Biking Dude Blog

There was a heavy fog over Milwaukee when I arrived. Made it difficult to navigate to my friend Ben's house, but I got there without incident. I'm taking a rest day today, will likely visit the Sprecher brewery in the afternoon. It has been mentally taxing to ride all day and then be constantly figuring out my next route and where I'll be staying the next few days, so a little break is much appreciated. Ben is working on converting a small van into a mobile living space in which he will venture west and pursue a career as a mountain/rock climbing guide. Very cool project, I helped a little with putting in the insulation today.

I'm taking a few days break to spend time with some family near Milwaukee. My plan for the next week is as follows: Thursday, bike to Madison via glacial drumlin trail Friday, bike to near Reedsburg Saturday, bike to La Crosse via several state trails Sunday, bike along Mississippi river, end a little before Red Wing Monday, bike to Minneapolis area If anyone wants to ride with me as I get closer to the twin cities, let me know. After I get back to the twin cities, I'll take a few days break to meet up with people and plan my route to glacier national park. I'm leaning towards going through south Dakota to see the badlands and black hills, then stopping to see devils tower in Wyoming before heading north into Montana.

The air was warm this morning, and heavy with humidity and the expectation of rain this afternoon. As the bike trail turned from paved asphalt to crushed limestone, and then to twin tracks of dirty and gravel, it started to feel like I was biking through Jurassic park. I hope I don't get eaten. I worked on my bike a bit yesterday morning, fine tuning the derailleurs and brakes and adjusting my saddle. I took the time to adjust the cleat on my left shoe, so I'm riding with both feet clipped in today. So far, so good. I really enjoyed my stay with family in west bend, but it's good to be moving again. Bye Granny, Ompah, and Uncle Karl, thanks for having me! I left very early this morning, around 6:30, so I could put on add many miles before the rain started. I made it to Deerfield by noon (a little over 70 miles), and I'm waiting here for the rain to pass before continuing on the final 15-20 miles to Madison.

I traveled about 88.3 miles today.
The rain broke quickly this afternoon, far less water than I had expected, but still enough to get some mud on my tires. Madison is a really cool city, lots of cyclists. I'm staying with Emily, Dan, and their son Jake. After dinner, Dan and I took Jake for a walk and stopped at a really great ice cream place near their house. Camping at the American legion park in wonewoc tomorrow, hopefully the weather will be ok.

I traveled about 80.9 miles today.
Good day, but long. Will post more tomorrow. Looks like we're getting a good storm tonight, I'll be setting up my sleeping stuff under a shelter.

I traveled about 169.7 miles today.
Ok, time to catch up on posts. For starters, my post from my night in wonewoc (friday) didn't send until Saturday afternoon, so I've combined the millage from Saturday (75.9) and today (93.8) in today's miles. This is a picture of Emily, Dan, and Jake, my hosts in Madison. Only three days ago, but feels like such a long time. Dan made a great breakfast friday morning before I hit the road to go to wonewoc.

I stopped by the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison before heading out friday morning. After having ridden from Madison to (almost) the twin cities, I think it would be really cool to do a week long capitol to capitol tour, going from st Paul to Madison.

I stopped at the Wollersheim distillery near Sauk city in my way to wonewoc. When I arrived, there were 10 (!) Corvettes parked outside, here's a picture of three. The ride to wonewoc was long. I took back roads to get to reedsburg, so I had some pretty good hills to climb. Luckily, the down hill was nice, and I got my bike up to 44.6 mph. Fun! I stopped in rock springs, in need of water, and was directed to the eponymous fresh water spring a few blocks away. I stopped there for a snack, and met Paul, who I talked with about my trip for awhile. Hi Paul, if you're reading this! I finally made it to the American legion park in wonewoc, took a shower in their pool facilities (a pleasant surprise), then walked over to Old Blue for pizza. And it was very good pizza. Just the thing after a long day's ride. I chatted with the owners, Pat and Carol, for awhile. Hi if you're reading this, and thanks for the pizza! By the time I walked back to the park, the rain had already started. I set up my sleeping gear under a shelter, and hit the hay as soon as it was dark. Lots of lightning and rain, but it had cleared up by the morning. And that's what happened on Friday.

One other thing from friday. Near the start of the 400 trail in reedsburg, some kind soul had set up this rest stop for bikers on the side if the trail with a water jug, chalkboard, and American flag. Whoever you are, thank you, this was a really nice thing to come across in my travels.

The harder they fall, right across the trail. My ride on Saturday from wonewoc to la Crosse involved getting me and my bike over, around, under, or through six or seven trees that fell on the trail during the storm the night before. It was almost like doing cyclocross, especially since I was riding on dirt trails all day. I passed lots of recreational cyclists, many of whom were towing small children behind their bikes. I don't know how they managed these trees. This is definitely one time that packing light was a huge benefit. I can lift my bike over a waist high obstruction without a huge amount of difficulty.