Two Hams On A Bike Make Contact

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Craig - WB3GCK


Jim - N4JAW

Sometimes it can be exhilarating achieving a first. Recently I had once such opportunity with my first Ham On A Bike - To - HAm On A Bike Morse Code QSO with Craig - WB3GCK.  I featured Craig in one of my recent blogs "I Am Not Alone! There Are Many Of Us."

Craig went out on his first Ham On A Bike ride of 2025 to at a local peak near his QTH in Pennsylvania and just happened to find me while I was doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation from Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve in Louisville, KY. USA  (US-7956).  Not only was Craig my first Ham on a Bike contact he was also my first contact for that day.


Here is a photo of Craig's bike setup for that day. You can read more about his operation and setup on that day from his Blog.

WB3GCK - First Ride of the Year




3/29/2025

POTA Activation at

 Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve

US - 7956 / Louisville, KY. USA EM78df

Not only has the Space Weather been intolerable but around my QTH, it has been a very wet spring. If not for some days of freezing rain light snow, sleet, graupel, hail, thunderstorms, heavy rain, extremely high winds and tornadoes. This had made my POTA activations very unpredictable.  Since my bag of equipment is always packed by my bike I took advantage of this days beautiful weather to head out to Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve which is a 4 mile bike ride from my QTH.




The neat thing about this facility is that the Louisville Nature Center which manages the Preserve has a bike rack for visitors. The Preserve is 41 acres of urban forest with nearly two miles of public trails.    .  




You'll see a diversity of plants, including 180 species of tree, shrubs and wildflowers and a wide variety of resident and migratory birds.  It is not unusual that during some of my POTA activations I'll see falcons, turkey vultures, woodpeckers and last year in my 73rd year, I saw my first hummingbird at the Preserve while setting up my antenna.  




It is fairly common to spot several groups of deer within this 80 arce confined area.  Estimates that there are more than 100 deer within the Preserve and surrounding residential neighborhoods. since this preserve is now nestled within the confines of an residential area boundaries lines are posted to protect the wildlife. Recently some poachers baited and killed a deer on the edge of the Preserve boundary.




 Even though there are many tall trees to hang a wire from I try to operate around the fringes of the Preserve so these creatures don't get hung up in my antenna wires. 




There have been times while doing an activation at the Preserve, that young fawns have come up to me to investigate what this creature is doing sitting on this camp chair with all these wires. This one was less than 20 feet away from where I was about to setup. But he was there first along with seven others.



Along Beargrass Creek which runs through the Preserve I've seen Egrets, Minks, Frogs and Turtles.  Also the Preserve is nothing more than a giant natural smorgasbord for the Falcons, Owls, Vultures and Coyotes. 





I guess you could say the Preserve is a different type of smorgasbord for me in that it is a close, convenient well kept, serene, quaint and unbelievably quiet place for a Parks on the air activation in the middle of a highly populated area surrounded by Bellarmine University, Joe Creason Park, the Louisville Zoo, Peace Hospital and residential dwellings.  

Before today's POTA activation, I took my first hike of the year in the Preserve to see what effect the winter had on the trails. Despite a few trees down and high water in low lying areas from recent storms not much damage.  Big disappointment that this was one of the few things I didn't notice much wildlife.

Hike completed it was time to get back to my activation spot and set up to "Span the Bands" during some less than ideal HF band conditions due to vary active Solar Cycle 25 activities.


Raising my SOTABeams Travel Mast 32' 10m with 29.5 DIY Random Wire and 2 radials. 





My rig that day was my YouKits HB-1B / 5 Band (40, 30, 20,17,15 meter) QRP CW Transceiver with my ATU-10 Autotuner, 12V 3Ah Talentcell Battery and my CW Mouse 3D Printed Paddle.




Even though a solar storm made QSB quite prominent, today's haul for about an hour was not too shabby.




Finally, you don't have to be a Ham On A Bike to have a QSO with me. Now that warmer weather is upon us here in the U.S., you can usually find me out with the Early Birds, the Robins, Cardinals, Sparrows, Chickadees and Doves chirping Morse Code. 

" 73 "

 





Location: Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve, Louisville, KY 40213, USA

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