Day #34, Wisconsin Dells to Fond du Lac WI

I started today with two breakfasts, first in the hotel I had an orange and some yogurt, then to Denny's for a Build Your Own Grand Slam of, Oatmeal, Pancakes, Eggs, and Sausage. I was on my bike at 7:15, and rode alone for about ten miles, then was joined by John Nixon. We rode thru some rain starting in the town of Packwaukee. Then rode by some lakes and were joined by Warren, Al and Marion at about the twenty-five mile mark. I pulled them into the first SAG Stop at mile thirty-one in the town of Montello. In the middle of town is an old quarry that has a couple waterfalls cascading down into a pool. We rode as a group of five to Princeton where we stopped at the American Legion Brat Fry for a mid-morning snack. The second SAG Stop was in the town of Ripon next to the Subway Shop (I did not go for a forth meal quite yet). On the final route to Fond du Lac, we had our choice of riding on the road or a bike path. The group split, with Al and Marion taking the bike path, while John, Warren and I chose the road. We lucked out as the road was freshly paved and as smooth as glass. I took the opportunity of the smooth road to see how fast I could go and pulled the group into Fond du Lac topping out at 27 mph. We are staying at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, which was built in 1923, and has accommodated guests such as John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt. Not our normal trip accommodations. While waiting for the luggage truck I did eat my forth meal and had a sub at Cousins Subs (I recommend the Big Daddy) next door to the hotel. We had dinner here at the Ramada, salad, bread, mashed potatoes, cabbage, spaghetti with meat sauce, and baked chicken.

I felt very strong today, and could stay with the group without overextending myself. We have covered 541 miles in the last six days, quite a stretch of riding. We are backing off a bit on Sunday only doing 57 miles into Manitowoc on the coast of Lake Michigan.

Total Miles 2584.97
Total Hours 175.51
Trip Speed 14.7 mph
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Day #33, La Crosse to the Wisconsin Dells WI

The day started great, Shannon was in La Crosse for a wedding, (she got in last night after my 9:00 bed time), so we met at the hotel for breakfast at 6:00 am. She filled me in on all the latest news on her move to Greenville SC and job search. She got to meet a few of the riders at breakfast, but we didn't have time to introduce her to everyone. We spent a grand total of an hour together but it was nice to see her smiling face. Shannon says she will be reporting my health status to Peggy. By the time I said my goodbyes, my normal Type A riding companions had already established a ten minute head start on me, so I decided to join another group for the day. I rode with the "Turtles", one of the slower groups of riders for most of the day, a much more relaxing experience I must say when you are not looking at how fast you are going (I did get sidetracked from them for a while when Max and Laural forced me into stopping for Pie and Ice Cream in Wilton, they didn't even have to twist my arm). We rode part of the day on the thirty-four mile Sparta-Elroy State Trail. The trail starts at the Sparta Train Depot where many of us posed on a giant "Penny Farthing" high wheel bicycle. The trail has three old railroad tunnels that you walk your bike through with a flashlight. The state of Wisconsin has a large network of these bike trails and many of them pass through Elroy. Once off the trail, we were on country roads all the way to the Dells. Dinner tonight was at Denny's, we each were given a $15 gift card, I won the contest at my table on how close you could get to fifteen, without going over. We are at the Best Western tonight, and it will be back to Denny's in the morning for a Make your own Grand Slam Breakfast. We got a reminder today at map meeting to keep our concentration on safety, so that we all make it to New Hampshire safely. Mike has taken the string of accidents as a reflection on the job he is doing as trip leader. We need to, and can do a better job out on the road of staying safe.

Total Miles 2500.86
Total Hours 170.31
Trip Speed 14.7 mph
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Day #32, Rochester MN to La Crosse WI

Another great breakfast at the Clarion in Rochester, they were well prepared for us. We started at 7:00 am, which normally would be a little late, but we had heavy overcast and fog this morning and it took a while for the sun to burn through and warm things up. The roads were much better as a whole today, but we did have a few areas that could use a resurfacing. At the first SAG Stop at a roadside park, there was a small creek that was damned, it was a very pretty setting and a saw a couple trout attempt to jump up and over the dam. Later in the day between Rushford and Houston we were on the Root River State Trail, another beautiful place to ride. We had another accident on the bike path, Ray Black, was taking a photo while riding and slipped into the grass and crashed, we would later find out he had broken a bone in his shoulder and would be leaving the tour. We will all miss Ray during the remaining days we have together. When we arrived in Houston for the second SAG Stop, everyone pretty much ignored the normal spread that Kathy put out and headed to the little coffee house and bakery for a few fresh treats that Jeff had been touting. I had an enormous Cinnamon Roll and a Blueberry Smoothy, both were excellent. We then had to tackle a mile long climb with a gradient of 10.5%. I was soon in Wisconsin, and had to wait at the sign for another rider to take my picture. Then it was across the Mississippi River Bridge and into La Crosse. We are staying at the Best Western tonight and ate at the North Country Buffet for dinner.

Total Miles 2410.08
Total Hours 164.15
Trip Speed 14.7 mph

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Day #31, Mankato MN to Rochester MN

We had a great breakfast at the City Center Hotel, a large private room, with plenty of food and staff. We needed the extra fuel for the hill that overlooked the hotel. The hill started gently but peaked at 12.9% grade. That is enough to get your heart going early in the morning. Soon after we crested the hill we ran into a little road construction, but I lead a group through the dirt and we were on our way. I think back-to-back centuries had me dragging a little today as I never really got into a rhythm on the bike. My speed was off a couple mph from yesterday, but we had a little tail wind and didn't do as much climbing going into Mankato, as we did leaving today. More farms today, but thankfully the pigs were gone. As we ate lunch of subs in West Concord the clouds rolled in and there were thunder storms in the area, but I managed to dodge them. I am not sure if anyone else got dumped on out on the road. We are staying tonight in Rochester MN, home of the Mayo Clinic. Some of us may need to check in the Mayo for a little tune up tonight. We had dinner right here in the Clarion Hotel, Salad, Fettucini Alfredo with Chicken, Zitti in Tomato Sauce, rolls and ice cream.

Total Miles 2321.48
Total Hours 157.90
Trip Speed 14.7 mph

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Day #30, Worthington MN to Mankato MN

I was up early today and on the road at 5:45am, (you know its before sunrise when your GPS is in "black" nighttime mode). Breakfast again overwhelmed the hotel staff as fifty people all tried to eat in a ten minute time span. Many skipped out and headed to McDonalds, but I snagged a couple muffins and a couple yogurts and was on my way. We had 108 miles to ride, and were again attempting to beat the heat and wind. I got an early jump on most of the pack and was averaging about 16 mph in the cool of the day. Today we must have been in "PIG Country", as we passed a couple processing plants, a rendering plant and countless pig farms on our route. The oder of each were memorable. My body has adapted well to all the riding and doing a hundred miles seems to be just a matter of putting the time on the bike necessary to get there. The heat seems to rob you of your motivation, so starting early is a good idea. When we approached Mankato near the town of Rapidan, we were directed onto "The Red Jacket Trail"(a rail trail named after a Seneca Indian Chief) that took us down into the city center without any hassles with traffic. When we arrived at the Minnesota River, we turned onto the North Minnesota River Trail which follows the river, within some concrete flood levees built by the Army Corp of Engineers. As we neared our hotel we passed Reconciliation Park, which was built to heal bad feelings from the hanging execution of 38 indians in 1862 who were involved in an uprising after the US Government broke a treaty with the Dakota-Sioux tribe. We also passed the Mankato Train Depot and the Public Library with a Korean War Memorial statue out front. We are staying tonight at the City Center Hotel, one of the nicer hotels we have seen on our trip. After my shower, I grabbed a bagel at Tandem Bagels down the block.

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Day #15, over Teton Pass to Jackson WY (additional video)

On Day #15 we climbed Teton Pass on our way to Jackson WY, here is a helmet-cam video of one of our riders (Randall Mellin) descent down the mountain. You may want to watch it in full screen mode at high resolution. It will give you an idea of the scenery that day.

Day #29, Sioux Falls SD to Worthington MN

We started our ride this morning on a great bike path that circles the entire city of Sioux Falls, think of it as the Washington DC Capital Beltway of bike paths, it ties together a bunch of city parks and makes for a very enjoyable ride. When you have seen three hundred corn fields this month, do you really need or want to stop and take a picture. Not me. I did get some good pictures of the Falls at Sioux Falls, at one time there was a large mill located there. We entered the state of Minnesota at about the twenty five mile mark this morning. We passed through several farm communities like Brandon, Luverne and Adrian before we arrived in Worthington. Our arrival must be a big deal in Worthington, because the Super 8 Hotel gave us all gift bags and had fruit, yogurt and drinks waiting for us in the lobby, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce welcomed me to Worthington after seeing a small group of us at Bennlee's Cafe for lunch (no "Key to the City" though). On the way back to the Super 8, we rode by Lake Okabena, a stiff wind was blowing across the lake, I can see why they have held several International Wind Surfing competitions there. Dinner was at the Ground Round and I had Chicken and Broccoli Fettucini with a Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread. Another 100+ mile day coming up on Tuesday, so its in bed early tonight with an early wake up call.

Total Miles 2112.08
Total Hours 143.95
Trip Speed 14.7 mph
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