Bicycle Trip (Day 2)

Day 2 was really foggy in the morning. We thought it was raining when we woke up, but it was actually condensation hitting the tent from the trees. It was a cold, wet start. We biked two miles into Alma and stopped at our favorite little restaurant along the railroad tracks and ate a nice hot breakfast.

Rode highway 35 and traveled south through Cochrane and Fountain City. We stopped in Fountain City at Brohn's bike shop to pick up a few things we needed. A bathroom stop was much needed by then!

After we left the bike shop, we were greeted by a couple from Milwaukee that were also traveling home by bicycle. We rode together for a several miles while chit chatting, but then we parted as they were almost weightless traveling on their road bikes with only one small pack. The couple quickly put it into high gear and blew us away...I was jealous! They told us that every year they do this same trip, they keep getting lighter and lighter in what they bike with, staying at motels and bed & breakfast's. That sounded really nice to me, but it is the expensive way to go however.


Because of our big breakfast, we didn't do much stopping and traveled quickly down to Onalaska, which is north of La Crosse. By 2:30 pm we were hungry so we stopped at Dairy Queen and shared a burger and fries. At that point we discussed how much further we wanted to ride. We wanted to go much further, but once we got back on the trail we both felt fatigued by the sun and miles, so we opted to camp at West Salem.

The campground we stayed in was really large, but mostly was designed for RV's and only a few spots along the river for tents camping. We took one of the tent sites along the river...it was really pretty and very warm that afternoon. I really liked this campground because everyone was very respectful and quiet. This campground also had a brand new building for bathrooms and hot showers. It was a real bargain too....one quarter gave you 7 minutes of hot water, whoo hoo! I splurged and used two quarters...I was in heaven.

For dinner, we ended up biking a mile or two into West Salem to pick up some cold beers and some slices of pizza at Kwik Trip. Wasn't the best dinner, but we were tired and didn't want to cook. I got the best nights sleep since we went to bed by 8:30 pm and didn't wake up until after 4:00 am. Yup, our third morning we woke up by 4 am or so, will tell you more about that tomorrow.

PS. Rode bike to work today...what a gorgeous day (24 miles).

Bicycle Trip (Day 1)

We took off from our house riding towards Menomonie, WI. Morning temperature was 47 degrees...burrrr. Of course I forgot to wrap my feet in Saran Wrap so by the time we reached the Red Cedar trail head in Menomonie, my toes were numb. We dealt with some light fog as well, but the fog lifted by 9:30 am. Traveling along the trail towards the Chippewa River, I came across hundred of spider webs....and I'm not exaggerating either! Literally hundreds in the trees and tall grass along the river. I've never seen anything like it.

Once we reached the Chippewa River, we took a little break on a wooden bench. I decided to take off my bike shoes to warm up the toes in the sunshine. I felt so much better after 20 minutes. It just so happened that our daughter called us on the cell phone, so it gave us an excuse to rest a little longer, plus gave me time to hop into the woods for a little "nature-is-calling" break. I was careful to avoid the poison ivy nearby!!!!!

At the Chippewa River bottoms, the trail splits. We took a right on the Chippewa River trail and headed towards Durand. I love this section because it was paved about three years ago and is a very fast 7 miles to Durand....well, actually we do have to yield for lots of stop signs (I said YIELD). You know, yields signs would be much more appropriate since most of the intersections are just private driveways. Anyway, last year some landowner put up a phone along the trail. I had to stop to take a photo....it's a joke.



After reaching Durand, we stopped in their municipal park to eat a quick lunch. I'm thinking we were there for about 45 minutes, no longer. It was there that Bike Man and I decided not to take the backroads route down south to Alma, along the Mississippi River. We decided to just follow HWY 25 south to Nelson. I think the Bike Man and I were remembering those mega hills from last year's trip, so we decided to just ride easy along the flat stretch of highway. The traffic didn't bother me too much, except for all the semi's. Out of all the semi-trailers that day that passed us, there was one in particular that was a total jerk and never moved over for us....that was alittle scary. Why do driver's do that?



We reached Nelson rather early in the afternoon. Again, we stopped and discuss what we wanted to do. Should we travel on to Rieck's park/campground near Alma (8 miles) or should we try to find another campground about 25 miles away. Because we didn't have other campground information with us, we decided to play it safe and stay in Rieck's campground for the night.

It was a nice afternoon/night so I walked around and took photos in the park. Dinner consisted of a freeze-dried meal and several beers! Retired to bed early, like by 9 pm. Unfortunately the men campers down the way partied and stayed up till 3:45 am, so it wasn't a restful nights sleep! Well tell you more tomorrow. 58 miles

Arrived In Three Days

One of the tunnels we traveled through on the Sparta/Elroy trail.

Bike Man and I took a break @ the Nelson Cheese Shop....cheese curds taste pretty good after riding all day!

The "mighty Mississippi river" near Onalaska, Wisconsin.

We arrived to our destination yesterday, Saturday Sept. 5th. We biked a total of 201 miles in three days. Day 1 (58 m), Day 2 (58) and Day 3 (85). Obviously yesterday was our most tiring and longest days, but after traveling 53 miles yesterday, we thought it was worth going the extra 32 miles to Richland Center....our destination.

We had gorgeous weather all three days. Dealt with two days of heavy fog and cool temperatures in the mornings, so the clothing layers came in handy. The fog usually burned off by 10 am and then it warmed up quite quickly.

Overall, I felt more conditioned for this short bicycle trip than in previous years. By next summer, we are already talking about having to re-evaluate our overnight stops because I am able to travel longer distances now. I'm finally learning the tricks to all day bicycle trips. It's all about eating a warm hearty breakfast, followed by lots of water, caffeinated soda, power gels, granola bars, tuna lunch snacks, and anything else your hungry for! Of course, we always end our day with a few cold beers.

Will go into more detail tomorrow about our bike trip. Waking up this morning in a real bed felt pretty darn good! We are headed back later tonight for home....this time by car, thanks to our son.

Yeeha Let's Go!

Finished packing tonight for our bicycle trip, which happens to starts tomorrow.....should be on the road by 6 am. Have you ever wondered what one takes when on a self-supported cycling trip? I had to lay out some food/condiments so I snapped a photo of what I packed for lunches and dinner. The only thing I'm not showing is our freeze-dried meals for dinner. I have everything covered like coffee, tea, coffee creamer, Tabsco, honey, mustard, Miracle whip pks, tuna kits & raspberry/peach tea drinks. Also packed trail mix, granola bars and chocolate gels.

So here's the plan:

Day 1
Leave tomorrow (Thursday), make our way to Menomonie and pick up the Red Cedar trail on down to the Chippewa River and then head towards Durand. From Durand we ride country roads through the hills to the Mississippi River. This will be the section with the hard climbs....like 6-10% hill climbs. Will stop near Alma, along the Mississippi to camp.

Day2
Will take off and ride down HWY 35 along the Mississippi and catch the Great River trail near Trempleau. Will continue riding the trail to Onalaska, then on to West Salem. We hope to camp near West Salem.

Day 3
From West Salem we travel towards Sparta and pick up the Sparta/Elroy trail. This will be the section of trail where we go through three tunnels. The tunnels are dark and wet so you can't ride through the tunnels because you basically can't see anything! The tunnels are fun, very cold, but fun. I think we will stop in Union Center and motel-it (if possible).

Day4
From Union Center, we only have about 40 miles or less to Richland Center, our destiination. We will ride HWY 80 into RC...a nice ride with only a few hills.

I'm doubtful we will have Internet access along this trip, so hope to post pictures when we arrive in Richland Center. The weather looks good so I'm super excited to take off for our last late summer ride.

Bicycle Packing

We are leaving on Thursday for our bicycle trip to Southwest Wisconsin. Tonight is packing night. I pretty much have the packing stuff down since I've done this for several years now, but it still takes time to get all your gear together. Since the nights will be cool, I'm packing warm bike gear.

Most nights we will be camping, but we might motel-it one night. It all depends on how many miles we want to bike each day. 70 miles a day will get us to our destination in three days. Less than 70 will get us there in three and a half days of riding. We will do a combination of trail riding and road riding.

We also haul our own food like trail mix, power bars, tuna lunch kits, and freeze dried entrees for supper meals, so that has to be planned out in advance as well. I think we have the food stuff covered well.

Will finish up packing tomorrow night.

It Never Pays To Be In a Hurry!

Do you see that bike tire? A bicycle tire is of no use unless you take it along on a bicycle ride!

So I got home from work and was in a hurry to pack up my bike gear to drive into Menomonie for my Monday trail ride. Somehow, I took off and drove my fifteen miles to the bike trail to discover I left my bicycle wheel at home. Geez, how the heck could I forget to take my wheel???? I just couldn't believe I did that....first time ever. Maybe it's time I use a bicycle rack on my vehicle, then I won't have to mess with taking off the wheel to get it into my SUV.

Well, I turned around and drove home. I still got out for a small bike ride....rode west into the sun. It was an ok ride and made it home before the sun got too low.

A Room With A View

We helped move "the daughter" back to Duluth today. This is a view from her bedroom window. She moved from the carriage house to the main house this semester....that's a big step up. Make sure you click on the photo to really see the enlarged photo. You can see a little peek of Lake Superior from her bedroom window.

We were in the process of moving everything into her upstairs room. Thankfully she is on the second floor instead of the third floor. The house she lives in is incredible. So many floors, so many rooms!

I call this the princess room. This is one of the bedrooms on the second floor. The owner's painted and decorated two rooms for their young children. This is the daughter's room. Becca is staying in the son's room. So where are the owner's. For the last three years, they have been doing missionary work in Ireland....I think. Since the house is so big, they rent out the rooms to college students.

Oh yeah, the daughter's room has a full wall mirror and bar for ballet practice????? I couldn't resist the funny self-portrait!

Turned around and drove right back home tonight. Finally arrived home by 9:15 pm. Very full day, I'm tired. Now I need to switch modes and think about packing for our bicycle trip starting on Thursday. Bike man and I are taking off and cycling to Southwest Wisconsin. Depending on weather and how I feel, we will shoot for three days or possibly three and a half days (200 miles). Will tell you more in a day or two.