Riding to Ripon

On Thursday (July 26), Ric Damm, cycling coach for Ripon College, rode his bike from Ripon to Portage and met me riding the opposite direction from Reedsburg.

I was graduated from Ripon in 1965 and thought it would be fun to return 47 years later by bicycle! I contacted the college about my ride for NAMI and Ric was kind enough to offer to ride with me for the day. Despite some rain in the morning, it was a beautiful ride through the rolling hills.

Ric kept me pedaling so hard that I did not take many photos. In fact, I realized to my dismay after the ride ended that I hadn’t even taken a picture of Ric in his Ripon College cycling regalia, so you’ll just have to imagine it, complete with matching socks emblazoned with the Ripon logo! But here’s a shot of Ric lifted from a college publication (with apologies).

I did manage to snap this shot of a passing Amish carriage-one of quite a few that we saw in the countryside around Ripon.

When we reached the college campus, Ric took this photo of me in front of Shaler Hall, where I lived my freshman year, beginning 51 years ago in 1961!

Thanks for sharing the ride, Ric! It was fun to meet you and to see the college again. I have always felt my years there prepared me well for future education (Masters in Zoology and law degree from the University of California) and just for life.