It has been five days of steady riding since leaving Burlington, IA.
The first day into Muscatine, "pearl of the Mississippi" and home of the worlds largest pearl button factory was fairly civilized. The terrain is still rolling but for once there wasn't much wind and what there was seemed to be from behind most of the time.
We got into the hotel to discover that the criterion riders were all here and competing in a local criterion. Guess they take the Memorial Day weekend to do three in a row. As we continue to zig zag up the river, they will be peeling off and heading home to their various states.
Unfortunately although we arrived in time to visit the museum and downtown, everything was closed. We grabbed lunch in "Southern Girls BBQ " just as they were pulling the ribs and brisket off of the grill set up outside on the sidewalk so we enjoyed our late lunch and headed back out of town to the motel.
We have been riding during the day on the Illinois side of the river(supposedly the flatter side) and then crossing over into Iowa for the interstate motels.
Going from Muscatine to Maquoketa Iowa was a van day for me after a rough night of cramping, overheating and not sleeping. I didn't really mind as it was a strong headwind day and the terrain was generally rolling. We got into Maquoketa (the bear was here) in the van by noon, the rooms were ready so I crashed until dinner.
Tomorrow will be better.
Maquokeeta to Dyerville, IA was another windy day and very rolling. It was one of those days when if you are in a group, each person takes a turn as lead rider hard because everybody has a different style and pace on the hills and it takes a while to regroup and sort out so in spite of the fact that we were trying to group and pull, it didn't really work. Whenever we turned across the wind the spokes of my wheels were singing so the wind was at least 15 mph or stronger, with gusts that either made you skitter across the road or almost blew you back down the hill. The highlights of my day were to actually achieve a top speed of 14 mph while peddaling as hard as I could downhill, and admitting that I was no longer having fun and getting into the van at mile 30 (out of 63.)
Dyersville IA to Prairie du Chien MN took us through the towns of New Vienna, Luxemburg and Guttenburg. You know it will be a challenging ride when the guide mentions that there are five "terrain features that might prove challenging", and takes care to point out the " Steep climb", "scenic overlook" and "Pikes Peak" on the cue sheet. We seem to have progressed into a new cooler climate zone which is not too bad small town was 67, quite a change from the 90+ we were in last week.
The climbs were indeed challenging. The first three (including the one which led to the scenic overlook) were 8-10% and about two miles long each. Not impossible if you settle in to a granny gear and get a regular pedal stroke and breathing pattern going. But that kind of 20-30 minute climb leaves you a lot of time to sit and wonder why you are doing this, study the trees, think about the mathematics of the gear ratios, wonder who won the latest greatest competition etc. and then leaves you leaning over your handlebars at the top gasping and wondering if you are going to throw up, faint, or ride on.
The answer to "why" comes in the glorious downhill runs, which were long swooping curves with good visability, dry clean shoulders and the confidence to let your bike build speed while you are hunkered into an aerodynamic tuck.
The scenic overlook, the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers was worth every inch of the climb and the shortened down hill to reach it. The sag wagon was there so we guzzeled water, gatorade or our favorite power drinks while munching fruit, granola bars and pretzels while contemplating the view.
The last two hills of the day were the hardest. The first was the climb called Pikes Peak and the other was the "steep hill". Each was 2 miles long and the grade increase from 8-10 to 10-12%. I had to stop about halfway up each hill to get my breath and contemplate actually walking the rest of the way. As it turned out I was able to convince myself to get back on the bike and soldier on but there were several ladies who walked one or both hills who were probably the wiser and less sore for it.
The downhill on the final hill took us into the town of McGregor, home of the Ringling Brothers of circus fame. The downtown along Main Street was charmingly restored and painted with several places to stop for lunch. We were disappointed to learn that the "Twisted Chicken" was no longer in business as it had been mentione by Carol the guide, so we settled on the Bluegill cafe instead. Their special of the day was Mississippi Mud Carp Chowder with Kickapoo blend coffee. It was delicious!
A couple of mild rollers beyond McGregor we rode across the bridge into Prairie Du Chien and Wisconsin for a one night stay.
The AmericInn where we stayed had rooms ready, iced lemon water at the front desk, a great spa and a message chair so we were very happy campers.
I was of two minds as to whether or not I was going to ride the 97 miles from Prairie du Chien via La Crosse to Winona, MN. The first half promised to be flat, and according to the cue sheet, with a generous designated bike only shoulder. I was still debating in my mind after breakfast when I took my luggage out to the van at 6:45 AM. It was cold and raw. When I came down 10 minutes later with my bike it was raining to I took the cowards way out, handed my bike up to the top of the van and climbed in.
As we were driving along I could see that the first 50 miles of so would have been lovely had it not been raining but I decided that I had made the right choice. We stopped at 35 miles to pick up a couple of worn wet riders and then went on to 47 miles to wait for the next group in the parking lot of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery. There was an Amish buggy parked next to a red pick up at one end and three more buggies a bit further along the parking lot. The horses were all tethered in the grass off to the side. An interesting cultural juxtaposition.
Amish buggies at the Genoa Fish Hatchery-did they work there?
We picked up several more riders and then headed to the start of the 25 mile gravle bike path that started after the city of La Crosse. At this point the slowest rider was still a couple of miles short of the 47 mile stop so we settled in to wait for her as she had specifically requested a 60 mile stop. The remaining riders who were soldiering on into the dwindling rain passed us and took off into the poorly marked series of gravel paths that took them through a wilderness area. After an hour or so, two of the riders came back swearing that the trolls had messed with their phone and bike computers as nothing matched the cue sheet and refusing to go back into the woods. Lynne, the other guide, took her bike off the front of the van and led them out through the edges of town to where they could get back of the trail for the remainder of the ride into Winona.
?
Meanwhile back at the van, the tail rider had shown up, added her bike to the roof racks and climbed into the van. We had to ride with the windows open to the cold air in order to keep the van from steaming up from the wet riders drying off and warming up.
There is a state atheletic meet here in Winona, so the hotel if full of gangling young men and women wandering around in packs with their adult supervisors. We had pizza last night since this is a big hotel, it was a long day with the final riders pulling in about 6:00pm and Lynne was unable to cook.
Our room here is actually a mini suite with a separate room with a double bed futon, and second large flat screen tv and a third flat screen in the bathroom so you can lie in the bathtub and watch the news. It's actually quite decadent.
I spent my free day doing laundry, cleaning, lubbing, oiling and checking the tires on the bike. Went downtown to explore a bit, got some shot blocks at the bike store and had lunch.
Tomorrow is the start of our final five days in a row of biking. After that we have a final day off, then two days to complete the distance into Lake Itasca. We will spend the night there and then wave goodbye to our bikes as they head off the the Minneapolis bike shop to be packed and shipped off to our homes while we board a bus and head to the airport.
Tomorrows ride is only 35 miles which means we will get to sleep in a bit, although our minds and bodies will still be waking and getting ready to go by 6:00 AM . At least we should get into Wabasha in time to see the sights like the National Eagle Center and the Church with the Tiffany stained glass windows.
So far in this ride I have ridden 20 out of the 24 days of riding. Although variable on a day to day basis my average distance has been 55 miles, I have ridden 1298 miles out of a possible 1500. I have also learned that I can burn as many calories riding 25 miles against a 15mph wind as I normally burn on an average 75 mile ride with onlymoderate wind. On the other hand, riding with a tail wind of more than 8 mph cuts my calorie burn from an average of 7-9 calories a minute to an average of 5-7.
More minor details contemplate while riding.
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