Mystery Solved: Aliens Take Our Warm Water and Use It To Power Their Space Ships

Next Swims:  Mon-Fri 6am, Mon-Thurs 6pm, Fri 5:30pm

Last swim: Sunday noon

Water temp: low 60's
Clarity: crystal
Waves: biggish chop out of the south

Crew: Stephanie, We'Taco, Handyman Hank, Liz, Drangonfly, Kim, Mr. Anonymous, Allie, Cap'n, Reid not Reed, Showgirl, Cool Hand Luke, Son o' Cool Hand (aka Simon),Scooby, Mr. Bubble, Itch, Kristina, Brian, Diablo, Amelia, Greg

Shore Support: NSN, Squeeze o'Showgirl,

Amphibious Support: Moondog, Sir James

If you were unable to attend last Wednesday's lecture titled "Where the Warm Water Goes," the answer is in the subject line. Photos below. Kudos to Kahuna for organizing that event.

Spaceship hovering over Lake Michigan

Alien space vessel removing warm water from Klode Beach

We had an awesome turnout for today's noon swim.  Despite the annoying chop and cooler temps, there were several who swam long and far, and many who delighted in their not so long, not so far swims.

Unexpected rewards of the swim: for the second week in a row, Liz graced us with her fantastic home-made treats.  Last week it was brownies, this week it was cookies. What will she bring next week?? I can't wait to find out.

It is extremely likely that I may have your actual name rather than your cool swimming name listed above. Your name may also be misspelled. Other words in this blog may be misspelled.  Because your happiness and satisfaction are my highest priority, please continue to register your complaints at www.idgaf.com.

We also had a super-nice swim Saturday thru much warmer (71F!), flatter, crystal clear water, north through a parking lot of boats.  The crew was small and intimate, but not so small that I can actually remember all the names (Patriarch, Mitch, We'Taco, Pool Noodle, Cool Hand Luke, Laguna, Squeeze o'Laguna, Daughter o'Laguna, Showgirl, others?)

Cream City Classic 2019 Race Report

Last swim: Saturday 8:10 and 8:15 am at 
Public Pier at N. Jackson St and E. Eire St
Next Swim  Noon Sunday at Klode Park
Water temp: 70 per itch-o-meter - see story about that below
Clarity: umm....clearer than last year.  Still brown but not as dense?
Waves: flat
Current:  I could swear there was a very slight current running upstream at the beginning, where water was flowing in from the lake, and then the current switched to downstream right around where the Menomonee River and Milwaukee Rivers intersected. 
Kru: Mr. Bubble, Itch, Scuba Steve, Gumdaug Moondrop. Sir James, my neighbor, Karen  
Shore Support:  Pool Noodle, Mrs. Bubble

Before I get into the long, funny story about the lead up to the race, I'll cut to the most important part  Sir James once again was first place overall and set a new course record.  He won some dope prizes, too!

Stories about the lead up to the race start on Thursday afternoon, when they send out their "We're good to go" e-mail.  At the bottom of this message, they say:

See below for the full report from Milwaukee Riverkeeper.

Water quality at the two upstream sites were both below the federal recreational use standard for E. coli of 235 MPN/100 ml (MPN=Most Probable Number) for much of the week and the most recent sample measured 100 MPN/100 ml for both sites. The starting point for the race registered higher levels of E. coli earlier in the week, but were still at levels that were below the beach closure standard in Wisconsin of 1000 MPN/100 ml for E. coli. The most recent sample for the Erie St. site was 300 MPN/100 ml of E. coli, so slightly above the recreational standard. The testing method that we use tends to overestimate bacteria levels. MMSD has had no sewage overflows since March.

This may have been too much information for some people.  Turned out that 7 of the 90 people who registered bailed.  Didn't matter to me because I didn't see it until almost 24 hours later.

The other e-mail I didn't read until after the race came out at 4:37 am saying:
Hello again swimmers!  A quick heads up that the water temperature is a bit cooler this year than last year- about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  You are allowed to wear a wetsuit if you would like.

So, I'm blissfully ignorant of all these facts when I arrive on the scene, and the first thing I hear from my friend Karen is that the water is 60 degrees.  She's concerned because she has some physiological issues that make it hard for her body to adjust to cold water.  Another guy I met down there, Blake (who I invited to come swim with us sometime) is pre-occupied about the water temperature, too.  Should he wear a wetsuit?  Karen is pre-occupied with that question, too, as are other people I run into.  

Then, our hero, Itch arrives on the scene.  He's already done his thing with the itch-o-meter at two different spots on the course, and his verdict is a very firm 70 degrees from both measurements.  The people who were anxious about the temperature are now both anxious AND confused.   How could the two readings  be so far off?  Can we really believe the itch-o-meter reading over the official reading?  Itch has no doubts of course, and neither do I really.  Even if I did have doubts, there's nothing I can do about it - I hadn't read the e-mail so I just brought my trunks and Roka shorts assuming it was going to be 74 again this year.  No need to agonize over a decision about whether to wear a wet suit.  

They start the Safety Briefing and announce "That water is 60 degrees.  That's REALLY cold. so you might want to wear a wetsuit".  Of course, I wanted to yell out "Bah humbug!  Fake news!  I trust Itch!", but I held my tongue during the briefing.  Afterwards, I approached the announcer to politely ask "When did you take the river's temperature?"  He responds emphatically "60 degreees!".  "Yes, I heard that, but what time did you take that temperature?  My friend here has just measured it as 70 degrees".  "Yeah, it was earlier this morning.  I hear it may have warmed up a little bit in places".  

Needless to say, the itch-o-meter was right, and afterwards, my friend Karen made a Facebook post about wearing a wetsuit that wasn't needed.  She admitted that she should have trusted the itch-o-meter instead!  

Itch was my hero once again after the race...he sought me out and offered a shot of Killepitsch, which I gracefully accepted.  He offered Mrs. Bubble one, too, which she declined.  Then one of them noticed I had a scratch on my finger, and it was bleeding.  OMG!  an open wound exposed to Milwaukee River water!  What will happen?  This serves as the inspiration for Itch's toast - Blood on the Water!!

Touching the water and saving bugs

Next swims Friday, 5:30/6:00pm; Sat/Sun, noon

Last swim: Friday 6am
Water temp: somewhere around 65, Pool Noodle’s hand perceived it to be soft
Clarity: very clear.
Waves: flat
Kru: Mr. Bubble, Forger (aka Bug Savior), Pool Noodle, Magic Mike

I got down to the water a little later than the others. I saw Pool Noodle reaching an open-palmed hand out to touch the water. She later told me that it felt soft, which she took to mean she didn’t have to don a wetsuit. I want to learn more about this method. Often there is no thermometer in the morning,  so we rely on less conventional methods of determining the water temp.

That said, the cool water made for a brisk swim. Three of us made the mudslide and returned to Mr. Bubble basking in a warming sun that wasn’t quite enough to make any of us actually warm. Sweatshirts, fleece, and warm towels came in handy. But I wasn’t warm until after I returned from walking the dog two hours later. It was a good feeling to be actually cool until well into the morning hours in the middle of August. Who needs air-conditioning!?

Oh yeah, Forger saved a bug with his goggles.

Consistently Inconsistent

Last Swim:  Monday, 8/5, 6:00 p.m.
Water Temp:  57/63 per itch-o-meter, 60 per sirjames-o-meter
Clarity:  Super clear by the beach, a little murkier further out
Waves:  perfectly flat
Kru: Magic Mike (early shift), Mr. Bubble, Patriarch, Cap'n, Itch, Sir James, Handyman Hank, Stickler, Diablo, Kahuna, Parker/Leslie (newbie) & Megan/Parker (first timer), Chris (first timer, new to MKE)
Next Swims:  Mon-Fri. 6 am and 6 pm, Sat/Sun @ Noon

Itch did his usual temperature reading procedure - 57 on one side of the steel barrier, 63 on the other - much larger spread than usual.  Sir James did his one reading in the center fn the beach, and came up with 60.  That's what the whole swim was like - one minute, you're in a pretty cool spot, maybe it's low 50s, next minute you're in something more temperate maybe low 60s and occasionally, you might hit a small patch that felt like upper 60s.

Ah, but even the inconsistency was inconsistent!  Cap'n reports that if you swam north to second staircase, the water temp would all of a sudden change to a very consistent 70.  Cap'n further reports that the water was a consistent 70 at the 6 am swim this morning. 

Another inconsistent consistency - THE FLIES!!  This evening was really bad.  What compels them to inhabit the beach and torture us some days and remain at large on other days?  I don't really want to know, I just want them to go away. 

Ending on a positive note - great turnout tonight!  Greetings to the newcomers, Chris, (previously from Atlanta) Leslie with the  Parker swim cap and her friend Megan, who is also  a Parker Viking. 

Biggest and Bestest Swim of the Season!

Last Swim:  Saturday, 8/3 at Noon.
Water Temp:  67 per Itch-o-meter,
Clarity:  EXCELLENT - Haven't seen it this clear in a long time
Waves:  almost perfectly flat
Klode Kru Krowd: 
Early Shift:  Linda the Lamprey and Diablo 
Noon Shift:  Patriarch, Cap'n, Itch, Northshore Nancy and Handyman Hank, Kahuna, Cool Hand Luke, Neo, Super Hera, Synchro and Wade (her husband, not her cousin), Super Mac, We'Taco, Reed, Sara and Karen (first timer)
SUP Support:  Gumdaug Moondrop


Before I write anything else...please RSVP to Kahuna if you're planning to attend the Kru social gathering/educational event Wednesday night at the Three Lions.  As of yesterday, he's received about a dozen RSVPs.  Send RSVP to sandiependleton@gmail.com.  
When responding, please provide nickname and real name, and also whether you are bringing someone with you.  See the bottom of this post for all the details from Kahuna's previous post.

In all honesty, I'd have to say today was, most def, the best swim of the season.  Warm water, almost perfectly flat, crystal clear everywhere, no leaves or other plant junk floating around on the surface (except for a couple of twigs).  Small school of tiny fish (minnows?) swimming around the base of the northern rocks.  Plus, a great turnout!

There was one little mishap - I brought a bottle of Killepitsch that only had 6 oz in it.  I wanted to keep it cold, so I tried to bury it in the wet pebbles, right on the edge of the water.  The bottle kept trying to float up, because it was mostly filled with air.  But I figured I had buried it deep enough that the weight of the rocks would hold it down.  Come back a while later, after almost everyone else had returned - What happened to the bottle?  Did anyone move it or see it?  Thinking it's been washed away and is a floating piece of trash, we scan the water north of Klode.  Neo looked south and spotted the golden bottle washed up on the beach, maybe 30 feet away, right next to where a bunch of grade school age kids are playing.

The Patriarch bought a full bottle of Pitsch and a dozen of us waited patiently for Cap'n to come back in so we could do our communal thing.  Several of us had our shot glasses in hand for a good 15-20 minutes, griping "Why can't he swim faster?  We want to our Pitsch!"  We asked Moondaug to get out there on his SUP and whack him alongside the head, and tell him to swim faster.  Plus, we could also hear the sounds of thunder getting closer and closer.  The more kind hearted among us were probably concerned that Cap'n get back to shore before lightning started striking.  The rest of us were just jonesing for our Pitsch.

This is a Public Service Announcement
Here's the details from Kahuna's previous post.

We need to get a rough count on how many of us plan on attending next week's Kru gathering (pizza, salad and beer night). The Kru is getting together socially next Wednesday, August 7th, at 7:30 p.m. (post swim), at Three Lions Pub, on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood. 

That night we also will have a special guest appearance by UWM Fresh Water Scientists Dr. Russ Cuhel and Dr. Carmen Aguilar-Diaz, who will give us a presentation/explanation on Lake Michigan water temperature fluctuations. IF YOU COULD PLEASE RSVP ASAP SO I CAN TELL THREE LIONS HOW MANY OF US ROUGHLY TO EXPECT THAT NIGHT, I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. That will enable them to get the room set-up, and have roughly enough pizzas and salad on hand for us that night. 

SEND YOUR RSVP TO: sandiependleton@gmail.com (when responding, please provide nickname and real name, and also whether you are bringing someone with you). So far, I have RSVP's from between 10 and 14 folks (some respondents are a little iffy as to whether they are bringing a "plus one" as well).   I'll publish a blog post this weekend listing the names of the RSVPs I have received. Thanks! -- Kahuna

Just the three of us

Last Swim:  Thursday, 8/1, 6:00 p.m.
Water Temp:  68 degrees per Itch-o-meter, 66 per sirjames-o-meter
Clarity:  Really nice
Waves:  variable 6 inches to 2 feet
Kru: Mr. Bubble, Itch, Sir James
Next Swims:  Fri. 6 am and 5:30 pm, Sat/Sun @ Noon

Was wondering where everyone was on such a lovely day, and then remembered that visitation for Robin was this afternoon.  I hardly knew her - wish I had the chance to get to know her better. Learned a lot about her from reading her obit.  The tributes that everyone has posted about her have been very touching.   

So, even though it was just the three of us at Klode this evening, I saw once again that the Kru is a special group of people.  My friends who have come out to swim with us have all commented on that, as has Mrs. Bubble, the July 4th chauffeur.  Today's example - in typical fashion, Mr. Bubble is swimming further than expected and doing the breast stroke at a much slower pace than the other swimmers.  Nonetheless, Sir James is waiting on shore to make sure I got back OK, and Itch has left a shot of Killepitsch by my sandals.  

Another reason my swim took longer than usual - I was having a ball.  Literally.  As I'm swimming back, off in the distance, I see what looks like someone's head bopping on the surface.  Could that be Itch?  That head doesn't seem to have much hair, but I don't see the bright orange swim cap he was wearing.  As I get closer, it looks like maybe it's someone with short dark hair - maybe it's Sir James?  Whoever it is, they must be waiting for me, because I keep getting closer - no way I could catch up with Itch or Sir James if they were swimming back, too.  When I finally catch up, I see it's a Spaulding basketball.  A little grungy but fully inflated.  Can't leave litter lying around so I experiment with a bunch of different maneuvers to keep the ball moving as I swim back.  On arrival, Sir James says "For all the effort you put into bringing that ball back, I hope it's signed by Giannis".  

Robin Treder | 1974 - 2019

Bon Voyage  | Au Revoir

Some pictures of dear Robin at the beach: