4.3 Mile Bike Ride Around Wehrspann Lake

We ignored the look of the skies and we ignored the weather forecast and went for a ride around Wehrspann Lake today at Chalco Hills Recreational Area. It’s not officially in Omaha Nebraska, but pretty close.

We selected the boat launch area as our starting point, and headed in a counterclockwise direction around the lake, though we hadn’t made up our minds whether or not to circle the whole lake.

Wehrspann Lake Trail Hill

Wehrspann Lake Trail Hill

If you haven’t walked or bicycled the Wehrspann Trail you really ought to give it a try, it’s pretty there. By the time we arrived at this hill the skies looked a lot nicer, you’ll notice from this picture.

For some reason the hills were more than we felt like pedaling up today, but at this point we were not ready to turn back yet.

We decided not to have our lunch at home before we left, and planned on having a quick picnic lunch at the picnic tables nearing the handicapped access fishing dock.

Wehrspann Lake By Dam

Wehrspann Lake By Dam

Whew! That picnic place stunk today! Sort of smelled like old spoiled milk was in the trash. Here is a picture of the area near the dam where we ended up having our picnic. It smelled a lot better here.

The picnic shelter (and its shade) were in use, so we used one of the tables in the sunshine. Not sure how accurate it is, but my bicycle’s thermometer was registering 100 degrees when we parked in the shade later on.

With the dam so near, we decided we might as well keep going, cross the dam, and circle the lake.

Our ride across the top of the dam was not fun. Coming off the lake was a real strong wind that was blowing us off of the trail at times. We decided it would be safer to get off our bikes and push them the rest of the way across the dam. even pushing our bikes it was a struggle getting across the dam.

As we expected, once we were off the dam and into a wooded area the wind was back to an acceptable level again. That was a relief.

Wehrspann Lake Bridge

Wehrspann Lake Bridge

On the home stretch of our ride, we stopped again for pictures at this bridge. With all the rain we have had lately, the lake is a lot higher than we have ever seen it.

We didn’t see much wildlife at all today, but did manage to see a frog here. Better than nothing, I guess.

Today’s ride wasn’t much for distance, a look at my tripmeter on the Trek Navigator shows we went only 4.3 miles, but that was enough to get us around Wehrspann Lake.

That 4.3 miles felt like a lot more than that, but guess with the heat and the humidity and the hills it took more energy than an easy ride on level ground.

I think we will not ride this trail again soon. Perhaps in the fall when it cools off it may be more of a pleasure to ride the hills here. Yet we rate this place highly for its scenery, and consider it quite a nice location for a walk.

Length of this bike ride: 4.3 Miles

Total miles biked together in 2008: 43.8 Miles

Date of this ride: June 7, 2008

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