Last night, eight Poky Pedalers enjoyed a scenic bike ride followed by a pleasant picnic on the monthly Poky Pedaling Potluck Picnic. Despite the pre-picnic concerns about rain, it actually turned out to be a very beautiful evening.

From Goerke Park, we rode east and south through charming neighborhoods. After taking the Green Circle gravel path leading south from Iverson Park, we continued east on the non-motorized path along Industrial Park Dr. After a very short bit north on Hoover to cross the railroad tracks, we turned east into the region between Hoover and I-39 where Spectra Print is located.

Kirschling Park, the setting for last night’s Poky Pedaling Potluck Picnic

To me, this off-the-beaten-track area has always seemed a bit eerie to ride through. A very wide concrete road passes huge sparsely-filled parking lots and wide-open fields with the interstate just to the east. Despite the Spectra Print building, there is a feeling of vast emptiness riding through here. At the same time, it feels like more buildings are supposed to be present – where did they go?

I always get a Twilight Zone sensation when I ride through this region. I’m pretty sure few Poky Pedalers ever explore this area, so I was happy to expose our PPPP participants to this piece of Stevens Point.

At the other end of the concrete road, we passed into the Town of Hull where the scenery abruptly transforms into a lovely neighborhood street with nice homes and manicured lawns. And this is where we came to Kirschling Park, our mystery park picnic destination four miles from our start.

We unpacked our picnic goodies and settled in for a delightful feast. Clear skies, nice temperatures, and a gentle breeze encouraged us to linger in our shady spot.

Even though it is bordered by the interstate, Kirschling Park turned out to be a great picnic destination. The interstate itself provided an interesting visual background, similar to watching an ant farm.

Sated from our picnic, we packed everything up and headed back to Goerke Park. For our return loop, we travelled north along Country Club Dr – not the most comfortable place to ride, but a narrow paved shoulder on this quarter-mile section makes it passable – and then west on the non-motorized path along Main St by Iverson Park. We meandered our way to Prais St and ended our Bike Fun as we returned to Goerke Park.

More Poky Pedals are coming soon. The Upcoming Poky Pedals webpage and the 2015 Bike Fun Calendar provide all the info you need for making plans to share Bike Fun with PPSP.