Day 29

7/13

Mon

We're still in Minnesota and the scenery has markedly changed. There is still plenty of corn to go around. However, I'm now seeing more rolling hills, lakes and dairy farms. All of these are welcome changes. What hasn't changed is the level of heat and humidity. Even the locals are complaining about how hot it is and how its causing the fish to stop biting. Unfortunately the heat has done nothing to keep the mosquitoes from biting. Voracious little suckers! The big trick is to keep them out of the tent - or else they feast on you all night and are impatient to be let out in the morning. I know this from experience and have the welts to prove it.

Today was a delightful day of riding. The headwind we've been battling for most of a week switched and was now at our side and slightly to our back. This made life a lot easier and my knees were thankful. The high point of the day was a drive-in burger joint by the side of a lake where I stopped for lunch. We all had to order from the drive-up booths and the wait-staff brought our meals out on trays. It was a decadent lunch - a triple cheese burger, fries and a huge root beer float. I don't know how I'm going to be able to stop eating like this when the ride stops. Maybe I'll just keep riding back to Houston.

That's all for today. I'll try to have something more interesting for tomorrow.

Day 29

Day 30

7/14

Tue

Whew, just like the other days. Hot and humid! At least today we were given a slight break and had a bit of a tailwind. The first part of the ride was like many other days. Lots of fields and plenty of corn. We continue to go through very small towns which are spaced about every 12 miles apart (I suspect the railroads had everything to do with this following the Civil War). I stopped for lunch in one such town at a small Cafe (Del's Cafe). The place was inundated by bicyclists and the poor waitress was beside herself. She had not seen this much business in a long time. It was clear that the lunch crowd was usually small and quiet. She'll need a long vacation to recover. By the afternoon we started dropping down into the Mississippi Valley. What a wonderful (and welcome) change of scenery. Coming down through the hills, which were covered with hardwood trees, I thought I was in West Virginia. The roads were narrow and the hills surrounding us were steep.

The campsite was located right on the banks of the Mississippi. Off to the side there was a place to swim and the weather cooled off a bit by evening. The town of Winona was a marvelous little town with some really interesting architecture. Much of the town was dominated by a huge Catholic church topped by angels blaring trumpets at each of the corners. It was a bit ornate.

Day 31

7/15

Wed

What a fabulous day. During the morning we followed the Mississippi River south and east. The hills surrounding the river were beautiful. During the night a front moved through, clearing out some of the humidity and giving us a wind from the north-west. We fairly sailed along during the morning. Today was a light day - covering only 70 miles. This made our first stop (or at least mine), LaCrosse, Wisconsin. LaCrosse, of course, is one of the homes of G. Heileman Brewing. Welcome to Wisconsin! I spent the better part of the morning drinking beer with many other bikers, courtesy of the brewery. Thank goodness we didn't have far to go. A good time was had by all. The brewery was quite an operation and produces a lot of beer. We didn't make much a dent in their stock today.

Once we came out of LaCrosse, we ended up on small backroads that wound their way through the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi breaks. What gorgeous scenery. Hills and trees and small dairy farms nestled in between. There were some pretty good climbs today - very steep in places - but the green of the hills made up for any discomfort. When we got on top, out of the Mississippi breaks, we found ourselves in Amish country. Here the farms are relatively small, but very well tended. The road we were on was a back road and most of the fields came right down to the road. I almost felt that while I was riding, I was floating in between fields. Today scored nearly a 10 for biking. Beer, cheese and great scenery. What more could a person ask?

Okay, that's the report for today. Tomorrow is a long ride into Madison and then a day off.

Later ... rkw

Day 31

Day 32

Day 32

7/16

Thu

Today was a long ride -- made worse by the fact that I missed several turns on the route. I ended up with an extra ten miles on a 105 mile ride. Oh well, at least the scenery was well worth it. I never knew that this part of Wisconsin could be so beautiful. The weather was lovely today. The humidity that disappeared the day before, continued to stay absent. We started the ride in the morning going through a long valley that was surrounded on the sides with green, seemingly steep, hills. About 10 miles from the start I found myself in a thick fog that hugged the hills. It made for some spectacular views and kept me cool for quite some time. Later in the morning we jumped into the Wisconsin River valley. Now, instead of hardwood trees and tiny dairy farms, we encountered pine trees and larger farming areas. The change of environments was stunning, but hardly prepared us for the countryside along the river. I was able to visit several of the homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that were along the highway (one of the points at which I took a wrong turn).

Many of the roads that we covered in the late afternoon were small dairy roads that had no shoulder and were barely wide enough for one car and a bicycle. The roads were not busy (although they were quite rough in spots). Once again it felt like farmers were growing their crops right up to the roadway. However, around this area the plots of land are much smaller. Naturally we passed by several cheese making cooperatives. It's good to know that all that dairy produce is headed somewhere.

Day 33

7/17

Fri

Today is a rest day. Once again, I've rested. It's been quite special. We have dorm rooms again! Clean sheets and a real bed. My goodness! I've spent the day touring by foot. I've found several wonderful coffee shops, toured the State Capitol building, hit the museums, and rummaged through the political science department. It must be summer because no one is around except graduate students. Tonight it will be a couple of bars. I've found two places that have live jazz this evening. I had best prepare. The next six days find us sweeping across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in fairly short order before we have another break. Washington, DC is almost in sight.

That's all for now.

later ... rkw

Day 33 . . . . . . . . . . Day 34

Day 34

7/18

Sat

Another gorgeous ride with fantastic weather. The sky this morning was a crystal clear blue -- almost like some of the skies in Montana. The humidity was low and it was reasonably cool. Once again our route is off the main road and we followed dairy roads. The roads were a bit flatter today and it was possible to see vast expanses of farm land. Still we see miles of corn and thousands of dairy cattle. At one point today a farmer is trying something different - he was raising elk. I haven't seen any elk since Montana. The ride was pretty uneventful. There were no real tourist stops - just lots of farmland. One of the high points of the day was crossing into our 8th state - Illinois. When I crossed the Minnesota border I was treated to polka music and a popscicle. When I crossed the Wisconsin border I was treated to fresh beer. When I crossed into Illinois I was treated to a flat tire - my first since Idaho.

It is hard to believe that there are only two weeks left on the ride. Today I logged 2,400 miles on my odometer. I'm still feeling very good and today's ride felt very easy. I guess I'm starting to get into shape.

That's all for today. Very uneventful.

Later ... rkw

Postcards!Postcards!Postcards!

Postmarked 6/25, Elliston, MT

Lynn--

This is how every day looks--wonderful scenery. Day 17 & we're finally out of Montana! I'm doing very well. Give my best to the lunch bunch. See you in a month!

--Rick

Postcards!Postcards!Postcards!

Postmarked 6/29, Billings, MT

Cheryl--

I've seen plenty of scenery like this. It's been spectacular! It's been very different than the Southwest. There;s been tons of water (and lots of rain). The ride has been a ball so far.

-- Rick

So far....