoor games.
Ariba gets confused and goes off course, entering a jump
instead of the weave poles.
At the end of the competition, Brick and Ariba's
combined times leave them in 14th place overall.
I think Ariba was really hyped up with the crowd noise and
it was a little tough in a few spots.
We've got something more to go home and train with and
hopefully they'll invite us back next year.
Brick will continue competing with Ariba.
Dog training and competition has become more than just a hobby.
It's changed her life.
I was very, very much stick at home person.
I knew how to get from work to home, barely out of town.
And in order to enter in these dog shows, I had
to learn how to travel.
And found a multitude of people who were in the same kind
of sort of community, the dog people.
And meant friends across the nation and it opened up my life.
This year's ESPN Great Outdoor Games was held in Orlando.
Cindy Brick and Ariba did not compete this time around but
Brick tells us that Ariba is working on her advanced
obedience or utility dog degree.
We travel now to O'Clair.
That's where we sent Wisconsin Public Television videographer
and one of our state poets.
They spent the afternoon at an O'Clair landmark
called the Joint.
And as you'll see in this chapter of our poems about
places series, poet Bruce Taylor and videographer Chuck
France really captured the Joint's flavor.
You may meet at a salon, posse up at a saloon, party at the
pub, gather at a tavern or beer garden where you bring
the dog and kids.
Everybody goes to a bar but you always come to the Joint.
All breed bars are a lot of different bars in one.
This is Tuesday around 2pm.
You ought to be here when it's Friday night, around 11.
The place packed to the max everybody like dirty dog used
to say, starting to be somebody.
The big windows in the front of the bar can sometimes get you
all the outside whether you are in the mood for sometimes
the best thing to do with a beautiful day is to spend some
of it sitting in here looking out.
Story is a couple of guys super glued some
change to the sidewalk out front and made a day
of it until the guy from the bank came out
with a snow shovel.
You'll notice there's no longer a sign out front.
This has become the kind of place that doesn't need one.
And everybody has to have a third place.
You've got to have work, you've got to have home
and the other place.
Whether it's a saloon or a barber shop or a
styling salon or whatever.
That chair became sort of a hairy stomane.
He was from Old Claire as a kid.
He went down to Mississippi on a raft when he was 16 from here.
And then when he retired he would come here every
morning and sit in that chair.
And so that was Harry's chair.
This place is unimaginable without music.
The boss starts it off with whatever he's listening
to lately when he comes downstairs to clean
up at 7 a.m.
I call three people, boss, the guy that signs my checks,
Springsteen of course in Bill, who owns this place.
He calls me Taylor, last name only, just like prep school.
This place spins at different speeds around
the jukebox, 45 LP, compact disc, Odetta, Caruso,
Big Head Todd and the monsters, Doca the Bay,
Georgia, Georgia on my mind.
Everybody whose picture is up here played here.
This is not the kind of place they put just
anybody on the wall.
Okay, so maybe it's music and beer this place revolves around.
A shot and a beer here can be a mixed drink.
Tequila is okay if someone else is buying but mostly it's beer.
Rumor has it, if you drink too much from the tap closest to
the door you'll end up more drunk and more hungover.
The guys swear that.
They do.
You know what they say?
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how
to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink
beer all day long.
The bartenders had to keep saying no like beer
so often that the boss put up that neon sign
and now all they have to do is point contemptuously.
There are a lot of other rules here and it takes
your years to learn them.
So spitting in the sink, peanut shells must always
be thrown on the floor.
Only certain people can sit in the big chair.
The boss is always right.
Bottoms up, cheerio, cheers, down the hatch.
Here's looking at you, here's mud in your eye, here's to you.
Akheim, many happy returns, Nastrovia, Chindan,
Salute, Sant?, Skal, Skol.
Where are you going to get more welcome than that?
Where else are you going to find so many people concerned
about your health and your luck?
[Music]
I'll see you all know I'm all get you in my room.
[Music]
It's that time of the program when we reach
back into our Wisconsin Public Television video
archives for our next story.
This Wisconsin retro selection first aired in 1991 and
features a lazy trip down the Mississippi in a form of
transportation from years past.
[Music]
I feel like on the Delta Queen a caretaker of a legacy.
And just sitting out on deck you're lost in time,
you're suspended in time.
[Music]
Morning on the Mississippi, stirred to life by an
image from the past.
Delta Queen, keeping alive the golden age of steam with every
turn of her 44-ton paddle wheel.
[Music]
Today's steamboarding is a getaway but in the 1800s paddle
wheelers were the workhorses of the river carrying immigrants
to new lives, powering growth and development in
the heart of a young nation.
When Mark Twain became a pilot steamboats were a way of
life and everybody accepted them because there were
thousands of them at the time.
I think it's almost number one as far as helping settle there.
Ralph Dup? has spent 20 years collecting steamboat
photographs making the 36,000-piece collection at the
University of Wisconsin La Crosse, the world's largest.
Ed Hill is a curator.
Oh, it was a role almost beyond imagining now.
It was the major transportation route.
It was for a long while the only transportation
route, the Mississippi and its tributary system.
[Music]
Dad's lowest turn.
[Music]
This isn't the steamboating Mark Twain knew.
Before dredging and dams tamed the
Mississippi, there were rapids, rocks and hidden snags, deadly
perils around every bend.
[Music]
Steamboat pilots had to read the river and remember with no room
for error where dangers lie.
[Music]
These are skills still required to get a
steamboat pilot's license.
They put a blank piece of paper in front of me and they said
from memory draw the river.
And you draw the curvature of the river on a piece
of paper, maybe on a scale 1 inch to the mile.
And then you indicate everything on there from the sailing line
to where the buoys are, to where the individual navigation
lights are along the shore.
The name of every dock, whether it be a grain dock
or a cold dock, the location to the 10th of the mile of
every underwater pipeline.
Also the vertical and horizontal clearances of
every bridge you go under.
[Music]
The Delta Queen's compound steam engines run on fuel oil
and are monitored continuously, smooth, safe power.
It wasn't boiler problems or river hazards that
ended the steamboating era.
It was progress.
And the internal combustion engine.
And it was a far more efficient engine and it lent itself
to the tow boat and the barge system that we see now.
As steamboats lost cargo and passenger business,
they began to be used for short pleasure trips,
evenings of music and dance.
[Music]
Today there's only two overnight river boats, Delta Queen
and the Mississippi Queen.
With these being the only two left, I figured that I'm a
very fortunate individual that I can be here and through
my experience have a lot of respect for the river, but
truly appreciate the Delta Queen a very historic vessel.
The Delta Queen first carried passengers on the
Sacramento River in 1926.
During World War II she was painted, drab gray and
ferried soldiers to ocean vessels in San Francisco Bay.
After the war, a 5,000 mile journey through the Panama
Canal brought the Delta Queen up the Mississippi and Ohio
rivers, where she was restored and still steams today.
A national historic landmark, uniting new generations with
America's steamboating heritage.
[Music]
Well, the Delta Queen, she represents all the steamboats
of the past and it's a very lucky situation for all
of us that the Delta Queen survived in the modern times
and I'm sure glad she's here.
[Music]
Since that story first aired, the Delta Queen has
marked her 75th anniversary and continues to operate
along the Mississippi.
That's our program this week.
Thanks to you for joining us and thanks to Ulbrich
Botanical Gardens in Madison for hosting us this week.
We leave you with a look at Why a Losing State Park in Grant
County. For in Wisconsin, I'm Patty Lo.
See you next time.
[Music]
Major funding for in Wisconsin is provided by the people of
a lion's energy who bring safe, reliable and environmentally
friendly energy to keep homes, neighborhoods and life in
Wisconsin running smoothly, a lion's energy, offering
energy saving ideas on the web.
And by the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive
Cancer Center providing cancer research, education and
treatment, UW Comprehensive Cancer Center, comprehensive
as designated by the National Cancer Institute, information
available on the web.
[Music]