Day 31 - July 28th - Viroqua, WI to Madison, WI
| Route Distance: | 109 | Average Speed: | 14.9 | |
| Total Distance: | 2177 | Maximum Speed: | 44.2 | |
| Riding Distance: | 111.3 | Elevation Gain: | TBA | |
| Riding Time: | 7:26 |
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| Picture Notes: Fog in the Wisconsin hills Bruce disappearing into the fog Katie, Kacy and Bruce Interesting contours Old church The biggest ear of corn we've seen (so far) Click here for more pictures from today |
| Today was another challenging day, due to both
the length as well as uncooperative winds. Since we had a long day I was up
at 4:30 am, and once my gear was packed up I joined Bruce, Courtney, Beth,
Alan, Catherine and David across the street at a small restaurant for
breakfast at 5:30 am. We were on the road shortly after 6:00, and I was glad
I had worn my vest and arm warmers as it was quite cold. The terrain starting
out was very hilly but some of the most beautiful we've encountered; small
farms, a combination of dairy cattle and corn, and as we went up over the
ridges and down into the valleys we kept moving in and back out of the fog.
The vistas through and with the fog were spectacular. However, by the time
we had the first 40 miles under our belts we were tired since we had done
quite a bit of climbing. The last 70 miles weren't nearly as scenic as we were on a busier highway, as the winds increased (combination crosswind and headwind), which made it much more difficult. We made several stops at convenience stores as well as a couple of fruit stands, both of which had petting zoos and large fiberglass models of produce. The last 20 miles were the icing on the cake - very steep hills, no shoulder, heavy traffic, headwinds, and construction detours which gave us several bonus miles. All in all a tough day, but we survived! We're camped outside of town in a small park, and once again Bruce knows someone in town, so we headed to their house for a great Wisconsin dinner of bratwurst, sweet corn, and locally brewed root beer, as well as a broadband Internet connection! We got back to the campground after our bedtime (around 9:00). |