Easy Ride to the Bottom of the Lake

Note: keep checking old posts for follow-ups. Our internet access has been horrendous, and I can only add when it cooperates.

Today was an easy 84 mile ride to Fond du Lac, which I have been told means “bottom of the Lake” I am sure that my Francophonic relatives will supply any necessary corrections. Tomorrow we head for our last destination in Wisconsin, which has been a quite pleasant state to ride through. We are looking forward to catching the ferry to Michigan on Monday. We will finally be in Eastern Time zone at that point!

The big news today was that Ilkka’s daughter had her baby today, making Ilkka a 2nd time grandfather. I wrote congratulatory messages on the road with chalk for him to see as he rode along.

Many riders had trouble staying on the route today, making wrong turns that had them riding in some cases over 100 miles instead of 84. I found my GPS to be quite handy at keeping me on course, finding detours around construction, and also discovered hat it can help guide us to Dairy Queens. Too bad it can’t help find pie. I have pretty much given up on my quest. I haven’t been able to find a piece of decent pie since South Dakota. Minnesota basically was a bust. The roads absolutely suck, there are no small restaurants along the roads, and the drivers were quite rude. Wisconsin was much nicer, although there are a lot of un-leashed dogs..

Riding Scenes:
Road construction

Today's terrain
Riding through a typical small town

Recumbent Larry had experienced a broken seat mount, and the bike company sent him a new frame to get his titanium recumbent bike back on the road. Here he is heading out.


I am having a terrible time getting online at the motels. Most of them have wireless networks, but don’t know how to make them work. This is the third try at tonight’s posting. It has eaten the other two, and I am getting tired.

A Tale of Three Tunnels; or The Quest for Pie

The ride today was different than most days in that a large section was done on a bike trail, the Elroy-sparta trail. This was not paved, but crushed gravel or dirt. My bike did fine, but many needed a good cleaning when we were done. the route led out from La Crosse on regular streets, then we found ourselves at the trailhead. You need to buy a permit to use the trail.

I enjoyed the shady, tree-lined trail, but it was not hot and sunny like yesterday, but rather cloudy and cool (no complaint here)

Here are Lois and Annie riding along the trail.


I got this picture of Ilkka coming across a bridge.



The tunnels were very cool (either meaning). They still bore the coating of soot from when trains, rather than bicycles passed through them. The longest was about 2/3 of a mile, meaning you couldn't initially see the other end. We used flashlights to see, and walked our bikes through. (at least most of us)


Our route sheets had indicated multiple possibilities for pie procurement and eatage at the little towns along the trail. At Kendall, it was indicated that we should be able to find "Amish food". We did a complete crcuit of the town, and found only two taverns, both so smoke-filled that I never would have eaten any thing found within anyway. At a stop sign, we asked a local driver where we could find good home cookin'. He said "nowhere around here!' He sent us on to the next town. On our arrival, I checked in to the SAG, and asked if anyone had found good food yet. I was given incorrect (or unclear) directions that had me on the wrong road, I think. Anyway, we settled for a little cafe that had great cheseburgers, but no real pie. I had a slice of something they called apple pie, but it was more like a cardboard display of pie. The waitress was also in the wrong line of work. She was offended when I tried to order more food. "Can't you see I have all these customers!?"

When I checked in at the motelin Wisconsin Dells, Ilkka and Kent told me of he wonderful pie shop that I had either just missed, or been on the wrong road to find. It was what I had been looking for. I was tempted to ride the 40 miles back to have my real dessert. Oh Well!

Across Old Man River

Today was another fairly long ride, but included a real milestone, crossing the Mississippi River. We left the Rochester area, from where you can see this water tower shaped like a giant ear of corn.


The early part of the ride was rather misty, due to the copius amounts of rainfall that still puddled in most places. The ominous skies of yesterday were soon forgotton (not really, but is sounds better) in the beauty of the new day. Here are scenes from along the ride.


At one point, we were able to take a very nice bike trail that avoided some of the traffic, and kept us in the cool glades along a river. THis was another rails to trails project. The storms had inflicted a lot of damage to trees along the trail, but kudos to the crews who were clearing the fallen trees evevn as we rode by.



This part of the country has a wealth of older churches, with distinctive architecture.

I had a snack in the town of Rushford, where I was told that there would be great pies at local diners. Again, a bum steer. No pie exists in Rushford. Rushfordites, however, extolled the pies of the town we had just come from, Peterson. I would have ridden back to Peterson, except there was the matter of having coasted downhill 2 miles into Rushford, and I didn't relish the thought of climbing back out.

Rushford was not a total waste. I found a hardware store where I was able to bodge together some parts to make a camera mount to replace some pieces that had come off during the terrible storms of the day before. Once installed, I had a perfectly good mount, and my replacement camera went back on the bike, and has been working well since. I wish I could say the same for the camera I had bought back in Twin Falls. It has been my snapshot workhorse, but didn't survive the storms. When I went to turn it on to record yesterday's sunset, the lens just opened, shut, and did this two more times. It never went into picture taking mode. I will try to dry it out some more.
After the bike trail, we headed up the big climb for the day.


Our reward for the hill-climb was coasting down for 3 miles, crossing the Mississippi, and entering Wisconsin.

The motel in La Crosse is one of the best on the tour, and our room is big enough for all three bikes and probably one of the SAG vans. The atrium of the motel has an indoor water park. It will probably be noisy tonight. I think there is also a wedding party or something going on.

Where Were You When It Hit?

I'm not talking about the meltdown of Floyd Landis in the Tour de France. I'm talking about the first huge thunderstorm of the day. They had predicted a 70% chance of rain, with scattered severe storms. The reality was worse than most of us expected.

The day started off with a steep climb out of Mankato. I took this picture of a farm implement dealership at sunrise.


Next came a rather unnecessary detour onto a gravel road that was very unpleasant for me, having no weight on my front wheel to give traction. It lasted about 3 miles, and pretty much messed up my whole camera mount. I had mounted my "new" camera (courtesy of my mother)and was once again taking sequential road pictures. Once back on pavement, I stopped and fixed everything. I was now at the back of the pack. I began catching up to those ahead of me, and ended up riding for awhile with Sarah. We pulled into the first SAG by a lake.



As you can see, the picture is rather gloomy. This is no illusion. The first signs of the impending storm were approaching. I headed out of the SAG with Larry (recumbent) hoping to get to the next town ahead of the storm (Ha!) We had just completed a Mach 1 recumbent fly-by of Dan and Bill when the dark band of clouds that had been on the horizon came over us so rapidly we barely had time to find shelter. Ahead of us, Don, Ted, and his son Steven had found the same farm we were headed for, and had asked the farmer if we could take shelter in his barn. He said no, he was afraid we might smoke. His wife eventually talked him into allowing us to go into his smaller barn. We did not smoke.

The storm hit with full force just as we rushed for cover. These pictures are accurate as to the color and darkness of what was about to hit us.




We had a good time once we were safe under cover. Also there were Sara and Chuck, who had been ahead of us and turned back. Barn census: Jim, Larry, Don, Steven, Ted, Chuck, and Sara. Soon, we had two more, as Dan and Bill found their way to the barn as well.


Here is our cozy group waiting out Round 1


We waited about an hour for the storm to subside enough to let us continue. Finally, we thought it was OK, so we headed out. We had only gone about a half mile when we saw what I can only describe as "The Doomsday Bolt". I saw branches out to each side within the cloud, and 3 separate bolts straight down to the ground in the direction we were headed. I pulled a very fast U-turn and headed back with the others to another farm we had spotted. I knocked on the door of the house, startling the housewife inside. Her husband then came to the other door, and we expleined our plight. The husband, Lonnie, invited us into his house, but we suggested that the garage would be more appropriate. He cheerfully opened the garage door, lit up a cigarette, and began to show us why he was such a good host. First he brought some bottled water for us, then he went back and brought in a baby chinchilla. He and his wife raise them to sell as pets. Here is a picture of an adult chinchilla he brought next.

Then came the puppies (pictures came out blurred) Here is our group in the garage, and folding chairs that Lonnie brought out for us.

, fashioned a garbage bag poncho.
Chuck, missing his rain jacket

The rest of the day was a seemingly endless progression of ride..rain..lightning..shelter..rain..ride..lightning..shelter, etc. I made it in at about 4:15, my longest day of the tour time-wise. Everyone had their own stories to tell at dinner/route rap. See other blogs for other accounts.

They say tomorrow should be sunny and pleasant, with favorable winds. We shall see.

A Good Day in Minnesota, You Betcha!

5:15 The alarm goes off, but we are already awake thanks to Ilkka's internal alarm that flawlessly wakes him 5 minutes before the motel clock.

5:20 I am packing all my electronic gear and waiting for my turn in the bathroom

5:30 Take care of various things in the bathroom. Some would be too graphic for this blog. I also fill my water bottles from the faucet. We don't use the coolers from the SAG vehicles for water until the first SAG stop.

5:35 I have packed my bags and taken them out to the truck for loading. It is not yet ready for loading.

5:40 Get my bike from Larry's room. He is my new recumbent brother. He let me store the bike there since our room was too small.

5:45 Get in line to load my bags onto the truck. Load bags, initial the checkout sheet, add Gatorade to one water bottle. Pump air into rear tire. Only needs 5 pounds more.

5:50 Head down the road to breakfast at Country Kitchen. Arrive to see lots of bikes decorating the exterior. It looks good.


5:55 Wait in line while cooks finish setting up the breakfast buffet.



6:40 Head out and begin the ride.

6:40 to 8:20 Ride, take pictures of the scenery.




7:11 Spot a cropduster plane spraying a field. Take pictures.



8:20 Arrive at SAG #1 Sign in, wash hands, eat snacks, take a picture. This was the largest group I have seen at a SAG at one time.



8:25. Head out from SAG. I don't like to hang around too long or my muscles stiffen. I ride for awhile alone, then spot the wolfpack rapidly getting larger in my mirror. I see that they are being led by the tandem of Daun and Bill. They must be moving at about 22 mph. They pass me, and I hook onto their draft. We ride quickly for quite a few miles.



9:25 Most of the wolfpack wants to keep going north where we are supposed to turn east. I make the turn, and honk to let them know to turn. I increase speed, and they fall behind.

10:14 Arrive in town of St. James. I find a stretch of road covered by loose gravel. I find out how loose by doing a 2 wheel slide at 20 mph. I stay upright fortunately. I call the road conditions in to staffer Michelle. The next SAG is just around the corner, so I head there after slowing down the arriving tandem of Lil and Ray, and the rest of the pack.

10:20 Short break at the SAG. Head out with pack. Find a rider looking a lot like Kent, who should have just been pulling into SAG. It is Kent, who missed the SAG.

11:30 Run into paving operations. Call Michelle to report alternate route, and tell them that we know where Kent is. Resume ride, now with Kent. The pack is long gone.

12:15 Stop in town of Lake Crystal. Objective: DQ for lunch. The pack is eating here also.

12:45 Have resumed ride. Pass scenic lake. One house has this float plane in the yard.



1:45 Arrive at Holiday Inn in Mankato

2:00 Head for jacuzzi and pool for relaxation

2:30 Call home, let them know I got in fine, and that my replacement camera has arrived. . . finally. I ordered it Friday a week ago, and have missed photographing two states because of the delay.

3:00 Head for the post office to mail a package home with extra stuff I don't want to carry anymore.

5:30 Route rap. Discuss the route for the next day. Is there really a cliff at mile 85?

5:45 Load van for trip to Old Country Buffet for dinner.

6:00 Eat, and eat some more

7:00 head back to hotel so I can finish this blog.

A Middle Chainring Day

Note: There seems to be a problem uploading pictures today. I will try again later.

My bike has 27 speeds. There are three chainrings at the crank, and 9 cogs on the freewheel cassette. By choosing various combinations of front and back gears, you can find a gear ratio for just about any situation. In the mountains, I spend a lot of time on my small chainring, giving me a selection of my lowest ratios. On the flat stretches and downhills, I usually keep it on the big chainring, for the highest gear ratios. Today should have been one of those days, but a strong crosswind turned into a headwind for a good part of the ride, and my middle chainring got a real workout for once. It was also like that going into Sioux Falls. Fortunately, the wind was out of the Northeast instead of Southeast today, making it about 15 degrees cooler than the last few riding days.

We departed Sioux Falls by way of their very nice bike trail, running along the Big Sioux River, each turn bringing us into a cool glen still wet with rain from an eary morning thunderstorm. Eventually we made it to Sioux Falls Park, where we had to leave it for regular roads. It was nice while it lasted. The regular roads did have one benefit, they led us to a new state, our fifth state.

I noticed several things today. It was the first day since eastern Idaho where there was not a place where I could not see a house. If you have trouble with all the "nots", it means that we are back in "civilization". There are frequent towns, and farms between the towns. I even noticed "outskirts" to Worthington. Also, everything looks green here. Being surrounded by green vegetation has a profound effect on how I feel while riding. I noticed the other day that when I looked at a brown wheat field to my right, I felt hot and thirsty. If I looked at the lush corn field to my left, I immediately felt cooler. I don't care if it is all in my mind, because my mind runs my body. Finally, there were a lot of large windmills visible from miles away at several locations. These appeared to be about 200 feet high, and were silently turning the abundant wind energy into electricity. I thought they looked very nice among the fields, kind of like (extra)large flowers. A lot nicer than a smoke-belching coal-fired plant.

Today the winds were our main foe. When we were headed at all northward, we fought the winds gusting to over 20 mph. I had more problems with being blown around by crosswinds. At one point I was blown clear off the road by a gust. The gravel shoulder was not firmly packed, and my tire dug in. When this happens, you lose steering. I managed to get my foot down before falling over, as I would have acquired a gravel-rash badge of courage like a few of our other riders. To clarify some other blog accounts, there was no other traffic involved.

After the SAG stop, I caught up with Larry, the new recumbent rider. As it turns out, his bike had a broken support to the seat, which explained the rattling noise he had been wondering about for several miles. We combined Larry's allen wrench with my Duck brand duct tape, and fashioned a great splint. It held over the next 30 miles and we pulled into the motel in time for Larry to call in an order for a new seat to be shipped tomorrow. In the meantime, mechanic Tom modified the broken strut to make it useable again, so Larry can ride tomorrow instead of SAGging or riding a spare bike.

It never got hot today. I had fogotten what "cool" felt like. Also, my replacement camera, ordered over a week ago, has arrived at our next destination. Thanks Mom!

Hard-Fought Rest Day in Sioux Falls

On paper, it looked like it could be a repeat of yesterday's easy ride to Mitchell. The weather forecast had other ideas, however, and the threat of 110 degree heat and 30 mph winds caused us to get an earlier start than originally planned.

I ate a quick breakfast at Bonanza, which had opened especially for us. They do not usually do breakfast, but had fixed a nice spread for us. We hit the road soon after sunrise, and immediately felt the wind working against is, either as a crosswind or headwind as we maneuvered east and south toward our rest-day destination of Sioux Falls.
Scenes from the road:


Here is one of Kent zinging along nicely.

Again, here is the problem for cyclists hoping for some sign of towns. This sign says that in 4 miles, I should be in Sioux Falls. Only problem, all you can see are farms. I actually made it 3 more miles before I started seeing signs that I was approaching a large town.

The heat never reached the dire predictions, but still exceeded 100. The motels have been really great with providing us with cold treats upon our arrival, and the Super 8 had cold drinks and what we used to call Dreamsicles, the orange sherbet, vanilla ice cream bars. A perfect welcome. Off to a nearby sports bar for lunch and big screens showing the Tour de France, then back to the hotel to try to write this blog. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I walked over to the near by mall and got a haircut. My hair was just the right length to make quite a Mohawk when I removed my helmet. It is much better now, but I have the telltale tanless areas. At route rap we met one of our new riders, Larry Schwartz. As luck would have it, her rides a recumbent, so Mike's departure will not leave me the sole practitioner of recumbency after all. Dinner was at a buffet restaurant. I ate too much.

Fast Ride to a Corn-y Town

Today was one of those days just made for recumbents. The route was mostly flat, with small rises and dips. I started off easy after a quick breakfast of pancakes and "rocket fuel" (oatmeal with brown sugar). I caught this picture of the sunrise over a grain elevator. I also am including last night's sunset over the bridge across the Missouri River south of Chamberlain.



Here was what the terrain looked like at the beginning.

I took this one as I rode. The terrain flattened out after the initial climb out of town.

My bike and my legs both demanded to be allowed to run free today, so I obliged. The faster I went, the better I felt. After the first big hill, and some quick conversations with other riders, I pulled out all the stops and motored out at 25-28 mph, taking advantage of a light tailwind. Altogether I had my fastest ride of the tour so far. I got into Mitchell by 10 a.m., checked in, shopped for some necessities at K-Mart, helped unload the luggage, watched the end of the Tour de France stage, and then took a quick nap. I woke up at noon, and set off to find where everyone else was. They had all gone to the Corn Palace, Mitchell's claim to tourist-y fame.
The Corn Palace is a concrete building about the size of the Mosque in Richmond. Each year they cover the exterior and parts of the interior with naturally colored corn using some theme, this year the rodeo.

I went inside and ran into some of the other riders. Some of them had already eaten lunch, but Stu and Abe hadn't, so we went across the street to a Mexican restaurant, Los Sombreros. This picture explains the name.

This little girl named Destiny, was our hostess. She was the daughter of the owner, and was quite precocious.

Later, we hit DQ, and the hung around enjoying some unencumbered time for a change. Dinner for me was a real flashback. I spent some 10 years as an cook or manager at Bonanza in Harrisonburg and Richmond VA, and enjoyed some nostalgic moments here at the Big B, as we used to call it.

We have another fairly short day tomorrow, and it will lead into a rest day, so we are all looking forward to that. Unfortunately, we lose a large group of riders, whom we will all miss as they head home, done for now with their portion of the tour. Some were finishing up their coast-to-coast tour started years ago, others did the portion their schedule allowed, and hope to finish at another time. I will especially miss "Recumbent Mike", who shared with me the notoriety of riding a weird bike. I hope to cross paths again with Mike, and the others who are leaving. Our tour is full of people who previously rode together. Bon Voyage!

Halfway Day!

Today was our halfway day! At about 8 this morning, we crossed the halfway line that the ABBike staffers had drawn on the road. What a milestone! This also is the 25th day of our venture, so it also represents half of our tour has passed time-wise.


We were a battered group today after our epic battle with the elements and the distance yesterday. Almost to a person, the riders agreed that it was the toughest of the ride. Several riders had taken falls on gravel at SAG stops or along the shoulder of the road,and were wearing their battle scars today.

Fortunately, the weather was much more pleasant, with the remnants of a thunderstorm creating a cool start, and the clouds postponing the inevitable heat.

I rode for a good part of the day with Mike. He will leave the tour in Sioux Falls, and from then on, I will be the sole voice of recumbency on the ride.

At one point today, we were on the same route as another bike tour which was riding the return route of Lewis and Clark. One of them was on a Easy Racers Gold Rush, which is almost like mine, but with a lighter frame. We chatted briefly, but he didn;t seem to be in a very good mood, so we got a picture and rode off.

Today's route was along the mighty Missouri River, and through a Indian reservation.




Although the route was 85 miles today, I treated it as a "rolling rest day" and didn't push it. I felt quite good at the end, and finished at around 1 p.m. I ate lunch at a restaurant near the motel, reputed to have one of the best cheeseburgers as rated by readers digest and some other publications. It was pretty good, but they ran out of homemade rhubarb pie right before I placed my order!!! I better get some soon, before I suffer withdrawal symptoms.

My health is great, I am riding strong, have only a few "wear spots", and am managing my food and water intake well. The bike is working like a champ, and other riders keep checking to see "where the motor is".