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Full Spectrum Cycling
Full Spectrum Cycling #117 – Seeley Dave and Life Above 8
Jun 18, 2021
Full Spectrum Cycling #117 – Seeley Dave and Life Above 8
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Transcript
0:00
[upbeat rock music] Kind of feel like I want to let that go a little longer today, but- I think- I think Daikaiju should cover that song for us.
0:24
[sighs] Very sound plan. All action, go. Go. Go. Would, would not that be the baddest-ass thing in the world- That would be the baddest thing... if Daikaiju would do a cover of our very...
0:34
So it's the thing that comes on the Roadcaster, like, it's the intro tune. We have never- Change... actually had our own music, [laughs] so. Uh, Daikaiju- It has been threatened...
0:46
has not updated their website since March of last year, and I'm, I'm wondering, hopefully, if they get back on the road again. Yes. Yes. 'Cause okay, so- A slight nudge. I think- Slight nudge... I'm, I'm, I'm- Hmm...
1:00
guessing Sealey Dave is calling, calling in today, but before he does, I just wanted to say, like,
1:07
we're trying to get Daikaiju to do this thing we're gonna do up there in Bayfield, not even Sawyer County, but Bayfield, where it's sandiest all get out. Mm. And he wants to have Daikaiju do the post-race
1:23
rock- [laughs] You know, the rock and roll post-race party. Tell me when. And I'm like, this is probably the best idea I've heard in, I don't know- Forever... a year and a half probably. I don't know. Just tell me when.
1:33
Um, it's gonna be a pretty cool thing. I, I... W- We'll talk- Daikaiju... we'll, we'll talk to Dave about the actual idea, I think. But, uh, anyway, hi, everybody.
1:45
Uh, it's, uh, show number 117, the show after, um, 116 that we did last week. Live. Which was live. Live. I don't know, I actually listened to that show and it was- Wasn't bad... it was pretty good.
1:55
I listened to it too, and- No, it was actually pretty good. We, we might, you know, we might have a thing. I don't know. Hmm. Maybe we got something going on, I have no idea.
2:03
Uh, you know, all the time now we're back in the studio here in the soon-to-be vacated premises of the Everyday Cycle's, uh- [laughs] I think Mike's going for it...
2:13
the first, the first iteration, but we're gonna go get another thing going right up the street. 2.0. So don't worry about it. 2- 2.0... 2.0. So, uh, with me, as always, is JK. Hello. And T-Burger. Hello.
2:28
I was a little bummed to hear that you're, like, stressing about this whole house thing. I'm- I would like to, you know- At least stressing about this house thing...
2:39
offer some sort of, like, if I can help you in any way at all, and if any of our listener could help you at all, I would encourage them to step forward and help Tony out of his conundrum-dum- It's just a nightmare...
2:53
drum. But we'll see. Dum. Drum. How many... [laughs] Um. The conundrum doldrum. Yeah, the doldrums of the conundrum. Uh- Yeah, it'll get there one day. With the little bitty specs.
3:04
Well, you know, I think there's a- Speckstrum... there's y- the light at the end of the tunnel might be a little bit far away. But like, like when JK freaked out in the- [laughs]... you know, underneath the,
3:15
underneath State Fair Park that one time, there was at least a little light at the end of the tunnel. Yes. There was. Very little.
3:22
[laughs] Very little, but, but at least- At least he had a, at least he had something to focus on. That was the o- Have you ever done- Yeah...
3:25
Speaking of light at the end of the tunnel, have you ever- That was, that was the one thing that cracked through- Yeah... the claustrophobia- Yeah... and the, uh, exercised induced accelerated heart rate.
3:35
[laughs] Have you ever done the Sparta Elroy Tunnel where it turns? So there's a good part of it- Was that the one with the water in the middle? Yeah, yeah. That's great. I love that.
3:42
I did that, I think, when I was in freaking grade school. It's dark. And it may have, yeah, it may have, uh- Left an impression... I think so. That may, we may have origin story for that imprint. Yeah, yeah. Nay.
3:55
I will admit, the first time I went to that, I'm like- [laughs]... "Whoa. They let people ride through this?" [laughs] I'm like, "This is cool." Well, but you don't ride. You're supposed to walk. Right. Right.
4:03
To be fair. Right. Right, right. That said, who wouldn't ride through there? [laughs] It's completely- Especially with lights now... stupid not to ride through there... modern, you know, modern lights are no big deal.
4:13
Er, my physical gerd. Your gerd? Ah. Thank God. You know what I say? I say, you know what I say? Welcome caller. I say [laughs]... Is it welcome? Welcome to the radio program caller. Who do we have on the line?
4:28
Put the needle on the record. Oh, wait, I have to push the button though. Put the needle on the record. Hey, everybody. Hey, everybody. I think I pushed the button. Hello, caller. Who do we have on the line? Okay.
4:40
Am I, am, am I on now? [laughs] That's what she said. [laughs] Sounds like Sealey Dave. Hey, guys. It's, it's Sealey Dave. Oh, hey. Hello, Sealey Dave.
4:51
He's, he's, uh, he's not gonna say anything tonight, but Cowboy's sitting next to me too, so. Oh. I had such a good picture of Cowboy when we were up, when we were out boating last weekend on the- You did. Yeah.
5:02
That was a nice, that was a nice shot, yeah. Yeah, he... Well, he's a good subject, so. Yeah, he's not... He's kinda hard to take a bad picture of.
5:08
[laughs] So we, so, uh, so Sealey Dave and I were up in, in the Northwoods where he gets to stay, and I had to leave, and I was like- [laughs]... "God, I'm, I really do not wanna go back [laughs] to Milwaukee right now.
5:19
I wanna stay up here all the time." But, uh, we were on, um, Person Lake, which is a very interesting name.
5:27
[laughs] And we were on a pontoon boat cruising around in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday on a beautiful day. It was like 75 degrees. Wait, wait, wait, wait.
5:35
Guess how many other boats were on the lake at that time? Zero? Zero- You're kidding... boats on the lake. It was like you gotta be kidding me. Was, is this a dry county or something? There was- I don't think so.
5:47
'Cause you're supposed to have beer. As far as I know. [laughs] It, it, it- I mean, beer and boating- It is, it is not... weekend. Why would you not be on a lake? Was it before a pontoon happy hour?
5:56
'Cause I know those are a thing. Well, it was probably a little earlier- Was it a private lake?... in the... No, it was like- Five or six o'clock in the PM Huh, that would be nice. and the zone and stuff.
6:03
It's not a private lake, right? It is- Yeah... it's got a public launch? No, there's peoples on it. Huh.
6:07
And w- actually, we saw somebody dropping a boat in right when we were getting back to his buddy's house, but- Well, they was going fishing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, thanks for the weekend, Dave. I really,
6:18
unfortunately, wanna do that every single weekend all the time. [laughs] Well, yeah, you're welcome to come on up and visit any time.
6:28
Of course, our little rental place is, is booked a lot, but, you know, honestly, that Lenroot Lodge right down the road by the sawmill is, is a pretty darn nice place, and it's, it's not too spendy either, so.
6:38
Yeah, that I've, I've stayed there several times. That is also... So this is in Celie, Wisconsin, folks. That's why Celie Dave is talking to us, but... And he has the most beautiful Airbnb place.
6:49
So that said, being booked up on weekends through October, but there are some midweek stuff still up there. Yeah, yeah.
6:55
So, uh, I would, I, there's absolutely no way that if you're a silent sports participant of any ilk, whether it's, uh, canoeing or paddleboarding or bike riding or whatever, that this would not be a place you would wanna go check out.
7:10
It's, i- it just, I mean, I, I'm, I, I'm completely flabbergasted, would, might be the word, that you lucked into this place. [laughs] Yeah.
7:21
Well, we d- we didn't a- actually, you know, I mean, with the three septic systems and two boilers and all the other sort of stuff, it wasn't exactly what, what we were looking for, but it turns out it was exactly what we wanted.
7:35
[laughs] Yeah. Un- Right... unbeknownst to you- We just knew it when we were looking. [laughs] Unbeknownst to you, uh, the, the universe made what you needed available to you, and- Exactly...
7:43
you were there to- Exactly... you were there to actually kind of- [laughs]... like, take advantage or cash in. Not, you know, uh- Yeah... whatever. I'm just saying.
7:51
It c- And the cosmic ballet- It could not have been a better thing... carries on. No. I- it's just like... And you and Liz- Yeah... are wonderful hosts. No, I agree.
7:57
Notwithstanding that we're already friends- Thank you... but I really think that both of you would be wonderful hosts to anyone that shows up, so.
8:05
There will be a link in the show notes, um, if you would like to check out what Celie Dave has to offer 'cause it, it really is, bar none, one of the coolest places I've ever been. Nice. Cool. Well, thanks, Greg.
8:18
Yeah, and I, I'm glad you were able to come up, and I, and I really appreciate your, uh, your willingness to, to stick with the photographer guy who's like, "The reason why we're doing this bike ride is for a photograph."
8:32
[laughs] "We're having fun," um, and, and go back to Moquah and, and make sure we got into the, the, the plywood palace. Well, yeah.
8:41
You'd, you'd been there like five times before or something, and we fi- and, you know, and it, we did our ride.
8:46
We did a little bit of scouting and trying to find which ATV trails fit to what, and then we went back there, and it still wasn't open, and the five ladies at the lovely- [laughs] Right... St- St.
8:56
Paul's Thrift Store there in Moquah were like, "Oh, no. He usually shows up about the time we're leaving," and blah, blah, blah.
9:03
And then we went and had an awesome, oh my God, that, that, that, that Tap Shack in Delta wa- just what a great... Um, uh, they had, well, ribs and chicken jerk. Like jerk ribs- Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm... jerk chicken.
9:17
Oh my God, was that good. And then we had to drive another half hour back to Moquah to actually go there, but it was finally open, and it was awesome. [laughs] Yeah, it was fun.
9:29
Yeah, so I appreciate your willingness to, to do all that traipsing around just to try to get a, a couple of photographs at the, at that Moquah bar.
9:37
Uh, but hey, wa- as you said, any chance you get to like waste some time, uh, waiting at the, at the Delta Diner or their Tap Sh- their Earthrider Tap Shack with the, the jerk, you know, food that they make is, it's, it's definitely...
9:55
[laughs] It's, it's really not suffering, is it? No, I'm still trying to figure out what the actual, the sauce was, 'cause I don't even know if I could describe what is in that sauce, but it was so good.
10:06
It, it, you know, it's not like a typical- Sure, yeah. It was good... it's not red. It's, it's not a red barbecue sauce. And like, it's more like spruce and Northwood stuff up in there.
10:15
I don't know what was in it, but it was- Well, I, I think it does have, uh, some of the traditional, uh...
10:19
They, their jerk does have a lot of the traditional stuff like, you know, allspice and the weird things that make jerk a different sort of sauce.
10:27
And then it, it, they do play with, you know, the habaneros or, or ghost peppers on, on some of the stuff, but they keep the, they keep the heat pretty mild up here in the Northwoods. We- Yeah...
10:38
we don't, uh- I feel that... most, the, the palates are a little tamer. They're a little tame up here. But, but you can taste it, so it's got some of that flavor, um, which I really, really appreciate, and...
10:50
But yeah, they, they do a, they do a really nice job there at, at that Delta Diner Tap Shack. Yeah, I, I poorly executed making jerk pork chops last night, and not my, not my best recipe.
11:01
But I was, I had this scratching itch, and now that you're talking about jerk, r- r- r- Oh, God, it was good... I want in, it's, mm, I want good jerk, not my crap jerk.
11:08
[laughs] So one of the things, one of the things, uh, Celie Dave and I talked about when we were up there is our, I think it's all of our favorite bands, right, Daikaiju? Oh. Are you- And I, so- Yeah...
11:19
but I had not looked at their website, you know, through the whole pandemic, and I kinda feel bad about that.
11:25
But they basically have not updated it since then, and I'm wondering when are these guys going back on tour, and are they gonna be at the Valhalla Beach party, which is, you know, probably next year. But, um,
11:38
Celie Dave is making a kickass event up there in the Bayfield Peninsula, and I, you give us a little kind of like, um, overview of what you're kinda planning 'cause I, we, what did we do, ride 10 miles or something?
11:53
[laughs] I'm like, yeah, I'm already tired. Yeah, well, we- But it's gonna be great. [laughs] Yeah.
11:58
Um, so the Bayfield Peninsula, um, whe- when I first came up to, uh, the Northwoods looking to scout a route for the Tour de Chequamegon, I started in, in, um- Uh, the Bayfield Peninsula, uh, uh, because it's just kinda empty and there's all kinds of like, you know, unimproved forest roads that, that run through the peninsula.
12:20
And I and my, uh, writing partner, Todd Kalkowski, were, uh... He perhaps more than I, were, uh, shocked to find that the vast majority of those, those roads, quote, unquote, are not gravel, they are sand.
12:34
The Bayfield Peninsula is just a giant sandy peninsula. So, um, so that didn't turn out for the Tour de Chequamegon, and we moved that further south in the Chequamegon Forest.
12:45
But, um, but what stuck in my mind when we were doing this ride was that I c- I could ride 100 miles up here and never like leave sand or at least like sandy gravel.
13:00
And we were initially doing it on our, our gravel bikes, you know, with 42 tires, 42C tires and stuff like that.
13:07
And, and, you know, they were tubeless so we could run them at 8 psi or whatever, but even still there were a lot of sections that we just had to walk 'cause the sand was so soft and the, the hills were so steep.
13:18
And I thought, "Well, you know what? It'd be a great place for a fat bike race, and a fat bike race where the fat bikes actually have an advantage all s- all year round." Yeah, for sure.
13:29
So we could do like a sh- a, a shoulder season fat, epic-level fat bike race up in the Bayfield Peninsula.
13:38
And, and you could run, you could come up and you could try your 42s or you could ride at 2.25s or you could do 2.6s or even ride a plus bike, and everyone's gonna have slightly different, you know, speed factors, uh, depending on what segments you're doing.
13:54
But I promise you, unless you bring an actual 3.8 tire or wider, there are gonna be sections you're walking. Absolutely. And, and- Yeah, for sure. I mean, and just in that little stretch we did, I... It was- Right...
14:07
and, and especially going downhill, I was like, "I'm glad I'm on a fat bike," because there's a lot of places where you might have washed out and bailed because, you know, it just- Yeah...
14:17
that, they, they, they just- Even on a fat bike, the, the key to those really deep, soft, sandy downhills is just laying your weight way back behind the saddle and keeping the front wheel completely unweighted almost just, just so the front really floats.
14:33
'Cause if you, if you weight that front wheel too much, even with a 3.8 or, or, or 4.8-inch tire, it, it's gonna dig into that soft sand and, and you'll start washing out.
14:44
Well, what I liked about it was it, some, uh, it, most of what we were riding, and I don't know if the entire route is, but it's an ATV route, and those guys roost like corners.
14:53
So some of those corners had like four-foot berms on them. Nice. [laughs] And if you, if you plan your line right and you're up on the top of the berm and you're, you know, it's just like, it... I don't know.
15:04
It was just, it was really cool, I think. Uh, ev- anybody- Yeah... does, uh, it, it is in the middle of nowhere, um, but there is one- It is.
15:12
So it- There is one thing that everybody needs to see up there, the Plywood Palace. Please tell us about- Right... the Plywood Palace. [laughs] Well, yeah. So the, the,
15:21
the area, yeah, the bar is super cool and it's like this tiny little bar that's literally made out of plywood and it's got this- You know, like OSB-... homemade wood stove... and plywood and stuff.
15:30
[laughs] It's just really- Right... yeah, right. Homemade wood, heated in the winter by this homemade wood stove made out of a couple of barrels and s- and some stuff like that.
15:39
And, but there's, there's a- I, I was surprised to learn that it had been there since 1951. Wow.
15:45
Actually, that, that picture, if you look at those photos that I sent you, there, there's a photograph of the original Mocha Blanc. Maybe not that exact same one.
15:54
Maybe the original one burned down because it also had a janky- [laughs]... wood stove heater. Right. [laughs] Um, but that, that one photo was from 1947, so I know- Oh, wow. Okay...
16:04
the bar existed in that spot prior to that.
16:06
But I bet it like burnt down and then somebody just put up that, that OSB thing, 'cause OSB hasn't even been around that long, so, um, but yeah, it's, it's got a Vikings hall of, wall of shame- Yeah, the Queens...
16:20
where, with a whole bunch of news- Yeah. [laughs]... newsprint. Did you talk about that already? No, not at all bec- because Ponder- Oh... can we get him back or, I don't know.
16:29
But some of the stuff was just like super hilarious if you're a Packers fan. I'm just... [laughs] Yeah.
16:37
I, w- Well, if, uh, Greg, I, I, I'm sure you probably took some pics, and I, I shared some with you, so if you wanna put them up on the show notes so listeners- Oh, absolutely...
16:44
can take a look and see what we're talking about. Hey, any, anybody- It's actually on Facebook... any, any photographs are better than ones I take, for sure. It's actually on Facebook though.
16:52
Uh, I don't know that the owner created the Facebook page. [laughs] Yeah. I highly doubt it, but, um, but there is a Plywood Palace, um, Facebook page if people wanna look. There's some photos there as well.
17:04
So, um, yeah, it was pretty cool.
17:06
You know, there's lots of ha- there's markers, Sharpies all over the place, so the people that arrive there get to sort of self-decorate the place, and as, as such, there's lots of, uh, uh... Perhaps this is...
17:21
I don't wanna totally stereotype, but given it's mostly an ATV, UTV, snowmobile, uh, bar, uh, it, there, there was a lot of, uh, conservative, uh, pro-Trump scribblings around mixed in with the random other scribblings.
17:36
Um, and then of course there's the Vikings wall of shame. But I honestly believe that whether you're a Democrat or even a Vikings fan, I think you're pretty much welcome. [laughs] Uh, you're c- Yeah...
17:48
you're still pretty welcome at- I'm pretty sure... at the Plywood Palace. Right? I mean, like there- [laughs]... there was enough Bart S- You don't have to be afraid going in...
17:54
there were enough, there were enough Bart Simpson, um, you know, like scribblings that I thought, "Well, I, I kinda- Right... I kinda fit in here," so, and, um- Right. And, and I think-...
18:02
you know, to be fair, I'm not sure if the- To be fair... d- do you think, do you think the guy that we saw was the owner of the bar? 'Cause I, you know, w- uh, he was- I, I-...
18:12
he was a little gruff right off the bat, but then I started talking to him about stuff, just asking about like the, the history of the bar and this and that, and he, he kinda perked up and he was like, you know, he, he's just kind of an old...
18:23
He's probably, you know, uh-... closing in on 70, I would think. Maybe late 60s or whatever, but- I think he was in his, I think he was in his 70s, but, um- Yeah, could be.
18:32
But he- Yeah, I, I'm a- But he really did perk up, um, when you, when you start talking about his place and stuff, and it's like, you know, he lives right down the road- Right...
18:39
from the joint and, uh, it's like, he's- Right... I, I think that, I don't know how long he's been doing it. That would've been something to ask him. But, uh, we'll, we'll do that during the- Well-...
18:49
during the, the- Next, next time... Valhalla beach party next, you know, uh, decade or two.
18:52
Yeah, and the reason why I'm calling it Valhalla Beach Party is because, uh, on the route is the Valhalla Recreation Area, which is a little northeast of Moquah.
19:01
Um, and, uh, there's also a pretty cool place to go up there, it's, it's much more modern, um, [laughs] um, called, uh, the Valhalla Pub & Grill, and, uh, that would be on the route sort of too.
19:12
So, so I like the name, the Valhalla Recreation Area, and it's all the sandy stuff. Um, and why not, like, just throw, like, some sort of epic level fat bike race, uh, well before the snow falls or after the snow melts?
19:28
I think, I think maybe it'd be better to do it in the, the fall. Um- Like right before deer hunting season... and, uh- Like maybe early November or something. Yeah. Yeah, something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, wait.
19:37
Yeah. Wait. Okay, wait. I mean, if you're- Okay, wait. [bell ringing] Uh-oh. Oh. We j- we just got to the top of the hill. Right, top of the hill.
19:43
Uh, I don't know where you're at right now, but- Did we make it to that top of the hill that I had to try riding five times before I made it there? [laughs] No, but yeah, because I, yeah, it was like- No, but yeah. Yeah.
19:52
Oh, no... take, take, take some pictures of me riding up this hill. I'm like, [laughs] yeah, well, you know, that was a, that was a, a very, I mean, going, so we...
20:00
Well, actually, I walked it because it was a steep-ass hill, but- [laughs]... you rode it the first time we went up it, and then like, and then you [laughs]
20:08
I- So we are- But then it took me like five times with pho- for photos. [laughs] Yeah. So we're- I kept failing. [laughs] So we're drinking dad beer here today. We're drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.
20:17
I don't know what, uh- Oh, uh, uh, it's enjoyable... oh, I don't know what you're, if you would- I am not drinking... Well, I'm drinking a modern version of, of, a modern Germanic version of dad beer.
20:27
I'm drinking Bent Paddle Hefeweizen- Oh... which is a, a pretty tasty 5%, you know, um, pros- but you can, you can say pros it with this, um, and, and feel pretty, pretty confident anybody would, would like it.
20:42
It, it, it's a, it maybe not as much in my mind like a true German Hefeweizen, but it's more, to me, it tastes more like, uh, kinda like a Czechvar or a Pilsner Urquell or something like that. Mm.
20:54
That, it's got a little bit- Did I do that?... more of that sort of flavor to me. That's Urkel.
21:00
That's- Uh, one thing, one thing you guys reminded me of, you and, and, and, and your lovely wife, Liz, is that the Northwoods are all about, like, old fashions and Manhattans, 'cause I hadn't [laughs] really even remembered those for a while.
21:13
I'm like, "Oh, yeah. They, they still do that," and it's not even a supper club up there. [laughs] No, no, it's everywhere. [laughs] It was also a supper club. Oh, yeah.
21:22
Yeah, a little, a little- No, that's, that's our- A little bullet rye up- That's our drink of choice... like a bullet rye Manhattan. Yeah? Or some such. And then, uh, the old fashion. Yeah.
21:31
And I, I never really- Manhattans and old fashion... yeah, I never really got the old fashion thing, but I can, the Manhattan, I get it. But, you know, whatever. I'm just gonna put rye in a glass and- Rye...
21:42
maybe a little bit of ice and drink it. I'm not gonna put all that other bullshittery in there. Right. But, uh- That's... But yeah, it w- I mean, that's what the Northwoods- Well-... are all about, right?
21:51
It's like every supper club up there does [laughs] their own version of an old fashion. And, you know, they- They do... they, but they do it right too. It's pretty, pretty good.
21:58
They don't just, they don't just, like, fake it. They have- Right... you know, they have the whole, they, what do they muddle? What is that called? Yeah. Muddle. They're muddling. Muddle things and such.
22:08
Yep, they're muddling. It was good. That was great. Yeah, it was, it was just like, reminded me why we, we live in Wisconsin at some point [laughs] along that whole thing. There's lots of reason to live in Wisconsin.
22:19
Exactly. Well, hey, guys, uh, it was great being on the show. Greg, it was awesome seeing you.
22:26
Uh, you know, as you said, anybody else that's interested in popping up, um, come, uh, come, uh, uh, you know, check out our, our Airbnb. You got, I guess you're gonna put the link on, uh- Yeah, I will.
22:37
It's, it's under-... the thing. Otherwise, stay at the- It's kinda ridiculously long- I love the Lenroot Lodge in Seelye... but I will put it on there. Yeah.
22:43
Yeah, the Lenroot Lodge in Seelye, and it's old school, so to book a room, you have to call the Sawmill Saloon, and somebody answers behind the bar, and they write your name and credit card number down- [laughs]...
22:53
in a book behind the- Yeah... behind the bar. Yeah. And I think it- It's just old school... I think it just sits there forever, but [laughs] Somebody might throw a beer on there now and again, but that's okay. Yeah.
23:04
All right. Yeah. All right, Dave. It was, it was great being up there. I, I'm looking forward to coming up there way sooner than later because it's really fun. Yeah.
23:13
Hey, I just heard of, I just, just before I go, quick, uh, I just got a call this morning from, uh, Phil Van Valstenberg, AKA Pee Wee. Pee Wee. Uh, I think you guys- Pee Wee...
23:23
got a, a ride that you're doing coming up that, uh, Pee Wee started. Yeah, we're doing. And, um- Well, actually, we have two of them. What- We got the Fat Tire Tour coming up tomorrow,
23:35
being Saturday, and then we have Steel is Real on August 28th. So we have a, we have a couple of Pee Wee inspired rides. Right, that's what I thought. Now, to be fair- Right.
23:48
So, so- Again, to be fair, not really sure what's happening with the Fat Tire Tour, 'cause the guy that does it doesn't even live in Milwaukee, but- Right...
23:58
we're gonna go ahead- No, but he's in- We're, we're gonna go ahead and do a good thing- Yeah... and it'll be great. Yeah.
24:04
Uh, Jason, Jason has known Pee Wee for a really long time as well, and so I think he's a good guy to carry that tradition on.
24:12
And, but, um, so anyway, so, so Phil called me this morning to let me know that the city of Ca- or the village of Cambridge, which is where he's from, I think he lives in Madison now, but he used to live in Cambridge, um- It's just outside Madison.
24:29
Right And- That's where our, that's where our-... I was created-... good NASCAR driver, uh, what's, what's his name? Dick Trickle? No, not Dick Trickle. Oh. That's what State Fair Park and NASCAR have in common.
24:39
Dick Trickle. Whatever. Or, or VD, whatever. Well, well anyway, they, the village of Cambridge is, uh, officially approved building a connector trail from Cambridge to the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Nice.
24:52
And they are going to name that trail after Phil Van Valkenburg. Oh, man. And, um- Great. Um, that is, that- So far, August 1st is the date for the official party or naming ceremony or whatever they're gonna do. Sweet.
25:07
Um, but that, that could, that date could change, but I thought that was pretty cool that Phil's actually gonna get a trail named after him. Absolutely. That's awesome.
25:15
And, and before you go, relate the other Phil Van Valkenburg, um, connection to where you're living right now with- Ah... with his car having crapped out up there. [laughs] Right.
25:27
So my, my neighborhood is, is, um, they're perhaps the first Seelye-like development neighborhood, you know?
25:36
Where, uh, where somebody bought up a bunch of property and then decided to develop it by, you know, subdividing it and putting a bunch of houses on it. The guy that did that was Gary Penman.
25:47
Um, and he, he, uh, he, he moved a fish hatchery building from our fish, Camba fish hatchery trails.
25:57
He cut it up into, like, five pieces with a chainsaw and hauled it out on a giant trailer, put that together back here, and lived in that. Then moved a little log cabin here for his brother Mark. That's what we live in.
26:10
Of course, it's been added onto a whole bunch of times, like an Escher drawing. Um, but, uh- Or a hobbit house... and then, um... Yeah, or a hobbit house.
26:19
And then what he did next was he, he built a whole bunch of ski trails through the neighborhood. He, he cut the trails.
26:29
He, you know, where the trails, where the hills were too steep, he, he, you know, bulldozed them and, and leveled them out a little bit. They're still incredibly steep, too steep for me to ski.
26:37
[laughs] I'm not that good yet.
26:38
But, um, and built, you know, perhaps a 5K network of ski trails through the neighborhood, and then after that, he divided up the property around those ski trails and to, to build and to sell off and, and build houses on.
26:57
The next thing he did was he built a sawmill on the property, and to power the sawmill, he used Phil Van Valkenburg's old r- AMC Rebel engine. Come on.
27:10
Phil, at the time, was the marketing director for the Telemark Lodge, and he was driving around in this ancient AMC Rebel that the clutch kept going out on, so he called it his, his Rebel without a clutch.
27:23
And, and the final time when the clutch went out and it just died somewhere, I guess Phil, uh, told Gary, he said, "Hey, you can just have that thing and if you want it."
27:33
And so Gary, in his sort of Northwoods, you know, uh, uh, en- entrepreneuriale ingenuity, went and grabbed Phil's car, dragged it back to his sawmill, took the engine out, and used Phil's engine to power his sawmill, that he then went on to use to build a whole bunch of houses around here, as well as the Sawmill Saloon and, and the Lenart Lodge and stuff like that.
27:57
Damn. That's just, it, it's like, can you... You couldn't make that story up, it's so great. I mean, it just- [laughs] No, you couldn't make it. That is just incredible. No. Yeah. All right.
28:09
So, so that's, that's the- That's-... that's the Pee-Wee connection to my neighborhood. Well, we're, we're Pee-Wee connecting tomorrow on the Fat Tire Tour and I, I... Hopefully we see him on it, but, uh- We'll see...
28:20
we'll see. Seelye Dave, thanks for being- Yep. All right, guys... thanks for being the better part of our show, just like always, and, uh, I hope we- You bet... we will talk to you again soon. Thanks for having me.
28:30
All right. Bye. You bet. Thanks for having me, guys. Bye to you. Bye. Bye. Seelye Dave, everyone.
28:38
God, he always has, I mean, this Phil Van Valkenburg thing is just like, that guy has- That's, that's- He's touched so much about cycling around Wisconsin and, I mean, for years and years and years and years, he did trips over to the Tour de France, too.
28:52
So he'd take, you know, a handful of people over to France and show them. Like, let's go ride Alpe d'Huez before- This is what, and-... the actual race goes through.
29:02
Let's- He would scour antique stores- This is what they do... and such- Yeah, yeah... for medals. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We, in fact- To give medals out in, for his events here in Milwaukee.
29:10
Yeah, I think for, for Steel- It's incredible... for Steel Is Real, I think we still have a couple of those old medals- Yeah...
29:15
that we might give away this year, since Steel Is Real might actually be a real thing this year. Yeah. So yeah. Steel Is Steel. I mean, you know, uh, that's... Last year was good. I lost my backpack for a little while.
29:25
[laughs] I think I found it. You did find it. I might have found it. Thank God. All right, everybody.
29:30
Uh, Seelye Dave, uh, JK, Tony, myself, thank you very much for listening and, uh, if you wanna come back next week, nobody's gonna say don't do it. Until then. I think I gotta push a button or something. Just push.
29:43
Ride your bicycle and we love you. Right? [upbeat music] [laughs] That was fucking creepy, dude.
29:52
[upbeat music]
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