We are so lucky...

to have another incredible day biking.  Today we rode 84 miles from the Wisconsin Dells, WI to Fond du Lac, WI.  This was probably one of our easiest, relaxing days on the rode.  I know many of you are thinking - how could 84 miles be easy.  Well, for us, we had no significant climbing, we were on fun country roads most of the day, we had a nice breeze to keep us cool and no headwinds, plus sunshine galore.  Today I rode the whole day with Phylis.  This is the first day of the trip that I rode with someone for the entire time.  It went by really fast because we were chatting most of the time - we also caused a little chaos.  As you have all figured out, we are all pretty regimented by now on how things flow throughout the day.  Everyone knows I leave early and everyone expects to see me at a certain time in the morning.  Well, this morning, Phylis and I stopped in one of the towns to get some water at the same time that the fast riders were just about to pass.  So we all missed each other.  By the time I got to the SAG stop, everyone was a little worried that they had not seen us.  It made me feel good to know that there are a lot of people watching out for me.

Getting water in the small town proved to be very difficult.  The only place open was a bar (at about 8 AM in the morning).  We walked in and asked if they could fill up our water bottles.  The waitress said there was a trough outside where we could get water.  It looked a little sketchy so we walked into a barber shop - the woman told us to use the trough - so we did - see pic below.  I didn't drink the water because it made me nervous.

Today we also saw a ton of sandhill cranes.  They seem to love the soybean fields and we could spot them in pairs for most of the day.  They are pretty big birds so it is awesome to watch them fly. 

Tomorrow we have a shorter day than usual - 57 miles.  I never thought I would think 57 miles is a short day but that means we get to sleep in a bit - and catch up on some much needed rest.

Phylis at the trough in Packwaukee

The crane in the soybean field

Finally...Tunnel Day

Today we rode 90 miles from La Crosse, WI to the Wisconsin Dells.  For those of you not from the Midwest, The Wisconsin Dells is the water park capital of the world - if you are 5, you will love it here.  Today was like 3 totally separate rides.  The first 30 miles was like riding in my neighborhood, the easiest morning we have ever had.  The second 30 miles was was on a Wisconsin Trail with crushed limestone and the final 30 miles was our typical rolling hills country roads. 

The trail begins in the town of Sparta, WI - which is known as the bicycling capital of the America.  I am not sure if it is self proclaimed or what but it must be official because there was a sign.

The trail ride was quite unique because it used to be an old railway.  When we first got our materials from ABB it says we will need to bring a flashlight.  I thought - what do I need a flashlight for?  Well it turns out that on the trail there are 3 old tunnels where the trains used to travel through.  They are pitch black and we have to walk through them.  The first one was about a mile long and the other two were quite shorter.  (see pics below).  The cool thing about the tunnels are the acoustics - I took full advantage and belted out a number of tunes.  I did try to write a song about the tunnels all day but was unsuccessful. 

Jim, Lucy and I stopped along the way and they had yummy pie.  It was a leisurely day for most with tons of stops.  We started the day with some drizzles and ended up with sunshine - another awesome day of biking!

Must be true!

The  Sparta - Elroy trail - nice and shady

Getting ready to go into the first tunnel - it was really wet so we wore our rain jackets

Inside the tunnel

Looking outside from the inside

Best Day of the Trip...so far

Wow, I can't believe what a great day it was.  When I woke up this morning, I thought - Today is going to suck!  Another HOT day..But I was so wrong.  When I went outside at 5:30 for the early luggage load I was greeted by cool air and a refreshing breeze.  I thought - OK that changes everything.  Today's terrain was fabulous.  We had everything - climbing into the mountains, awesome rolling hills, a beautiful trail ride with wild flowers, and (I dare say) the best downhills of the trip.  Yes, I went down hills that actually had the "scary" signs and I finally LOVED it.  I know its all mental but I was not terrified - I knew I could do it and I went down just like everybody else.  It felt so good.  It didn't even feel like 89 miles (from Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI.)  We had a nice breeze and cloud cover to keep us cool and no headwinds.

Today was a day of milestones - We rode into our sixth state, I hit the 2000 mile mark (2082 miles to be exact) and we rode over the Mississppi River.

 

Welcome to Wisconsin!  Woo - Hoo!

The Mississippi River - those are houseboats on the right

"Avoid all strenuous activity outdoors during the heatwave"

is what Lucy and I heard on the news last night.  (Yes, we watch the news for the weather, otherwise we have no idea what is going on in the real world.)  We looked at each other and said - Do you think biking 99 miles from Mankato, MN to Rochester, MN is considered strenuous exercise?  Well, I guess not because that is what we got up and did today.  Actually, due to some changes in the route most of us did over 100 miles today.  What that means is I finished my 5th Century ride today AND my first back to back Centuries. 

Not surprising, today was HOT.  The morning was actually pretty comfortable because there was a nice breeze.  The wind picked up and unfortunately, because of all of the turns and curves in the road we ended up with only 5 miles of tailwind and some pretty heavy headwinds at times.  We also had some climbing.  We took a right turn out of the hotel and we went straight up - no warm up at all.  Thankfully, it was pretty short.

Tonight we are in Rochester, MN - our last night in Minnesota - can you believe it?  Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic.  It is a pretty big city and riding in through downtown the Mayo Clinic was front and center.  At this point, I am only 90 minutes from my home.  I feel that I have come full circle - I flew out on a plane to Oregon and rode my bike back Minnesota.  Looking forward to Wisconsin tomorrow.

102 Miles in a Heatwave

Today we rode 102 miles from Worthington, MN to Mankato, MN.  Yes, Mankato - the "big city" from Little House on the Prairie and yes, my fourth century ride.  First, I should let you know that I actually rode 103 miles, because I missed a turn. This is not one of those days that extra miles were welcome.  We are in a heatwave - with the heat index at 121 when I arrived in Mankato.  Luckily, we left early and the ABB team was out in full force with tons of water along the way.  We are loving Mankato - we are in a really nice hotel with an elevator and the pool area is also really nice.  It was a welcome change from the Super 8 from last night (although they did have the awesome fruit spread that we talked about all day today.)

 I know you are thinking "why would an elevator be a big deal?"  Well, many of our hotels do not have an elevator and when you have all of your luggage and your bike - schlepping everything up 3 flights of stairs after riding all day is the last thing you want to do.

Today we had a nice tailwind for most of the morning so we were moving along.  The breeze helped distract me from the heat.  I do believe the tailwinds have come along because I have been singing my new song:  "I love tailwinds" to the tune of "I love Candy"  -  it starts something like this:

I love Tailwinds....
I want Tailwinds.....
Tailwinds make me go, go, go
Tailwinds help me when I'm slow...

The other thing about Mankato is that it has real restaurants, so a few of us bypassed the buffet and went out for a wonderful meal.  Great company, great food and time to get ready for 99 miles tomorrow.  What more could we ask for? 

A lovely day biking into Minnesota

Today we said farewell to South Dakota and hello to Minnesota.  We rode 70 miles from Sioux Falls, SD to Worthington, MN.  I think the actual mileage was closer to 68 miles because we had a detour in the beginning of the day due to construction.  I left early, as usual ,and rode with Phyllis to the first SAG stop at mile 38.  Our ride took us past Sioux Falls (the actual Falls) but when Phyllis and I got there I said - "That's it?" and she said "I think so" so we took a picture and moved on.  I was a bit disappointed in the Falls.  Well, when I got in, I mentioned it to a few people and they all said that we needed to ride up the trail a bit to see the real Falls - Oops.

Phyllis is from Minnesota, north of where I live, so it was nice to be together when we crossed the state line. Luckily we had a slight breeze most of the day and unlike the last few states we have been in, the towns are closer together so we can stop in at stores for some air-conditioning and lemonade.

Today I felt great after a very relaxing day off - I slept in, had my massage and did our required Wal-Mart visit.  It was a HOT day today so we tried to get in early to avoid the mid-day heat so I am actually writing before dinner.  When we got into our hotel this afternoon we had quite a treat - a full spread of yummy fresh fruit and veggies and yogurt, etc compliments of the hotel.  This is not typical but we LOVED it. 

The faux Sioux Falls - you can see why I was disappointed

Crossing into Minnesota

Phyllis and I crossing into Minnesota