Back
to North Calendar
Meet The Riders
Bamacyclist Home PageBack
to North Calendar
Meet The Riders
Bamacyclist Home PageHappy trails to you . . .
| 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 alone 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 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 and 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 these 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."
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." |
CHECK IT OUT: Tim's web site journal of the trip: http://www.bicyclecoadie.crazyguyonabike.com
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 . . .
|
 . . . Norwalk, "The Black Squirrel Capital of the World." |
