Day 31 – A whole ‘nother place.
Viroqua, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin
It was great sleeping under the stars last night. I woke up with a damp sleeping bag from the dew, but it was totally worth it. We had another typical truck breakfasts, and was off with the anticipation of our second longest day yet: 108 miles. I was feeling good, I didn’t get out too late, I was excited to get some miles in while it was cool still in the early morning, and then—my chain broke. It had already fallen off twice climbing some short hills, and then it totally broke. It was a brand new chain that I had put on yesterday with more than a little help from Sean, and there had been a stiff link that we thought we had worked out, but I guess not. So I got some help and advice from Andy and other such generous riders who had stopped, and then waved everyone goodbye as I waited for Dave the Mechanic to come to my rescue. I was definitely bummed out that here was a big day and not three miles out on the road I had such a major set back. But Ane was with me. Thank God. What would I do without that girl. We’re such a necessary balance.
As it turned out, that broken link was a blessing in disguise. Dave had no problem fixing it, and we started out again as the very tail end of the group. What a morning. It was beautiful. Being in the rear with Ane, we took our time instead of just riding to get some morning miles in. The landscape was literally breathtaking. I have driven through Wisconsin so many times I couldn’t even try to count them, but you really don’t see anything on the interstate. I was absolutely in awe of how beautiful this part of Wisconsin was, who knew? Rolling, rolling hills and valleys covered in farmland and dotted with trees, the roads lined with all different kinds of wildflowers, rustic farms and friendly farmers and locals of small towns to wave at. Glorious. We came upon an unexpected steep descent the wound us through fog and mist as a flock of birds flew across the country road right before us. I’ll pay the price for sounding cheesy, because anyone there would avow for how almost magical it felt. When we got to the waterstop later, and tried to convey it to Pollie and Andy, we were teased with inquiries of Angels ascending and fairies sitting on the side of the road with us too, but hell, we couldn’t help it. We reached the bottom of that hill, glided into a tiny little gas station and talked to some locals about how they lived in one of the most beautiful counties we’d ever been in.
When we finally reached the first waterstop, we were surprised to find Speedy Gonzales Andy there. He had had a terrible morning, and decided he wanted to ride with us and be a part of our magical morning. We had a good ride through the next stretch of miles as the terrain flattened out and the farmland petered into more towns. Kathy’s waterstop today was at a cute little farmer’s market type stand, with a petting zoo! I swear it was so bizarre, with little goats, a zebra, and even a camel. Poor things aren’t meant to live in little pens in rural Wisconsin, but it sure was an interesting sight. We feasted on fresh cantaloupe and tomatoes with hearty whole grained bread. Mmm mmm.
The next twenty miles flew by across flat roads while Ane and I digested all of the food we had just eaten. Eating on the road is a tricky balance because had we not eaten that lunch, with sixty miles left to go still, we would have totally bonked in the last quarter of the ride. You get to points where you don’t want to eat anything, you’re sick of all of the food you’ve been eating for the past month, but you know you have to and you know by now what works and what doesn’t.
The last thirty miles or so went by a little more slowly today, but it was so nice to ride with Ane and just Ane, we haven’t had much chance to do that on this trip. As we entered the Madison area, the directions got a little tricky, but more or less it just got a little long because you know you’re in the destination city but the campsite is still twenty miles away. At the very end, we somehow missed the turn into the campground, and when we were about to turn around a quarter of a mile away, Ane got a flat. Goodness gracious. It was only fair that if my chain got us off to a slow start, Ane would get a flat to delay our finish. When we finally rolled into camp (with almost 110 miles on the computer) we were warmly greeted by Bob Dumke’s and Dan Scott’s family with smiles, tables of food, and coolers of drinks. It was such a nice reward to the day. And boy did these Wisconsinites know how to provide a meal: salad, potato salad, fruit, squeaky cheese curds, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and most importantly, really good veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs. It was so wonderful.
As if the day couldn’t have gotten any more full, my good friend Emma met me at the campground. She goes to school and has an apartment in Madison, and since we were a ten minute drive out of the city, it was so fun to be able to go into town with her. Emma took me to the Union where we ate ice cream from the campus creamery and sat on the lakefront terrace for a long time chatting until the sun started to set.
It was great sleeping under the stars last night. I woke up with a damp sleeping bag from the dew, but it was totally worth it. We had another typical truck breakfasts, and was off with the anticipation of our second longest day yet: 108 miles. I was feeling good, I didn’t get out too late, I was excited to get some miles in while it was cool still in the early morning, and then—my chain broke. It had already fallen off twice climbing some short hills, and then it totally broke. It was a brand new chain that I had put on yesterday with more than a little help from Sean, and there had been a stiff link that we thought we had worked out, but I guess not. So I got some help and advice from Andy and other such generous riders who had stopped, and then waved everyone goodbye as I waited for Dave the Mechanic to come to my rescue. I was definitely bummed out that here was a big day and not three miles out on the road I had such a major set back. But Ane was with me. Thank God. What would I do without that girl. We’re such a necessary balance.
As it turned out, that broken link was a blessing in disguise. Dave had no problem fixing it, and we started out again as the very tail end of the group. What a morning. It was beautiful. Being in the rear with Ane, we took our time instead of just riding to get some morning miles in. The landscape was literally breathtaking. I have driven through Wisconsin so many times I couldn’t even try to count them, but you really don’t see anything on the interstate. I was absolutely in awe of how beautiful this part of Wisconsin was, who knew? Rolling, rolling hills and valleys covered in farmland and dotted with trees, the roads lined with all different kinds of wildflowers, rustic farms and friendly farmers and locals of small towns to wave at. Glorious. We came upon an unexpected steep descent the wound us through fog and mist as a flock of birds flew across the country road right before us. I’ll pay the price for sounding cheesy, because anyone there would avow for how almost magical it felt. When we got to the waterstop later, and tried to convey it to Pollie and Andy, we were teased with inquiries of Angels ascending and fairies sitting on the side of the road with us too, but hell, we couldn’t help it. We reached the bottom of that hill, glided into a tiny little gas station and talked to some locals about how they lived in one of the most beautiful counties we’d ever been in.
When we finally reached the first waterstop, we were surprised to find Speedy Gonzales Andy there. He had had a terrible morning, and decided he wanted to ride with us and be a part of our magical morning. We had a good ride through the next stretch of miles as the terrain flattened out and the farmland petered into more towns. Kathy’s waterstop today was at a cute little farmer’s market type stand, with a petting zoo! I swear it was so bizarre, with little goats, a zebra, and even a camel. Poor things aren’t meant to live in little pens in rural Wisconsin, but it sure was an interesting sight. We feasted on fresh cantaloupe and tomatoes with hearty whole grained bread. Mmm mmm.
The next twenty miles flew by across flat roads while Ane and I digested all of the food we had just eaten. Eating on the road is a tricky balance because had we not eaten that lunch, with sixty miles left to go still, we would have totally bonked in the last quarter of the ride. You get to points where you don’t want to eat anything, you’re sick of all of the food you’ve been eating for the past month, but you know you have to and you know by now what works and what doesn’t.
The last thirty miles or so went by a little more slowly today, but it was so nice to ride with Ane and just Ane, we haven’t had much chance to do that on this trip. As we entered the Madison area, the directions got a little tricky, but more or less it just got a little long because you know you’re in the destination city but the campsite is still twenty miles away. At the very end, we somehow missed the turn into the campground, and when we were about to turn around a quarter of a mile away, Ane got a flat. Goodness gracious. It was only fair that if my chain got us off to a slow start, Ane would get a flat to delay our finish. When we finally rolled into camp (with almost 110 miles on the computer) we were warmly greeted by Bob Dumke’s and Dan Scott’s family with smiles, tables of food, and coolers of drinks. It was such a nice reward to the day. And boy did these Wisconsinites know how to provide a meal: salad, potato salad, fruit, squeaky cheese curds, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and most importantly, really good veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs. It was so wonderful.
As if the day couldn’t have gotten any more full, my good friend Emma met me at the campground. She goes to school and has an apartment in Madison, and since we were a ten minute drive out of the city, it was so fun to be able to go into town with her. Emma took me to the Union where we ate ice cream from the campus creamery and sat on the lakefront terrace for a long time chatting until the sun started to set.
posted by elizabeth at 5:26 PM
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