Day 12 - Fergus Falls to Fargo

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

The last leg of the trip! 626 miles!

Route

Fergus Falls, MN to Fargo, ND - 60 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  63 to 81
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, right crosswind becoming a headwind

Significant Events

Finished the ride!

Today's Songs

"I Shot the Sheriff" as performed by Clapton

"Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" by Echo and the Bunnymen

Wildlife Observed

Red-winged blackbirds
Barn swallows

Today's Ride

Last day and another early start. The temperature was forecast to be in the mid-80s in the afternoon and we wanted to beat that.

Today's entire ride was on roads, all of it paved, except for about 2 miles of compacted gravel and dirt right at the beginning.  One section was even freshly paved and not even open yet for traffic but the construction guys let us through. 6 miles of virgin road, with no traffic, no joints, and no potholes. We made pretty good time on that section of road.

Tour de France
contender

We stopped in Barnesville for a rest stop and had a BLT and some coffee.  We cruised back up the road and stopped in Sabin for another break. The general store in Sabin had, in addition to mini-bikes, hardware, and food, a selection of over 550 different types of soda. They had a very impressive collection of several types of root beer, ginger beer, sarsaparilla, etc.  Most noteworthy were the peanut butter and jelly soda and the bacon soda.

550 different sodas

Peanut butter & jelly

Bacon

We stopped by the Great Northern Bicycle Company to coordinate shipping the bikes back.  It's a very nice bike shop with a knowledgeable and friendly staff.  After dropping the bikes of, we went out for some well deserved steaks at a place called Maxwells.

Welcome to Fargo!

Day 11 - Alexandria to Fergus Falls

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Alexandria, MN to Fergus Falls, MN - 51 miles
For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  61 to 74
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable

Significant Events

Crossed the Laurentian (Northern) Continental Divide

Today's Songs

"Crawling From the Wreckage" by Dave Edmunds

Wildlife Observed

Chipmunks
Deer (none with a deathwish!)
Red-winged blackbirds
Turtles
Pelicans
Yellow headed blackbird (warbler)

Today's Ride

A longer (medium length) day so we got a pretty early start, about 6:45 am.  As we got back on the Central Lakes Trail, we ran into "Big Ole", a very large Viking statue. It is believed that Norsemen visited the area back in the 1300s.  Big Ole was actually built for the New York World's Fair back in 1964.  He was brought back here and prominently displayed ever since.

"Big Ole"

The Central Lakes Trail is a very nice trail.  We were kind of amazed that this wide, well paved, and long trail is free for public use, while the trails in Wisconsin carry a daily usage charge. The Wisconsin trails are great trails and were some of the earliest in the rails to trails program.  I guess it is a difference in the way states and localities fund stuff like this.

With all of the lakes and ponds we passed, we saw numerous waterfowl. Most significantly (to us anyway) was the sighting of a number of American White Pelicans.  Ileana quickly identified these; I thought they were storks. Turns out storks aren't seen around here at all...

Grotto Lake (Fergus Falls)
with tree full of birds

Fergus Falls has a pretty nice downtown area.  It is a historic town and had a lot of Norwegian ancestry.  Apparently a lot of Union civil war soldiers settled here as well.

Norwegian Rosemaling display

Rosemaling

Rosemaling description

Most of today's route was surrounded by thousands of acres of corn.  I had no idea that this much corn was grown in Minnesota.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Hoy no hay centavos

Day 10 - Sauk Centre to Alexandria

Please visit:  https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Sauk Centre, MN to Alexandria, MN - 28 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  High overcast
Temperature:  64 to 74
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable

Significant Events

Saw two Honda Z600's

Saw a real classic, a Geo Metro

Today's Songs

"Stick Around for Rock and Roll" by The Outlaws

Wildlife Observed

One chipmunk
Deer (a large doe that literally almost knocked Ileana off of her bike)
Red-winged blackbirds
One crow

Today's Ride

Since we had a short ride ahead of us today, the Brit in me decided to have a "lie-in".  For me, that means to sleep in until about 6am...  

Sauk River

Sinclair Lewis home

Nevertheless, we did sleep in, ate a good breakfast at the Palmer Hotel, and hit the trail around 9am.

We continued on the Lake Wobegon Trail, still not encountering the famous Lake Wobegon.  We rode it to the end in Osakis, MN, where it joined the Central Lakes Trail.  This is another really nice trail on a former rail line and it passes through many small towns.  Osakis was but one of these towns.

Local family car

"Osakis - Small Town, USA"

Although I have done some flying over Minnesota and seen the multitude of lakes from the air, cycling past them has really shown me why Minnesota is called the land of 10,000 lakes.  We passed them constantly and they all looked beautiful.

I stopped to take a picture of Lake Osakis and Ileana rode on ahead. As I was about to catch up to her, a large doe bounded out from the left side of the trail and almost knocked her off of her bike! A near-miss!  Ileana took this all in stride and didn't even miss a beat.  I don't think she slowed her cadence or swerved one bit.  It was probably a good thing for the deer that it missed her...

Lake Osakis panorama

We made it to Alexandria pretty early which allowed us time to explore the downtown area. A pretty nice town, looks like a typical small town.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Last night we stayed at an amazing hotel called Palmer House. It's a historic and beautiful building.  Also, it's haunted!  In the lobby there are many stories (in 2 files) of people that have stayed there and experienced paranormal activity! Moreover, it was featured on "ghost adventures" for several episodes!  (Which right there confirmed the validity of the stories!).

So, I went to bed and I told myself that there is nothing  to be afraid of becuase that stuff is not real.

Well, around midnight I woke up becuase I felt the bed was moving!  I told myself just go back to sleep and I closed my eyes and I felt the bed moving again!  I'm not making this up! It felt real! The power of sugestion is so powerful! I'm  glad we did not spend another night there, just in case!

Day 9 - Clearwater to Sauk Centre, MN

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Clearwater, MN to Sauk Centre, MN - 57 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Partly cloudy
Temperature:  54 to 79
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, mostly from the front, gusts up to 10 mph

Significant Events

Hit 6000 miles on the Trek 720

6000 and counting!

Today's Songs

"Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh

"Eminence Front" by The Who

Wildlife Observed

Red-winged blackbirds

Today's Ride

Got an early start on a nice cool clear morning to try beat the afternoon heat and wind.

We were on roads for the first several miles, still following the Mississippi River Trail (MRT).   At St. Joseph, we joined the Lake Wobegon Trail.  This is a nice paved trail that follows an old  Burlington Northern (formerly Great Northern) railway line.  It runs through several small scenic towns and give you a good look at "Small Town, USA". Try as I might, I couldn't actually find Lake Wobegon. I was really hoping to see it.

Mississippi River Trail

Lake Wobegon Trail

We stopped in Freeport for lunch and ate at Charlie's Cafe.  Highly recommended. If you are in this area and need some chow, go to Charlie's. You will not be disappointed. The food was excellent and plentiful. The desserts looked wonderful but the meal was so large we had no room left for dessert.

Old fire engine in Freeport

We got to Sauk Centre pretty early, beating the afternoon heat and wind. Sauk Centre is the home of Sinclair Lewis. It is an interesting, historic town. We checked into the Palmer Hotel, established 1901. It was the first place to have electricity in the town. Apparently it is also haunted. There have been several ghost sightings here and there are occasional séances and other paranormal events here. I hope we sleep OK.  Who knows, maybe we'll see a ghost!

We went for a walk about town before dinner and saw Sinclair's childhood home. Pretty nice house. He is pretty popular around here...

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Yesterday's ride was semi-brutal!  I'm comparing it to the one from Saturday which takes the Brutal title with no doubt!

However, yesterday the wind was so bad that it felt like a giant hand was placed on my forehead to keep me in the same spot spinning my wheels but not going anywhere!  That feeling reminds me of the old cartoons like Tom and Jerry.

I mean the wind was so bad that we HAD to pedal on the way down or like Nolan kept saying "we may go backwards on the hills!'

Ileana's view of headwinds

Nolan's view of headwinds

Day 8 - Minneapolis to Clearwater

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Minneapolis to Clearwater, MN - 54miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Overcast to broken
Temperature:  62 - 84
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  Scattered thunderstorms
Wind:  Headwind to left quartering headwind; 20 - 35 knots

Significant Events

Rode in a constant headwind

Today's Song

"20th Century Man" by The Kinks
"Lovesick Blues" as performed by Arlo Guthrie

Wildlife Observed

From Saturday: Snake tentatively identified as a Western Fox Snake (python)

No significant animals were seem today. Dead or alive!

Today's Ride

Sunday was a nice relaxing day in Minneapolis. Our hotel suite was on the top floor and had spectacular views of the city.

Minneapolis is a pretty nice city, and the Mississippi runs right through it.

The "Lars Anderson Suite"

View to the north

View to the southwest at dusk

Today, we tried to get an early start again. However there was a very large storm system moving eastward across the state. We decided to wait for it to pass and finally got on the road around 10am.

Minneapolis has a nice layout of bike trails and bike lanes and we took full advantage of them. A lot of the streets are one-way but we found it easy to navigate. The drivers seem to be accustomed to bicycles.  It's not always like that in Virginia!

The scenery that we had grown accustomed to in Wisconsin and along the Mississippi River into MSP was no longer with us.

The route was relatively flat but we were riding into a constant 20 - 30 knot headwind.  There were fast moving thunderstorms around but fortunately our paths didn't cross.

A nearby thunderstorm

The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) follows the river pretty closely. However, you don't normally see the river, it is usually 1/4 mile away or more. I thought it sounded good following the river, but if you didn't know the river was nearby you wouldn't know the river was nearby...

We made it to Clearwater OK, but tired and hungry. Tomorrow's forecast is good. I hope it holds!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Saturday was a cruel and VERY long day.  I thought the word "BRUTAL" summed up the day pretty well.  After some rest and a WONDERFUL massage, I feel that I can explain what make the day so brutal.

Well, the events that contributed to an already tough 74-mile day to be worse started as follows. Actually, it started the night  before.  Nolan and I were enjoing the wonderful dessert (best pecan pie ever!) that he posted a picture of and the owner of the place asked Nolan and I if we had "ear plugs".

Naturally, we asked why? He stated that the train was very loud at night and we probably would not be able to sleep.  We assured him that "we are so tired, that the train will not bother us.". We proceeded to devour the pie.

Unfortunately, he was RIGHT!  We did not have a good night sleep!  Stockholm is right on a road crossing, so every single train (and there were many) blew its whistle! It was like it was in the bedroom with us (I kid you not!)

Then, of course we were up before 5am (because of a train) and planned to leave by 6am.  However, there was a very powerful storm coming our way.  We decided to wait (it was l so bad that the power AND water went out in the town!) and this put us leaving at a later time which is the hottest part of the day!

Followed by hill after hill and pretty challenging (for me of course, becuase Nolan claimed that he "didn't even sweat"!) and to make it even worse it was very windy! Needless to say that the windy conditions made the ride go much more slowly  (again only for me becuase Nolan didn't even notice that it was windy!) It was a very tough day.

Para los que hablan Español: el sabado cuando yo puse la  palabra "Brutal". No quise decir que fue brutal por que fue una experiencia facil y rica. Al contrario, es el dia mas largo y cruel hasta el momento!

Day 7 - Chillin' out in Minneapolis

No blog Sunday. We found a Westinghouse and we're just "westing"....

Day 6 - Stockholm to Minneapolis

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Stockholm, WI to Minneapolis, MN - 74 miles

For details of the route, please click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Overcast early, partly cloudy later
Temperature:  59 to 78
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None in the same location as us!
Wind:  Pretty constant headwind variable to left quartering headwind; at times estimated at 20 - 25 knots
Comments: Thunderstorms passed ahead of us and behind us.

Significant Events

• Passed the halfway point for the trip!
• Crossed into Minnesota
• Crossed the Mississippi 3 times
• The longest day - 74 miles!

Today’s Song(s)

"Hay Que Empezar Otra Vez" by Celia Cruz

"Country Road" by James Taylor

Wildlife Observed

Bald Eagle
Raccoon (dead)
Snake

Today’s Ride

Although posted on Sunday, the ride was Saturday.

We woke up early and got our stuff around but mother nature would have nothing of it! A massive storm system, extending from south of Stockholm to north of Minneapolis, was about to hit us. We decided to wait it out since it contained numerous embedded thunderstorms.

The storms cleared around 9am and we hit the road headed north. Well, the first 8 miles or so of today's ride were some of the most beautiful and scenic we have seen. Numerous views of Lake Pepin on our left, with bluffs on the right, and a few small towns.  Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi.  We passed the mid-point of the trip fairly early on while still next to the lake.

Lake Pepin panoramic

After about the 10 mile point or so, the scenery became less spectacular. However, the lack of scenery was more than made up for by steep climbs and wind. Two of the more "moderate" climbs were approximately 3 to 4 miles in length, with an elevation gain of about 300 to 350 feet. The doozy was 2-1/2 miles long with a 450 foot rise. That's about an average 3.5% grade. A couple of the sub-sections of that hill were even steeper. All with a headwind. Thank goodness for 21 inch gearing!  Of course, on the other side of the ascent is usually a pretty nice descent!  With the headwind, however, the descents were even slowed!

Speaking of hills, I was tempted to start a discussion on Hillary. I decided not to...

We lunched in Prescott, WI and crossed the St. Croix river to enter Minnesota. With the largest climbs behind us, we rode the "rolling hills" and crossed the Mississippi three times on the way into St. Paul.  We decided to ride through the twin cities and check them out. There is a pretty nice and comprehensive system of on-road bike lanes and dedicated bike paths in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and we took full advantage of them.

Minnesota state line

Fellow bike trail user

We finally made it to the hotel a few hours after I had hoped, tired, but still in one piece!  Nothing a cold beer (or glass of Merlot) couldn't fix!

Dedicated bike route across Mississippi

Minneapolis from the hotel room

Now for a day of rest and sightseeing in Minneapolis.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Brutal!!!  I have nothing more to say!

Day 5 - Trempealeau to Stockholm

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Trempealeau to Stockholm - 59 miles

For details of Part 1 of the route, click here.

For details of Part 2 of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  62 to 77
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, mostly a left crosswind

Significant Events

Had some delicious apple pie and pecan pie "a la mode" at the Stockholm Pie Company.

Dessert!

Today's Song

"Running Down the Road" by Arlo Guthrie

"Take Me Down to the Pocomoke City" (adaptation of "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses)

Wildlife Observed

Bald Eagle
Deer
Rabbits
Beaver
Turtles
Numerous Red-Winged Blackbirds
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Numerous American Goldfinch
3 chickens

NOTE: Bird IDs made possible by Jeremy and "Merlin" by TheCornellLab.

Today's Ride

Another early start. Today's route started on the Great River State Park Trail, which is a dedicated trail.  About 10 or 15 miles into the ride, we joined the Mississippi River Trail, which runs the length of the Mississippi. The MRT was entirely on roads today, which was fine. The roads have 4' - 6' shoulders and the drivers are cool. They generally give you a wide berth whenever possible.

The wind was light, the temperature was nice, and the road was smooth. We were able to make pretty good time today.  Dedicated cinder trails are nice but it is also nice to ride on a smooth surface!

Riding northbound on the MRT is very scenic. There are a number of small towns full of character. We stopped in Alma for lunch and ate at a pretty old place.  We made a rest stop in Pepin which is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The whole route is steeped in history.  Not only that but the views of the river and the bluffs on both sides of the river (Minnesota on the other side) are stunning.

Pepin, WI

Lake Pepin panoramic

Barge on the Mississippi

We arrived in historic Stockholm, Wisconsin, around 2:30 pm. I did a little cleanup on the bikes, we took showers and chilled for a few minutes before venturing "downtown".  Fortunately we didn't wait too late because Stockholm, population 66, closes at 5.  Beautiful town though, and the weather is beautiful. We are sitting on our private deck drinking a local hard cider and watching the streets where people would be walking by were there people here.

Stockholm Garage

Hard cider and cribbage (no board)

Now to teach Ileana how to play cribbage...

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Today was an eventful day.  Great weather for riding!  However, I do not like hills at all. Hills make me cranky and I do not like to talk while I'm climbing one (or trying to climb one).  On the other hand, Nolan loves hills and he becomes talkative when we are climbing a hill!

For instance, this morning while we were riding the most challenging hill, he started to talk about POLITICS!  Politics?  Really?  So, I gave him "the look" and he laughed and stopped talking politics.  We went down the hill and of course I go faster than he does (becuase going down hill is my favorite thing to do:)).  We go to the next hill (there is ALWAYS another hill!)  and Nolan goes "I can go faster than you up hill" and took off!  I'm watching him going up (I think he thought for some reason I will be competing with him going UP hill?). The only thing I can think at that moment was "you go tiger, show that hill who's boss!"

So I put my gear on easy and took my time going up!

Day 4 - Kendall to Trempealeau

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Kendall to Trempealeau - 67 miles

For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Sky condition:  Overcast to partly cloudy
Temperature:  60 to 78
Visibility:  Mostly unlimited (see Today's Ride)
Precipitation:  Mostly none (see Today's Ride)
Wind:  Fairly constant headwind up to 10 knots

Significant Events

Unfortunately, there were three huge hills on today's route that made yesterday's hills look like child's play...

Fortunately, someone built tunnels through them so we didn't have to climb!

Today's Song

"Against the Wind" by Bob Seger

"Angel From Montgomery" by John Prine (more familiarly performed by Bonnie Raitt)

Wildlife Observed

Several deer
Rabbits
Mole
Porcupines
Turtles
Frogs (possibly leopard frogs)
Numerous birds
2 - 3 for long garter snake (boa)
10,000+ gnats

Today's Ride

We got an earlier start today, about 7am. The Elroy-Sparta Trail started a long slow climb into the hills where we ran into the first of three tunnels. The first two (westbound) are approximately 1/4 mile long, and the third is 3/4 mile long.  They are pretty cool tunnels. When we saw the first one from a distance, it looked like the doors were shut. As we got closer, we realized it was actually the tunnel was full of FOG!

The foggy entrance

We rode through the first two tunnels fairly easily. You can see the other end as soon as you enter. The longer tunnel, however, you can't see the other end until you are well into the tunnel. Maybe 500 yards in!  The temperature-dewpoint spread in the long tunnel was definitely zero degrees, since the entire tunnel was full of fog. We should have worn rain gear in there because there was so much water dropping from the ceiling it may as well have been rain. There were also sounds of rivers, waterfalls, etc. 

None of this could be seen however, because our was pitch black in there. All we could really see was what was in our headlight beams. That was probably a good thing because the tunnels are full of BATS! In pretty sure Ileana would not like to see them...

In Trempealeau, we stayed at the historic Trempealeau Hotel. There we had a delicious dinner followed by live music. All in all, a very good day!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

"Ignorance is bliss" is a saying in English that I choose to use more often than not.  I look at situation and I decide if I need to understand it or not, and move on. This trip is the perfect example of it.  Nolan does an amazing job every time and I choose not to think too much about our cycling trips. However, this morning I thought maybe I need to pay more attention to how we go about this thing.

Today, we went through 3 tunnels!  First, comment from Nolan this morning "it should be pretty much flat all the way." Not truth!  It was up hill for the first few miles and we went through the first tunnel!  Here is where ignorance is a good policy! Because the tunnel had BATS!!  Not only had bats but the tunnels floor was like a hump! If you did not "steady" stay n the middle, you could technically end up joining the bat colony! And that was just the first and second ones (a 1/4 mile). The last one was 3/4 of mile!! 

It was cold, damp, freezing and horrifying!!!  But at the same time it was beautiful to see how nature and humans  created such amazing experience!  So, choosing ignorance of certain things is still a good policy in my book!

Day 3 - Sauk City to Kendall

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route
Sauk City, WI to Kendall, WI - 59 miles

For details today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  High, broken clouds
Temperature:  60 to 76
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Calm in the morning to light westerly in the afternoon

Significant Events
Climbed two pretty steep and long hills
Climbed a number of shorter hills
Hit 42 mph going downhill
Ileana (aka Speed Racer) hit 44 mph!

Today's Song
"Light My Fire" by The Doors

Wildlife Observed
Herons
Smaller dragon turtle
Deer
5 foot long black snake (aka Anaconda)
Squirrels
Chipmunks

Today's Ride
We deliberated a bit on whether to go on larger roads (US Highways) with wide shoulders but lots of traffic, and potentially less elevation change, or through the country, narrower roads, little to no traffic, but two known climbs. Ileana opted for the climbs.

So off we went, meandering through the countryside, and around mile 10 the first series of hills began. The major one was about 4.5 miles long and a 600' climb for an average 2.5% grade. The next big one was about 2.5 miles long with a 300' climb, an average 2% grade. Of note was one hill in particular that I estimate was a 200' climb in half mile, something like 7% grade. It was TOUGH!

Ileana on a monster hill!

Well, we survived, and got to Reedsburg for lunch. At Reedsburg, we joined the 400 Trail which joined the Elroy-Sparta trail. We took the Elroy-Sparta to Kendall, our stop for the night.

The Elroy-Sparta was the first designated "Rails-to-Trails" route in the country.

Kendall Depot

Elroy-Sparta History

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Last night Nolan told me that "For the first 2 hours" into our ride today, "There will be a couple hills."  What he did not share with me was that it will be 3 hours of CONSECUTIVE HILLS!  And I mean HILLS!  Yes, you go downhill for 2 seconds and go up for half an hour!!!

One of the "couple of hills" was soooo long (4-1/2 miles and went up 600 feet!) and every time I saw what I thought was the top, it actually was just where it curved UP and it was like ten curves!

I tried to concentrate and believed that I just needed to take it easy and it will be fine. Meantime, I was praying (mind you, I'm a devoted catholic that chooses to go to church once a year and its dificult to choose between Easter and Christmas!).  My thoughts related to the "hill" are blurry and I may had even made a promise to GOD!  Something like from Breaking Bad (crawling to a church!).  Anyhow, I sang, cursed (more than praying) and I started to question "why am I doing this? Why can't we just go on a normal vacation? Did Nolan pick this "hill" on purpose to get back at me?..."

Nolan bieng the kind and supportive husband he is, kept asking me "do you need to take a break?" I said nothing, trying to convey "leave me along right now!" 

However, he announced the he "needed a break", probably becuase he could see the pain on my face and could actually hear my huffing and puffing. After the break, Nolan asked "are you ready" and I nodded yes. He got back on his bike, and I started to walk. He looked at me and said "what are you doing?"  I said, "I'm walking". He started to be helpful again.  He said "you have the gear, I'll hold the bike while you  get on and go on."  After, many "no thanks" he rode his bike up the hill while shaking his head in disapproval! 

Day 2 - Lake Mills to Sauk City

Route
Lake Mills, WI to Sauk City, WI - 56 miles

For details of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  58 - 78
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable

Significant Events
Hit 33.9 mph, but Ileana hit 34!

Today's Song(s)
"I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Weiner" - Advertisement
"Roadrunner" - Cartoon theme

Wildlife Observed
Very large turtle
Wild turkey
Rabbits
Chipmunks

Today's Ride

We stayed last night at the home of WarmShowers host's, Georgia and Phil.  They are very nice and friendly folks who are really into bikes. I went to put our bikes in their garage last night and it made me realize that I'm not as big a bike fanatic as some. Phil had at least 20 bikes, many vintage. At least one was from the 1930s.

Turns out Phil used to race back in the 60s and 70s. He was an avid cyclist and has climbed L'Alpe d'Huez and Mont Ventoux several times, as well as ridden stages of the Tour De France, the Tour de Flanders, and the Paris-Roubaix (not as a racer though). He has also done numerous competitive cross country ski events.  Unfortunately, last year while cycling in France, he suffered a severe stroke which has left him partially paralyzed on his left side. Although he can't ride yet, he still loves to talk cycling and it was s great pleasure to talk about cycling with him.

We started the morning with breakfast and coffee. We got a slightly later start than we wanted, but not to worry. We got the Glacial-Drumlin trail and headed toward Madison. Yesterday, we had noticed that there were hundreds of holes in this trail, and they were from the literally thousands of chipmunks that populate the trail. Some would scurry away, some would escape down the holes, and a few just sat there bravely and watched us ride by mere feet away.

Chipmunk hole

We also saw the strangest turtle we've ever seen. We called it a "dragon turtle". He was huge, and had an interesting tail that looked like a dragon's tail. He watched us ride by, turning to keep us in his sight. I had to stop and get a photo...

The Dragon Turtle

We got to Sauk City at a decent time. We're averaging about 11.5 mph. I guess that's not too bad for loaded touring.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

So far, people in Wisconsin have been really friendly. They are so friendly that I'm apprehensive to stop for a break. Because people will just stop and ask (with a very foreign accent) where are we going and then proceed to tell us about their own adventures too. One guy rode next to us to tell us all about his riding in the past and the present!

Today we stopped for lunch at what is supposed to be an interesting place. It's called Ella's and the theme is "a carnival".  This place had dozens and dozens of carnival characters and other things hanging from the walls and the ceiling.  Each table was like a shadow box frame and they contained even more stuff!  Some of the characters were kind of creepy to me. It reminded me of the movie Chucky...see exhibit A!!!  This kind of thing probably gives some children nightmares!

Creepy!

Day 1 - Milwaukee to Lake Mills (in the rain!)

Please visit: https://www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

Route

Milwaukee to Lake Mills - 65 miles
For details of the route, click here.

Weather

Heavy rain and on the edge of thunderstorms, with intermittent clear periods!

Significant Events

Day one! Started the trip!
Stayed at the home of a gracious WarmShowers host!
Ate some excellent brisket!

Today’s Song(s)

Underneath the Mango Tree performed by Diana Coupland (but supposedly by "Honey Rider")

Wildlife Observed

Several red winged blackbirds (warblers)
Several rose breasted grosbeaks
Wild turkey
Herons
Geese and ducks
Chipmunks
An unidentified four legged creature

Today’s Ride

In the beginning...

Started out in the rain! We had our wet weather gear so really it was no big issue. Most of the route was on trails today. The New Berlin trail and the Glacial Drumlin trail.

Los Dos Centavos

Today was a tough day for riding becuase it was raining. So,  I started the day by singing (in my head) rain, rain go freaking away! and do not come until we are done with the ride! But, for some reason this did not work (?)! Well to be honest it was hard becuase ( I know the rhyme really works!) this year I did not train properly and in the first day I can already feel it!
Nevertheless, Nolan and I are having a great time together and using  (rationalization) the excuse that we are burning so many calories that  we had a large pizza for lunch! 

Day 0 - Milwaukee

Please visit www.crowdrise.com/rideforbryce

No riding today. We start tomorrow!

We flew out of Richmond Saturday morning and got to Milwaukee around noon.

We were hungry so we went to Kopps, a local place famous for burgers and frozen custard.  We ordered a couple burgers  and fries and a vanilla malt.  Man, the burgers were huge! But they were good and so was the malt.

I had our bikes shipped to the hotel, so when we got there, I started assembling the bikes. They arrived in good shape so all I had to do was put them together.

When I was done, we went downtown to Lakeside brewery. We decided to walk along the "River Walk" since it was such a nice night. Down near the city center there was a bronze statue of "The Fonz" which was pretty cool. Heyyy!  We walked back to the brewery and ordered some bet and FRIED CHEESE CURDS! They were pretty good, kind of tasted like fried mozzarella sticks, and the bet was pretty good too.

On Sunday we spent the day downtown. We started out at "Polish Fest" which is an annual event here. We had some kielbasa, pirogi, and Polish beer. It was delicious! There was a lot of cultural stuff to include polka bands, dancing, and traditional clothing.

We checked out the Milwaukee Art Museum which is a very interesting building.  The museum is under renovation until Fall 2015, but part of the modern building was open with some activities. Pretty nice museum, in sure it will be very nice when they are done.

Next stop was a place called "The Safe House". It is a restaurant/bar with a secretive theme. When you enter you are greeted by " Moneypenny" and must know the password to get in. If you don't know the password, they have you do something to prove you are who you say you are! We had to dance around the room, complete with some spins and dips. It was a pretty cool place. I can't tell what was inside because it is classified...

We finished making the final adjustments on the bikes and settled down to rest up for tomorrow. The weather looks generally OK, but with the potential for a thunderstorm or two throughout the day. It's a good thing we have rain gear!

Ileana and "The Fonz"

One of many draw bridges on the Milwaukee River

Pirogi and Polish Sausage

The Milwaukee Art Museum

The Safe House

Last Weekend for Preparation

This was our last weekend in preparation for the trip.  We had some help from Jeremy and his son Kaaj when we went out for a training ride.  I thought it would be a nice 18 to 20 mile ride but Ileana decided that my plans for a short ride just weren't enough for her.  After we were done riding, she continued on for another 20 miles...

Kaaj enjoyed riding in the trailer, although I am getting the feeling that it won't be long before he is itching to do the riding himself.  He has a balance bike with no pedals that he is very good at riding and really enjoys; it looks like he'll be ready to start pedaling soon!

I started packing the bikes up in the afternoon.  I always underestimate how much time this takes so I was only able to get mine completed.  I will finish Ileana's tonight and drop them off at FedEx tomorrow morning.  If all goes as planned they will be waiting for us in Milwaukee (hopefully undamaged).

5 more days and we'll be off.  We plan to do a couple more rides this week before we go.

Training on the Virginia Capital Trail

Packed up and ready to ship!