Sporting Activities
Mary Beth Braun
Payment Options for All Events (unless otherwise noted):1. Online Registration with Credit Card payment;
2. In person with completed Event Coupon and credit card or check;
3. By mail, send completed Event Coupon with check to Event Leader.
>>Please sign up online for all events. Log-in with your email and Vagabond password to sign up and pay with your credit card.
Labor Day Weekend Picnic, Aug. 31 at Whitnall Park
The Vagabonds will have Area No. 5 at Whitnall Park available for our annual picnic get-together on Sunday, Aug. 31. We have the area starting at 10 a.m. if you would like to set up a game or socialize. The weekly bike ride will start at 12:30 p.m., followed by the picnic at 2 p.m. Parking is just across the road from Area 5, and restrooms are nearby.
Guests are invited; please bring your own food and drink (adult beverages are allowed in the picnic area with our permit). Bring fruits or sweets to share if you wish. Plates and utensils will be provided.
Questions? Contact Mary Beth Braun at (262) 443-7291.
Fun Time begins Sept. 19
Our fun, monthly Vagabond Bowling League will start Sept. 19 at New Berlin Bowl. We will bowl on the third Friday of each month from September through May. Register online or at a general meeting.You can sign up as a four-member team or as a couple or individual to join a team, or as a substitute. You may pre-bowl if you need to miss a date, or you can arrange to have a substitute take your place.
Practice will begin at 1:45, with games starting at 2 p.m. Fee: $110 for the season, which includes bowling, prizes and the end-of-season party May 15. Substitutes are encouraged to sign up at no initial cost; they pay $12 each time they bowl.
Our league secretary is Dee Hollstein-Pizur, (262) 227-6322.
Sunday bike rides
Arrive by 1:30 p.m. each week; be ready to ride at 1:45 (Aug. 31 at 12:30 p.m.)
Aug. 31 – Whitnall Park, 12:30 p.m
This ride will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so plan to arrive by 12:15. We will meet at the parking lot for Picnic Area 5 at Whitnall Park, 5879 S. 92nd St., Hales Corners. The route is a round trip to Milwaukee County Sports Complex and back for about 13 miles on mostly flat trails. We will complete the ride about 2 p.m.Afterward, we can join the Vagabond Labor Day Weekend picnic at Picnic Area 5. Ride leader: Gary Kovach, (414) 712-3817. Sweep: Connie Sandell.
Sept. 7 – Kenosha to Winthrop and back along Lake Michigan
We will meet at the Southport Marina, 5707 Third Ave., Kenosha; once you enter the parking area, turn left (north) and park. The lot on the right (south) is for boat owners. There is a bathroom near the parking area.We will ride to Winthrop Harbor Marina in Illinois, our turnaround point. It has bathrooms, a beer garden, and often music on Sunday afternoons. Round trip is about 20 miles on a variety of surfaces, including asphalt, sidewalks and a little gravel. This is not a bike path but a mostly flat bike route using lightly traveled roads and sidewalks; road bikes are fine for this ride.
Afterward, you will have the option of meeting at Waterfront Warehouse, 3322 Sheridan Road in Kenosha, a short drive from the marina. They can issue separate checks. Ride leaders: Dorothy Nolan, (847) 445-2481, and Greg Kressin.
Sept. 14 – Bugline Trail/Pollworth Park in Merton
We will meet at Pollworth Park on White Tail Run Road in Merton (note that Google Maps may say Hartland). There is a porta potty at the park. We will ride on mostly flat, paved surfaces with a good amount of shade and turn around at Menomonee Park, which has restrooms, for a total of 19 miles.Afterward, you have the option of meeting at Beer Snobs Ale and Eats, 122 Cottonwood Ave. in Hartland. Ride Leader: Jim Shelbrock, (262) 442-2028. Sweep: Joann Jacobs, (262) 751-2693.
Sept. 21 - Chris Kegel Memorial 10-mile Slow Roll Ride from Veterans Memorial Park to Shorewood and return on Oak Leaf Trail, 10 a.m.
For this ride, you must register in advance at ChrisKegelFoundation.org. The ride, shirt, beer, root beer, and brat are free, sponsored by Wheel and Sprocket and Kegel’s Inn, both owned by Kris’s family.Park on Lincoln Memorial Drive, or you can donate $20 to the foundation and park in the parking lot (the War Memorial Parking lot north of the Veterans Museum/Milwaukee Art Museum), if you select that option when you register.
This ride starts at 10 a.m. If you have not come before, arrive at 9 a.m. and meet trip leader Lorena Jacobson on the north end of the parking lot to be directed to the T-shirts. If you have participated in the past, 9:30 a.m. is soon enough; wear your Kegel shirt. At the end of the ride, there will be racks to park bikes, get food and drinks, find a table with other Vags, and listen to music or view the amazing Blindfolded Tire Changing competition at 12:30 p.m.
Ride Leader: Lorena Jacobson, (239) 851-4054. Sweep: Wheel and Sprocket personnel
Ride leader: Tom Schneider, (414) 975-7908.
Sept. 28 - Glacial Drumlin State Trail
We will meet at the parking lot inside Sunset Park, S30W28451 Sunset Drive in Waukesha and ride west through Wales and on to Dousman and back for a total of 20 miles.Biking is over rolling hills and flat terrain on asphalt and concrete with restrooms at Sunset Park, Wales, and Dousman.
Afterward, you have the option of meeting at People’s Park, 337 W. Main St. in Waukesha, for food and drinks with other Vagabonds. Ride Leader: Jay Zinn, ( 414) 708-1663. Sweep: Terese Zinn
Any questions? Contact Mary Beth at (262) 443-7291.
weekly Walks
Meet at 10:50 a.m. each week; walks start at 11, followed by an optional lunch at noon.
Our one-hour walks are every Thursday morning from 11 to noon at various parks and other area locations. If you have a favorite place you would like to take us, please contact organizer and leader Sherry Dobson at (262) 498-4067.
Sept. 4: Scout Lake, 5302 W. Loomis Road, Greendale
Park at the main entrance. The path is paved, with a couple of hills. This park is a hidden gem in a residential area.
Sept. 11: New walk in Wauwatosa: Forest Exploration Center
Directions from Mayfair Road: Turn east on Watertown Plank Road to Swan Blvd. (92nd St.). Turn left on Swan until you come to Discovery Road (a roundabout), go around for a left turn, then up a hill to the parking lot at Forest Exploration Center, where we meet. This walk includes hills.
Sept. 18: Wirth Park, 2585 Pilgrim Road, Brookfield
Use the north entrance (by the railroad tracks) and meet on the west side of the first large parking lot. Walk on paved surfaces.
Sept. 25: Hidden Lake Park, 2865 Lilly Road, Brookfield
On Lilly Road between North Avenue and Burleigh. Walk on a paved trail through lovely woods along the lake; there is one long hill.
State park admission
Vehicle admission passes for Wisconsin state parks are now valid for 12 months from the time of purchase (rather than just the remainder of the calendar year).The fee is $28 for a vehicle with a Wisconsin license plate, with a senior rate of $13 annual, or $3 daily. To buy a pass online, go to yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/wi
Bike and Barge Trip, France Sept. 6–13
$2,000 per person double occupancy, excluding air
Tour the South of France by boat and bike Sept. 6–13, 2025. A week of cycling, suitable even for less experienced cyclists. The stages are led by a guide, mainly on back roads from Avignon to Aigues Mortes, with little traffic.
Price: $2,000 per person, payable by check and based on double occupancy. Does not include airfare or bike rental. Meals included.
For details, go to Sitzmark.org/event-5665633; contact Trip Leader John Graff at jgraff1809@gmail.com or (414) 403-3478.
Have an Idea?
If you would like to do something this spring or summer that doesn’t involve participating in a sport, please share your ideas and help make it happen with your fellow Vagabonds.
We can’t do it without you! Contact Mary Beth at 262-443-7291 or MBBraun4@wi.rr.com.