Cool Clarity, Watermelon Rainbows, and other Big News

Next Swims: Friday 4pm? Saturday 8am (me), Sunday 7am, other weekend times TBD, post to the comments if you have a preferred time

Last Swim: Friday 6am, Thursday PM

Air Temp: low 60s
Water Temp: 48.5
Clarity: near perfect
Waves: like glass
Kru: Showgirl, Pool Noodle, with Linda the Lamprey and and Diablo on the early shift, Magic Mike and four-legged companion on shore support

the watermelon rainbow shoes persist

PN and I were headed down the ramp as Linda was heading up. She was suffering from frozen lip syndrome, so chit-chat was minimal. (That's foreshadowing.)

The lake was like glass and the beach empty. The logs floating inside the rock piles have either traveled elsewhere or been dragged to shore.

We suited up before taking the temperature, which, if you really want to swim, is probably a good idea.  48.5. 

In spite of yesterday's rain, the water was nearly completely clear and totally flat. I swam to the kayak and PN went further.

When we got back to shore Magic Mike and his dog showed up.

Here's the Big News:  the Klode parking lot is open for business, so keep it safe up there.

Water Logged

Next Swims: Thursday 4pm? Friday 6am (or 5:45AM with NSN)
Last Swim: Thursday 6am, plus other rogue swims

Air Temp: low 60s with some fog
Water Temp: 50.3
Clarity: not great
Waves: flat and beautiful
Kru: Mr. Anonymous, Showgirl, Drangonfly, Pool Noodle,Magic Mike, Ben, Eric, and Diablo on the early shift

Abandoned footwear at the beach is NOT weird, and this pair is exceptionally cute.

Hello Friends!  And welcome back!  This is my first blog post of the 2020 swimming season, and reports of my demise (side-eye at Kahuna) are greatly exaggerated.

Everything is weird about this year, and Klode is no exception.  I used to arrive and move those flimsy WFB po-po barricades, but no more. On the bright side, it's nice to have a wide-open parking lot to meet up in, in a socially distant way, of course.

The beach is also weirdly covered in driftwood. Drift trees.  All manner of wood, with several floating within the rock piles.  I swam into one on my return trip and it freaked me out.  I hauled it back to shore. It was so heavy I was surprised it still floated.  I can say the same about myself these days.

But this blog is about the swimming.  We hugged the shoreline in the fog this morning.  Ben and Eric headed off to Sheboygan, and the rest of us swam a bit less.  Drangonfly and I made it to my new favorite landmark, the kayak just north of garage.  Magic Mike and Pool Noodle went a bit past the birches. Mr A swam wearing only his neoprene capris. Badass.

There's more weirdness on the beach. The sewerpipe is almost buried, a strange new structure is visible just after it, and the garage is also weirdly exposed. And of course, the new kayak.  Maybe the foliage will cover all this up again, but I'm hoping Kahuna will organize an excavation of the sewerpipe.

Seems like there are plenty of other random swims to report.  Drangonfly swam at noonish yesterday, and lots of peeps swam in the PM.

I'm happy to be back, in spite of, and because of, the weirdness.

Carbon Copy

Next Swims: Wednesday 4pm, Thursday 6am
Last Swim: Wednesday 6am

Air Temp: mid-60s
Water Temp: 49
Clarity: still pretty murky--waiting for the sandy bottom of the bay to make an appearance
Waves: flat
Kru: Showgirl, North Shore Nancy, Pool Noodle, Amelia, Magic Mike, Handyman Hank, Linda the Lamprey, with shore support from the Kahuna!

Today was almost a carbon copy of yesterday's swim: beautiful summer-like weather at the beach, calm, inviting, and bracingly cold water in the lake. A few more swimmers, still more mild cussing and heavy breathing at the water's edge. Linda and Handyman Hank (above the waist) swam skin --no heavy breathing or cussing from them, badasses! The rest of us wrestled on the neoprene, swam north, returned, and peeled off the neoprene. The benefit comes with those reduced body temps for the first few hours of the day. Another great day for a swim.

Daily Double

Next swim: Wednesday 6am
Last Swim: Tuesday 4:30 pm

Air temp: ~80 degrees, sunny, cooling as the sun got further down
Water temp: 61 per itch-o-meter
Clarity: Pretty good, 2 or 3/10.  Zebra mussels are essential workers
Waves: 8" swells at regular intervals

Kru:  Itch, Brick and Mr. Bubble

Another milestone for 2020!  First time this year there's been a sunrise and evening shift at Klode.  It certainly looked like summer down at the beach this evening.  Quite a few teenagers/20 somethings playing in the water, jumping off the rocks.  61 degrees on the itch-o-meter seemed to good to be true.  Of course, as Itch cautioned, that's just the temp by the shore - probably colder further out.  True dat.  

We all know, Wisconsin weather at the end of May can be a little bi-polar.  Earlier today, Magic Mike reported "This morning was at once a harbinger of summer and a reminder that we are still hanging onto spring...Rachel had a thermometer that did not reach 50 degrees".  Much higher turnout this morning though - looked like a beautiful first sunrise swim 🌞

Weather for 6 am tomorrow looking good - 63, partly cloudy, calm winds.

Weather for tomorrow evening is warmer but 30%-40% chance of rain.  

Morning Swims...

Next swim: Tuesday afternoon, 4:00? 4:30?, Wednesday 6am
Last Swim: Tuesday 6am

Air temp: ~70 degrees, sunny
Water temp: approaching 50 (from below)
Clarity: Hand barely visible at the end of my arm. Diving under water is a very cold, very dark experience.
Waves: calm with very gentle swells

Kru: North Shore Nancy, Rachel, Magic Mike, Sandy(?). Diablo on the early shift (he might have had accompaniment, not sure).

This morning was at once a harbinger of summer and a reminder that we are still hanging onto spring. I woke up for the first time since fall feeling hot and a little uncomfortable, glad for the ceiling fan in my room. It never really cooled off much last night, in the air. The water, on the other hand, managed to cool off. Rachel had a thermometer that did not reach 50 degrees. A good day for neoprene.

It is my intention to get a swim in at this time regularly. I know Eric (Brick?) has a group he brings down at 7:30 fairly regularly. And don't forget, there are evening swims as well. It was great to see people at the weekend swims! It really did feel like the beginning of summer. Perhaps the lady of the lake will embrace summer soon. It was certainly looking pretty good over the weekend! But she is fickle.

Who needs 80 degree pools, when we have this big beautiful lake, with natural social distancing?

See you at the rock piles!

In Memory of Previous Memorial Days

Next Swim: Tuesday @  4:30 pm??

Last Swim: Memorial Day Monday @ Noon
Water Temp: 56 per macho-meter and itch-0-meter (is that possible?)
Air Temp: 75-78?  Really sunny and warm, with occasional clouds during the swim
Waves: almost flat at first, picking up to 8-10", pretty strong SE current
Clarity: Very good  2/10
Kru: Diablo, El Jefe y su esposa, Mrs TBD (that's her nickname, not a comment on their marital status), Itch, Synchro, Panini, Kahuna, Neo, Magic Mike, Eric, Cap'n, Linda the Lamprey, Lake Girl Courtney, Moondawg
Shore Support:  Charlie, 

Well, as so often happens, the first real days of summer are on Memorial Day weekend.  Just a few weeks ago, people were still very much in the "bitch about unseasonably cold weather" mode; flipping out over a little bit slushy snow earlier in May, bringing up traumatic memories of snowfall on May 10, 1990.  But now, all is right with the world, equilibrium has been restored to the universe and the weather is complying with everyone's expectations.

So, this was a first swim of the year day for some - first swim skin in fact for several - Cap'n, Panini, Neo, Linda the Lamprey, Moondawg. Panini also styling her new DIY haircut - done with scissors and razors, no electricity.

Synchro verbalized something I had been thinking while out on the water - today was like July 4th last year - the chop and current was such that it was steering some of us to swim further and further out.

Next swim time - 4:30ish Tuesday?  Forecast looks good - 74 and partly cloudy.

Socially Distant Shots of Killepitsch

Panini Sporting a Bold DIY Haircut

Tradition

Last Swim: Saturday May 23rd - high noon
Water Temp: 56
Air Temp: 60 & foggy
Water Clarity:  Mysteriously Murky...possibly due to the fog
Waves: Rippled with slight current from NE
Kru: Diablo, Itch, Mr. Anonymous, Linda the Lampre, Neo, Capt'n with Celebrity Guest pre-swim pep talk from Kahuna

Traditionally Memorial Day Weekend would mark the Klode Kru's first official swim for the season in Lake Michigan.  Complete with an official proclamation and wave of the hand by none other than The Patriarch himself!  Ahhh, I remember those days.  When swimming in the lake when the temp was below 60 was "F---ing STUPID!!" to quote one of The Patriarch's all time most popular remarks.

Wow, have we evolved since those times!  Now 60 has become the magical threshold whereby by you're shamed if you don't ditch your wetsuit.  Of course my all-time favorite counter argument quote to an attempted shaming was "...what, are you afraid I might be too warm in lake Michigan?  Is that even possible!??!"  Yes, that classic quote came from none other than The Patriarch as well.

Now we have the Badass Klode Kru club who has made swimming in the lake a year round activity.  So if a swim season never ends can it really have another beginning?

Which reminds me....before I forget....If it hasn't been mentioned in a previous blog entry, special kudos to Diablo, Itch, Mr. Anonymous and Brick (...I think that's what newcomer Erik goes by these days...) for swimming in the lake weekly over the winter!  AMAZING!!

Sticking with Tradition, though, I logged my first swim of the season year in the lake today.  Not quite the same without an Official Proclamation from The Patriarch....but the weekend is still young....and we are now in the Virtual Era, so anything is possible....right?