Milwaukee by bike and Obama

I slept pretty well on the couch waking early but dozed back off to sleep for a while. Eric and his brother (who also stayed over last night) headed out for a bike ride leaving me to get ready and try to plan my day. It was raining when they got back so I played around online and searched for stuff to do in the city until it stopped and has started to dry out a bit (which doesn't take long when the temperature is so high).

I must have gone out just after 11am taking one of Eric's bikes he kindly said I could use. I had to ride on roads a fair bit but they did mainly feature specially designated cycle lanes. I rode down to Brady Street, a trendy spot then rode on into Downtown. As it was Labor Day everywhere seemed quiet with few businesses open. I did get lost a fair bit and seemed to cross the Milwaukee River several times. I was never lost enough to be worried but did start to get a bit frustrated as I had to turn back on myself and refer to my map a lot. I eventually found the Riverwalk through the Historic Third Ward which took me eastwards towards Lake Michigan.

I knew there was the Laborfest event on at Henry Maier Festival Park but it took me a while to find the entrance. It was free but you needed a ticket to get in and passed security as President Obama was due to speak so numbers were limited and no more tickets were being given out. People were coming out occasionally and passing tickets on and eventually I was lucky enough to pick one up. President Obama had already started his speech but I managed to catch about a half of it with the content clearly aimed at the Union members running the event being full of talk about jobs, benefits and wages. I managed to get a decent spot where I stood on a bench to see and it's quite something to be able to say I've seen a President speak in person.

It emptied out pretty quickly afterwards (once the motorcade had gone). I rode to Lakeshore State Park and around the area then up through Veterans Park roughly following the Oak Leaf Trail up the lake side. I rode past some of the beaches including the biggest, Bradford Beach then headed inland through the area around the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and to a supermarket a few blocks down to get something quick and easy for supper and some fruit to take out with me tomorrow.

I got back to the apartment just before the end of the football transfer window to see there had been very little action all day. I put my feet up, rested for a while and ate and I popped out this evening to grab a drink and a snack. Eric popped back briefly so we caught up and he's cool with me using the bike for the rest of my stay which will make getting around so easy. He's gone out again now and whilst it's quite odd to see so little of him, he's so laid back about how I use his apartment it's actually nice as it gives me plenty of space to relax uninterrupted.

President Obama, Laborfest

President Obama, Laborfest

Milwaukee from Lakeshore State Park