Day 33 -- Happy trails to you. . .

July 22, 2005

ROUTE: La Crosse to Wisconsin Dells

DISTANCE: 92 miles

WINDS: 5 to 10 mph headwind

WEATHER: Hot and humid; fog in AM

TERRAIN:  30 Rolling; 30 Elroy Sparta Trail, 30 Rolling

TOTAL CLIMBING: 2,850 feet

RIDE OVERVIEW:  One of the oldest sites to appear on maps of the western Great Lakes Region is the "Dalles" of the Wisconsin River. It was identified as a convenient reference point by French explorers in the 1700's and the word meant flagstone, used to flag gutters. In the vernacular the meaning was closer to "a place where water is confined by rocks." After the French left Wisconsin, the name stuck with the spelling and pronunciation Anglicized as the "dells."

Native American legend has it that a great serpent, wriggling down from the north formed the bed of the Wisconsin River. The Dells, however, were formed by a strong current that cut a channel as much as 150 feet deep through the sandstone and carved unusual rock formations along a 125-mile stretch of the Wisconsin River. But I get ahead of myself.

After a hearty breakfast at Perkins Family Restaurant (above), riders took to the road. It was humid and warm at ride start and clouds hung low, some of them settling on the road and making for cooler but foggy conditions.

Today, our day was divided into thirds: 30 miles from the motel to the Elroy Sparta Trailhead, 30 miles on the trail, and 32 miles to the motel after the trail. The first 30-mile portion of our route took us through some beautiful Wisconsin farmland between La Crosse and Sparta and was pretty tame as far as difficulty.

At Sparta (advertised as the Bicycle Capital of America), we picked up the Elroy Sparta Bike Trail.  It's a Rails-to-Trails route of 30 miles that takes riders through several small whistle stop towns with plenty of places to eat and sights to see. Riders were out of sight of Josh and me in the vans for most of those 30 miles, but we glimpsed them every so often as they were often riding only a short distance from the highway. The trail was a hard packed limestone surface and was basically flat (or no more than a 3% grade) since it was a railbed, but the main attractions were the tunnels . . . three of them ranging from a couple hundred yards to about 3,800 feet in length. 

To say it was dark in these tunnels is understatement. Close your eyes in a dark room and put your hand about 6 inches in front of your nose. That's what we could see in the longest tunnel. It was also very drippy in the first tunnel, which had a little gurgling stream running along each side of the path. Someone remarked that we got wetter in the tunnel than we've been on any day of our ride. In many areas, the bike route made its way through a canopy of trees that provided shade, which helped a little with the day's high temps and humidity. Also, when riders weren't in a RR tunnel or a tree tunnel, they would break out into beautiful farmland nestled in a backdrop of large, rolling, tree covered hills . . . very pleasant and visually stimulating.

To say this is a bike friendly area is also an understatement. With all the trails they have around here, cycling is not only for the hard core, but for families as well . . . young and old alike. Everywhere you looked someone was either riding a bicycle or carrying one on the back of their car. The only thing that disturbed me was that over half of the people riding were not wearing helmets, including the children.

After the trail, our last 30 miles was again out in the Wisconsin countryside with several hills and a pretty stiff cross wind that made the last push to the motel pretty difficult. Especially after casually noodling along the trail, now riders had to work to get to the motel. This last leg was maybe the longest 30 miles riders have ridden so far. The last riders got in just before 5:30 Route Rap and dinner at 6:00.

We topped off the day with a great meal at Paul Bunyan's. With a name like that, the food had to be good and it was. It was a family-style restaurant. They bought the food out all together in bowls and you helped yourself . . . all you could eat. Our meal consisted of chicken, potato pancakes, pasta, coleslaw, homemade bread, drinks, and cake for dessert. These places don't realize they don't make any money on us riders! We give new meaning to the term "all you can eat." Restaurants learn, only too late, that it really means "more food than they have to prepare." [Actually the pic at left is of another of the buffet restaurants we ate at and not of Paul Bunyan's, which was "cozier," with tables for six and booths.]

Guess what? We do it again tomorrow, but it's a shorter day . . . only 82 miles. Check in and see what we're up to.   Susan

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

• "Well I have a new condition for you: Gatorrhea. I've got it."
• "My neck is salty."
• "Can I lick it?"
• "Are we ready to go? All the old people are still here." (Pup Paul to Brian)
• "Give Joe a beer and a phone and he can do anything."

DUH! OF THE DAY:  First DUH of the Day goes to Duane. He washed his gloves and this morning appeared at luggage load with two right-handed gloves . . . DUH! He found another pair in his suitcase for the other hand.

      Second DUH of the Day goes to the group. Many of the riders today were surprised at how dark it was in the tunnels. Mike had told them it was very dark, but they thought it was REALLY dark. Their flashlights weren't even doing much to help the matter. It took them halfway through the first tunnel to realize that if they took their sunglasses off they could see better

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Sonia snaps the giant cyclist that welcomes riders
to Sparta, Wisconsin, "The bike capital of the World."

Len stops in Wilton at Pies Are Square. Mike argued
with the baker, claiming that "pies are round;
cornbread are square." Something doesn't compute  here. . .

This advertisement was on a very pretty weathered barn
and house, but I had to crop closely so that you could read
 the advertisement. That's a lot of feet without kick.

When Mike told Karen to take "O" to "G" at the "T,"
and then "O" at the "Y," she decided to just GO.

A black squirrel that Mike McGeough snapped
in . . .where else, but . . .

 . . . Norwalk, "The Black Squirrel Capital of the World."