Behold, the unofficial Milwaukee quadrathlon

There is no narrative in endurance sports, only time elapsed toward an achievement.

But sometimes time provides its own narrative. In the passage of time, there is chronology. And for a writer in a pinch, that may be enough to provide order to even the most carelessly accumulated achievements and plot points.

Behold, the Inaugural (Unofficial) Milwaukee Quadrathlon — which actually started in Shorewood, but I’ll get to that soon — in which the clock, at least for my arbitrary purposes, started at 6:40 a.m. on a gray Monday with no work requirements. The quad of events on my slap-dash itinerary were biking, climbing, running and kayaking, and as I finished securing my kayak to the top of my minivan, I still wasn’t exactly sure how this would all work out. But when in doubt, move. And pray that when you move you are moving forward. So I did.

These kinds of ideas often come to me in moments — most of my moments are like this — when I lack the mental stamina and patience to fully visualize the shape of their execution or the significance of their completion. So for the quadrathlon, I hadn’t even considered it a quadrathlon until after I had decided to try four events back to back and realized that calling such a stunt a “quadrathlon” might be a helpful framing device.

Kind of like a triathlon. But more. One more.

But with less training, of course. And much less planning. Kayak on the roof. Bike in the trunk. Climbing gear assembled in a backpack. An unprecedented three different pairs of shoes! A water bottle (which I ended up forgetting in the van). And a banana and sandwich to power me through however many miles this quadrathlon would end up being. I wasn’t quite sure. Because, you know, planning deficiencies.

But I did know roughly where I would be going. I drove to Hubbard Park in Shorewood (not Milwaukee yet), and dropped the kayak off at one of the handy put-in locations on what is known as the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail. OK, I was starting to get excited. This bizarre personal challenge was getting real. A small group of people were doing outdoor yoga at the bottom of the hill below the Hubbard beer garden, and maybe I should have joined them briefly, so I could add a FIFTH activity to this morning’s itinerary, but that would have been just silly. (I don’t know a thing about yoga.)

With the kayak chain-locked to a picnic table, I drove south to the Bruce Street kayak launch point in downtown Milwaukee. The boat launch is so close to the upscale apartments and condos on the river and yet separated from all that, nestled instead within an industrial zone, next to marinas and looking out toward the harbor and the iconic Hoan Bridge. The rising sun shot golden rays from heaven, down through the pock-marked clouds.

Park the van on the street nearby and out comes the bike. Total “setup” time, about 45 minutes.

Then, nothing to do but head back north. Quadrathlon Event No. 1: Pedal.

With the morning’s minimal planning, I still had to figure out how I would bike to the Adventure Rock climbing gym on North Avenue, but I knew downtown Milwaukee and the lakefront well enough from previous outings to wing it. First up Water Street, then turning right to cross the Milwaukee River. Gotta ride under the Hoan Bridge, and wow, the view of Lake Michigan was unlike any I’d seen, those sun rays making a spectacle of the harbor’s lighthouses. I kept looking east over the lake as I rode through Lakefront State Park, while also looking up at the Milwaukee skyline ahead, such a beautiful sight on this morning, or any morning.

The trail along the lakefront eventually leads to a road up the hill to North Avenue, though I had to check my phone to make sure I was turning at the correct connector. Then, after passing the historic water tower next to Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, it was a straight line to Adventure Rock on the corner of Commerce Street, total biking time of 32 minutes to cover about six miles. Bike rack, bike lock — walk inside with my gear on my back.

Quadrathlon Event No. 2: Climb.

I haven’t been rock climbing much this year. I have a membership at Adventure Rock and was really getting into it last year, but my schedule makes it difficult to get in my climbing time some weeks and some months. It’s a great workout, though, and good fun. I usually spend about a half hour powering up 10 or more routes, which is what I did on this visit.

Change of shoes (second pair of the day). Harness cinched. Banana consumed. Time to climb.

The routes felt easier than I had expected, after being mostly out of practice. I started developing a plan in my head of coming back a second time this week and start a routine of at least weekly visits. That now seems like wishful thinking, but I’m still gonna make an effort this fall. For this day, the climb was just a box to check.

Halfway done!

Quadrathlon Event No. 3. Run.

A return to the running shoes for what would be the most grueling segment. Not because the run was particularly hard. I would cover less than 4 miles to get back up to Hubbard Park, but the sun was starting to break through the clouds, making for a hot and humid workout. And my plan — yes, this part involved a bit of planning — was to run on the trails down by the Milwaukee River, which felt several degrees hotter than the streets above.

Still, as far as trail-running goes, this route is a beaut. It also gave me a chance to scout some of the rapids I would face soon on the river, particularly under the North Avenue bridge. It looked rougher than I was used to but still nothing I couldn’t handle. I was getting even more excited about that paddle.

Running on the west side of the Milwaukee River, the trail surfaces street-side at Locust. From there, I crossed the river to the east side to continue running north through the residential neighborhood, eventually cutting left onto the Oak Leaf Trail. I again had to check my phone to make sure I was turning at the right spot. The right spot brought me into Estabrook Park. There was the final turn, south for the home stretch back to Hubbard.

Total time on foot, 35 minutes. On a downed tree across the trail, someone had spray-painted “Run!” I was doing the best I could to obey.

Quadrathlon Event No. 4: Paddle.

At Hubbard, the kayak was still there, locked to the picnic table. No reason to be worried it wouldn’t be, but … I always worry, until I see it. Bad past experiences with bike locks and disappearing bikes.

The sweat had really begun to accumulate, so I took off my shirt and tried to mop some of it up before putting on the life jacket. I changed into new footwear — some water shoes — and took a few bites out of the sandwich while cursing myself for forgetting the water in the van. Nothing to do but head back south, so I dragged the kayak to the rocky steps and then carried it down to the river.

It was wide at that point. The water was mostly calm but moving. I joined it.

It didn’t take long for some rapids to raise my anxiety level. I’m no novice kayaker, but I also don’t have a lot of experience with paddling descending rivers like this. I knew enough to conclude I wouldn’t die, but getting dunked by a rock or a wave was still possible. And yet, oh yeah, that was part of the thrill.

This part of the river didn’t require much paddling to move fast. The reflexes needed to kick in on the rougher patches, where the Milwaukee River gradually lowers to the elevation of the downtown harbor. And sure enough, those North Avenue rapids were the biggest challenge. The river narrows and speeds up there, and as the nose of the boat dipped down I tried not to think of how things could go sideways. They didn’t, but I got a little wet. Perfect.

The rest of the paddle was quite familiar. I’ve paddled around downtown Milwaukee previously, but the view of the city from the middle of the river was still a privilege. By that point, passing Fiserv Forum and Marquette Park and City Hall, was eager to get to the end point back at Bruce Street. From Hubbard, this segment covered just under 5 miles, at a time of about 70 minutes.

I hauled the boat out so it could pose for a final photo looking back again on the Hoan Bridge. Back to where we began. The cleanup was the setup in reverse. Kayak on the roof. Drive back to Adventure Rock, throw the bike in the back. Then head home.

Time elapsed. Chronology established. Goals met. Quadrathlon complete.