Semester’s end is near, and while the living is easy in the summertime, there’s still no escaping the vacuum of sports that are the summer months.
Sure, there’s still baseball and golf, but summer is without doubt a slower period in the world of sports than other times in the calendar. The NBA and NHL playoffs will be done by mid-June, there won’t be a World Cup and you’ll be doing everything you can to shield your ears from NFL CBA talk.
On campus, there’s also no college football or basketball games being played just down the block, and all intramural leagues enter the offseason.
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What’s a sports enthusiast to do if baseball and golf aren’t enough to give you a fix?
Stopped mimicking a beached whale on your couch and keep these tidbits in mind:
- Check out Devil’s Lake State Park
It’s a nice and easy one-hour drive from Madison, and any outdoor enthusiast could easily spend days there. Amidst its beautifully glacier-carved mounds, one can indulge in hiking, biking, boating, swimming, rock climbing, hunting and fishing while a campsite for as many as 20 people requires just $40.
Fourteen hiking trails of varying difficulty and distance snake through the park. Some are layered in asphalt, some are grassy and some involve steep climbing.
One promenade through one of those trails and you’ll notice all the opportunities for rock climbing as well. But if you’re too afraid of plunging to your death or if “127 Hours” is too fresh in your mind, I guess you can always hit up Union South for the climbing thrill.
2. Hit the road on an aluminum steed
Don’t skip over this part; it’s easier than you think. Pick out a spot on a map, anywhere from 30-200 miles away, grab a bike and start pedaling with a friend or two.
A road trip via-bicycle is a lot more fun than it sounds. First of all, I can say first hand that this is not something you need to do an enormous amount of training for. I did two 100-mile bicycle rides in high school and did another 100 miles over a two-day span last summer.
The two rides in high school came during my high school football season, but I never did any extra training. The ride I did last summer – I haven’t subscribed to a weekly exercise regimen for two years and it went fine. As long as you’re relatively in shape, you’re solid.
You don’t even need a tip-top bike, as long as it’s relatively light and can change gears.
And here’s where it’s fun. 1) It’s a great bonding experience with whomever you’re with. 2) Wisconsin is actually home to some charming landscapes to ride past. 3) You’re basically restricted to back roads so, mapping your route manually is both liberating (no thanks, GPS) and fun (encourages improvisation). 4) When you stop at small diners along the way, people are interested in your trip if you’re traveling by bike; it’s a great way to meet some interesting folk.
5) It’s a great exercise and a great challenge. 6) If you split it into a two-day trip, go to the local watering hole of whatever small town you’re in and enjoy a few frosty brews over dinner. They will taste amazing. 7) Reasons five and six will equal the best sleep of your life.
3. Learn the game of racquetball
People don’t play this game enough. The trickiest part about it is finding a court for it – and luckily you can find one at the SERF and the Nielsen Tennis Stadium here in Madison.
It’s an energetic sport packed into a small and enclosed 20×40-foot court, where the sounds of the game reverberate off the walls and further pump up the intensity of the game.
It’s rules are intuitive, and don’t worry about being a beginner – this game is 100-times easier than tennis. Because guess what? The walls – and the ceiling for that matter – are a part of the environment! As long as you can hit the ball, you’re fine! Beginners need not worry about aiming; hitting the ball “out-of-bounds” is impossible.
All you have to do is hit the wall in front of you. It doesn’t matter if you hit the other three walls first or not; just don’t whiff, and don’t let the ball touch the ground before it hits the wall in front.
4. Become a temporary baseball roadie
One of the biggest drawbacks of going on a road trip when you’re under 21 years of age is that the nightlife is taped off, leaving you to wonder what in the hell you’re going to do in downtown Baltimore, since you don’t know anybody else in town.
This is where baseball comes in, especially for you youngsters. Watching an away series of your favorite team is a great excuse to hit the road in the first place, and if the games are at night, you won’t be bored.
There’s plenty of great venues right in Madison’s backyard. Brand spankin’ new Target Field is five hours away, while the timeless Wrigley Field is an easy three. Try going farther than Miller Park.
Otherwise, you hit either coast after a day of driving. There’s no better way to see America than by car, and there’s no other American pastime like baseball. Be a patriot and kick those tires.
Elliot is a junior majoring in journalism. What are your plans to fill in the sports void of summer? Tell him your plans at [emailprotected].
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