It's Like I Never Left

Kendall WI to Portage WI

49 Miles

Today Rob and I began the ride with the fast Texans and I worked very hard to keep up as we rode through beautiful fields on a beautiful day, enjoying every moment.

We stopped for lunch in the Town of Reedsburg and ate by the trailhead. It was a relaxing lunch, the last with our super sag Sam, and then Rob and I proceeded on.

We encountered a few navigation issues but found our way. After two flats, the first of which I changed with a little help from Rob, I decided to call it a day.  I only had one other flat early on in the trip so this was clearly a sign.

We met in Portage where the group was staying overnight in a beautiful log cabin owned by a friend  of Chris and Jimmy.  Robs car was waiting there and we drove back to Mequon. 

I'm happy to be home for a few days and looking forward to seeing friends, eating the veggies from my garden, repacking and reorganizing, and volunteering at the USAT national triathlon on Sunday among other things.  Now that I'm home it really feels like I never left and its hard to conceptualize the accomplishment I've experienced with more to come beginning next Wednesday. 

One thing I realize is that I haven't blogged much about special moments that occurred such as the woman in Webster SD who when I asked how far it was to walk to the farmers market she responded by saying just take my car or another woman in Bowdle SD who welcomed us into her home even though she was in the hospital with recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer or on a personal note seeing the sign at our send off in Portland OR from Ali, Harvey, AJ, and Ina and the surprise visit from Jon who flew to Portland for three hours to say hi and bye.  Ill make sure to blog about a magic moment for each remaining day of our trip. 

Dark Tunnels or Killer Hills

Trempeauleau WI to Kendall WI

69 Miles

Today's choice was to ride completely on trails including the Elroy Sparta trail and going through the totally dark tunnels or to ride on the road including big hills over the three tunnels. Trying to be team players Rob and I started on the trail as that was what everyone else wanted to do for the tunnel experience.

After 12 miles with our beautiful bikes covered in dirt Rob and I decided to take the roads which added a few miles, a need to navigate directions, and of course the three hills over the three tunnels. 

                      The following photo was taken is at the top of the third hill where I stopped to take a photo while Rob began the descent. 

Tonight we are in Kendall, one of the towns on the trail.  We visited the largest train turntable in Western Wisconsin and are dinner at the Hidden Inn which earned the distinction of worst meal of the trip. 

George Washington Slept Here

Lake City MN to Trempeauleau WI

65 Miles

The first day riding with Rob was great and he is getting into the touring mode (ride, eat, ride, sightsee) but did let me draft so we kept a nice pace.

Our Group Including Rob at the Start in Lake City

We are staying at the historic Trempealeau Hotel which is so old that George Washington could have slept here but lots of famous people did through the years. There is a full wall of photos which Rob loved. We are on the Mississippi River where we have great views of the Locks and Dams and the trains that travel through this area 40-50 times a day so I guess we will be hearing those all night, but just adds to the ambiance. 

Rest Day in Lake City

Lake City is definitely a rest day place as there is nothing to do. After going into town for laundry and then cleaning our bikes most of us went to the bigger town of Red Wing. We had lunch at a local coop and loved the fresh greens and fruit  and bought some goodies to bring with us. Rob had the chance to share in the rest day activities and we stopped for a photo in front of the St . James. 

We then visited my bike's twin in the Red Wing bike store

and then walked along Lake Pepin at sunset. 

Rob's Here and My First Century

Lakeville MN to Lake City MN

100 Miles

After 5 Weeks 1680 Miles of Riding

This was my first century of the trip and am glad to report that it went very well, no Tylenol or resuscitation needed. We actually crossed into Wisconsin and rode along the east side of Lake Pepin until we crossed back into Minnesota towards the southern end of the lake. I ended up riding the last 40 miles of the route myself as the people I was riding with wanted to make several stops and I was anxious to get to our destination in Lake City where I was meeting Rob. I was proud of my bravery to do that and it worked out perfectly as Rob and I pulled into the motel parking lot at the exact same time. Once I showered and Rob unpacked we walked a mile each way to a grocery in town just to get that little extra exercise. I don't think I needed the extra exercise however as our "flat" ride had about 3500 feet of climbing-a lot. 

Here are a few highlights of the beauty I saw on the ride. 

This last photo was taken at 90 miles overlooking the west side of the lake by a woman who was enjoying the view. Turns out she was from LaCrosse and worked with one of the guys who owned the B&B I stayed in two summers ago when Nancy, Joan, Paula, and I did the JDRF LaCrosse Century. Talk about a small world. 

Close to Minneapolis

Hutchinson MN to Lakeville MN

66 Miles

Today we rode through country that was very similar to when we ride on the rural roads north of Mequon. We saw fields, farms, sheep and llamas, and more lakes and trees. Getting close to Minneapolis and cities like we are used to, but yet so far. 

What made the ride different than other days was that we found ourselves in the middle if the Tour of Tonka (as in Minnetonka not Tonka Trucks) Century. We joined in for a few miles where our routes intersected and were invited to enjoy the tour rest stop. 

A Day Driving the Van

Willmar MN to Hutchinson MN

55 Miles Driving the SAG

A fun day in the van with very little need for my services as today was an easy, flat ride with perfect temperature for cycling. 

I did make a few stops at scenic view points. The first was in Darwin to see the worlds largest twine ball. 

The second was overlooking Pigeon Lake where there is a large bird rookerie (a safe place for birds to nest).  Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes and today we passed many of them. 

For dinner we went into town and ate at Zella's where they had several vegan options. 

Our server told us about a Relay for Life event so we went there after dinner and all of us made several purchases and donations to support the American Cancer Society. Seeing all of the community involvement and hearing all of the stories was very moving. 

Same Scenery, Still Beautiful

Ortonville MN to Willmar MN

75 Miles

Today's ride was off to a fast start for about 12 miles and then Nevin and I decided to take it easy for the rest of the ride and enjoyed another 63 miles at a relaxed pace joined by Nancy and Pete at different times. It's amazing that 75 miles feels easy and we still got to Willmar relatively early in the day. 

The reason I said Same Old, Same Old is because we basically saw the same scenery for 75 miles. One interesting stop was overlooking a river where we stopped for a photo otherwise same fields, same trains, and same roads. 

But a new and beautiful, shaded lunch spot set up by our great Sag Sam AKA Sam Sag

Close to Home

Webster SD to Ortonville MN

35 Miles

Today was a shorter ride due to rain early and construction affecting part of our route necessitating sagging in the van. What we lost in distance we made up in speed averaging over 20 mph for the first 20 miles. We had lunch at a beautiful home on our route after getting permission from the owners.

We then made our way to Ortonville stopping for a photo at the Welcome to Minnesota sign.  We are now getting close to home and will be in Milwaukee in around 10 days. 

For dinner we drove to the Lakewood Supper Club where we dined over looking the lake in a beautiful setting.