Minneapolis (Stillwater)

My Adventure Cycling route starts from Stillwater, so that's where we've come, although I do hope to get a chance to get into Minneapolis/St Paul to see Nic Lincoln while I'm here. Tayler got here before me -- she actually went to Minneapolis first and had a thoroughly frustrating time trying to get around, to park, and to find things; so when she picked me up today she reported that she really likes Stillwater and doesn't want to go back into M/SP.

Today, I rode about 45 miles, the most I've done since the first day. It was a lovely day: temps in the upper 60s to low 70s, much of the riding along the Mississippi River, and even the somewhat gusty wind and hills couldn't take the fun out of it for me. I stopped several times and had some nice conversations with people along the way.

I have been noticing that Remy's basket is starting to lose its integrity, and I've been concerned about the amount of dust and debris he's probably getting in the face as we ride. Tomorrow, I will visit a bike shop that Tayler ferreted out today (attached to a breakfast cafe/coffee shop) and probably get a trailer for him. I think he'll be okay with it as long as he can see me, and I'll feel better if he can move around a bit more, and keep off the sun, rain, and grit. I also think it will probably be safer for both of us, since his movement won't affect my steering. It's a relatively expensive item, but I think it will be worth it. One possibility might be to get a simple, flat trailer and attach his kennel to it. We'll see what they have to offer in the morning.

I'm excited to start the Adventure Cycling maps on Monday, although I may not get very far if I have to wait to get Remy's trailer. We'll see what happens. Some other things we have to do while here on a rest day are: laundry, oil change, car wash, take everything out of the car and see what's there and repack in a more organized fashion, rest.

I find myself composing songs and haiku as I ride. I don't remember the songs for long, even though sometimes they're pretty good. But I do remember the haiku. This one was from today:

Wisconsin is full

of lilacs, singing their song

of Alice ... Alice ...

If you've only ever crossed the Mississippi and not driven along it, I recommend it. It's an amazing body of water, and it affects everyone and everything near it. 

Time for sleep. I know there's more I wanted to tell you all, but the thoughts are slipping away. Night-night!

It was a hot one!

Today, I started from our Baymont Inn in Onalaska, WI. I wasn't really sure how to get to the trail, but I figured if I headed north and west, I'd come to it eventually; and that's sort of what happened. In the meantime, I cruised through some nice suburban neighborhoods, a stretch of secondary highway, and ended up at a wonderful nature center, whose name I don't remember, and I can't find the business card that the wonderful volunteer -- named Carol P (she wrote her full name down, but since I can't find the business card, ...) -- gave me. Carol was a breathy of fresh air in my day. She knew exactly where I needed to go and gave me excellent directions to get there. She also admired Remy, talked about a wonderful Bill Bryson book for me to check out at a later date, and talked about Grandma Gatewood's Walk with me. She gave me maps of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as some smaller ones of the immediate area; and she recommended that we not miss Perrot State Park. I relayed the information to Tayler. She went to Perrot, and when Remy and I came riding along we went into the park and found her on a grassy bank overlooking the Mississippi.

The temperature and wind this morning were ideal. I found myself with more energy and eager anticipation than I've had since riding with Sloth that first day. The trail (Great River Trail) that I was following was packed earth, not paved, but it didn't slow us down much. We traveled between 9 and 11 mph most of the day. As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter, until I realized that it was 90 degrees out. Once we reached the end of the Great River Trail, we had to get onto Hwy 35 (Great River Road) in order to progress further north. I probably sat back from the corner at that intersection for close to 45 minutes trying to figure out if there was another way to go, and listening to the whoosh whoosh of passing traffic. I wasn't sure how Remy would do with it, even though the shoulders were more than adequate.

After a consultation with Sloth which revealed that I could take another way, but it would take me far away from the river and, therefore, off track, I decided to see how Remy would fare; and if he tried to jump out of the carrier, I would find a shady spot and call Tayler. We made it 8.5 miles before I just needed to take my shoes off and sit down. When I stopped, I thought it was temporary and we would keep going; but once I got a look at how sunburned my legs were, I decided it was time to break for the day. We were just short of Fountain City, population 781.

It took a while for Tayler to get to us, so we consumed what was left of our water, walked around a little, and sat looking at the phone for possible lodging up ahead. We found a place with small, attached units right on Hwy 35, just past Alma, overlooking the river: Riedt Cabins. A lot of places were full. I guess the fine weather made lots of people think about getting away for the weekend. Once settled, we drove into beautiful downtown Alma to the Red Ram Saloon. My hamburger was quite tasty. I hope it sits okay.

From this place of utter exhaustion, let me say that, in spite of the temperature and the wind picking up later in the day, I had a wonderful ride. It was great to be able to see the Mississippi during the end of it. Tayler and I have agreed that, to keep this trip from lasting the entire summer, we will set approximately 60-mile goals each day (more or less, depending on the upcoming communities), and I will ride what I can of the 60 miles each day, calling on her to pick us up if/when I become too tired. I hope that my stamina will increase and that I will be able to ride most of it, but I just can't do it at 30+ miles per day.

Because we have already had several shorter days, tomorrow we will aim for Stillwater, the place where my Adventure Cycling maps begin. It is 76 miles from here, and we all know I will not ride that far, but I'll get on the bike in the morning and set out to go as far as I can. Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast, and I'm still thinking about how best to handle that. It could mean I won't see any rain all day; but it could mean that Remy and I will get caught in a downpour with thunder and lightning. I will elicit advice from my bicycling FB friends.

A quiet, restful day

As I believe I mentioned in yesterday's blog, it was decided that we would drive to La Crosse today. We had a leisurely breakfast in Baraboo -- at a restaurant, for a change, as we were getting kind of tired of hotel free breakfast food -- and then packed up and got on our way. We took the scenic route, and it was beautiful and rolling. There were several hills I was most grateful not to be riding up today.

Once we got to La Crosse, we parked and walked to a likely restaurant. Our server, Tony, had a resonant voice and great elan. After he had visited the table a few times, I finally asked him whether he was an actor. He said that he might be, why? I told him that his energy and voice spoke to that as a vocation or avocation. He said that he used to do a lot of acting, but work and post-secondary schooling had gotten in the way, but he was thinking about getting back into it on a community theatre level. I daresay he's thinking about it even more after my comments.

We walked back to the car, which was parked near a coffee shop (the Cabin). We each had a coffee, and I brought my computer in and used their WiFi in order to check out the bike route from there, a hotel, and the location of the nearest Walgreen's (lanolin for my knee, and lip balm with an SPF factor), a pet store (new basket for Remy?), and a hardware store. I was having trouble staying focused on my tasks, so I asked one of the workers at the coffee shop instead. Turns out there was a hardware store mere storefronts away where, "they can solve anything!" I went there to have an extra car key made, and the wonderful woman who worked there ended up solving the dog carrier problem, as well. I was also told that there was a Walgreen's on the way out of town to our hotel.

We researched restaurants once we had brought our stuff in from the car and Tayler had worked out on the stationary bike at the hotel. I thought I had found a great place -- the Crazy Horse Saloon -- with a really interesting and healthy menu. We took off in search of it. It wasn't there anymore and had been replaced by the Silverado Saloon. We opened the door. We closed the door. We went to Olive Garden. It seems that the Crazy Horse Saloon I had found on line was actually in California, which made a lot more sense with the menu. This place in Onalaska didn't look like they'd ever heard of goat cheese, much less served it!

After dinner, we filled the car up with gas, got a couple more necessaries, and headed back to the hotel where I, for one, will soon be laying down my head for the night. A high of 81 tomorrow looks very appealing. We may try to camp partway up the Mississippi, or we may hotel it. It looks as though campsites with electricity (for my CPAP) at Merrick State Park are $85, which is more than we are paying for the hotel tonight. The next three days have mostly to partly sunny skies predicted, and winds will be tolerable tomorrow and Sunday, if a little challenging on Saturday. We plan another rest day on Monday in Minneapolis before I start on the actual Adventure Cycling route maps on Tuesday. There is quite a bit of rain predicted for next week, but the winds are ESE and SE during much of it, which would be quite helpful, so I will plan to ride in the rain, as long as we're not getting deluges and thunderstorms.

The rest felt good.

Maybe I should call this trip, "Ride a little, get picked up"

I'm probably not being fair to myself, and I'm extremely grateful that I have Tayler, without whom I would probably be an exhausted, emotional mess by now, but this is the second day that I didn't make it to my destination under my own power.

I knew when I left Madison this morning that the winds would be daunting, and they definitely were, not to mention the "rolling hills." I enjoyed myself a great deal more, but after numerous stops and average speeds around 4-6 mph, I realized that I wouldn't make it to Baraboo this evening. Soooo, Tayler came and got me in Lodi, about 17 miles short of my destination. I hope, as weather changes and as I get stronger, that I'll be able to make 60 miles in a day. What I'm learning from these days, though, is that just like singing, every day is different -- in the world, in my body, in my mind.

I had one great bicycle shop experience in Madison, and one not so great. The proprietor at Revolutions Bike Shop on Atwood was extremely helpful. He sold me a pair of padded gloves (I had a pair, and they're most likely in the car someplace, but so far I'd been riding without because I couldn't find them.) and then proceeded to help me with mapping my way out of Madison and up to Baraboo. He and the other guys also discussed the pros and cons of the 102-mile, crushed limestone Elroy-Sparta Trail that goes from Reedsburg to La Crosse. Apparently, it parallels a highway with lots of access points, so it's easy to go back and forth as needed. If I get sick of the limestone, I can switch over to the highway. If I'm uncomfortable with traffic, I can switch back to the trail.

The not so great experience came when, after going through the downtown and back out Johnson St (which was where Tayler and I had  been for coffee earlier), I decided I could really use a map of the city of Madison, so I stopped at Old Town Cycles. Fortunately, the man who was working there had a map of the city because, when I tried to elicit route advice or directions he simply said, "I'm not good with directions. You have a map." Okay.

I did get off track, but a very nice gentleman at a liquor store at the County Road M turnoff knew the area well enough to get me to the next street on my directions from the Revolutions Cycle person. I've also discovered that I can map a destination on my phone and click on "walk", and it will usually get me someplace that is comfortably rideable.

I should probably mention that, when I heard the forecast for the day (north winds at 11 mph with gusts up to 17), I knew I was going to have to find a place inside that could enjoy this. And I did (mostly)! Dairy country is beautiful. I said "hello" to all the cows who lifted their heads to look at us: "Hello, my cow friends! I hope you are having a happy, peaceful life!" There was little traffic on the country roads I followed, which was a good thing because the shoulders were non-existent. Remy was still freaking out about big trucks, so if I saw one coming, I'd stop completely, put my arms around him, and talk to him until it had passed. I also made greater use of treats today. But I'm feeling as though his movement is too limited in the basket, so I may have to invest in a cart just for him (and some stuff).

I stopped often because the hills were non-stop, and going through them with headwinds made each one something that required preparation. At one point, I saw one ahead that looked like a vertical wall on top. We stopped at the bottom and had some beef jerky and water, and I had a chocolate/sea salt Rx bar just for extra fortification, while gazing at the incline and trying to decide whether I'd end up having to stop in the middle. I finally decided that it was likely, and it would be difficult to balance everything, so we walked up. If I'd been alone and unladen, I would have given it a shot; but I didn't want to risk crashing with Remy again. He's been pretty understanding about it so far.

This is the view from where we stopped and contemplated it. A side note: while I spent most of the day in the lowest of 3 gears and going between 4-6 mph, on the other side of this hill I reached my top speed of the day -- 29.3 mph -- for about 20 seconds!

The stops were frequent but healthy. I drank lots and lots of water, and Remy did, too. I even had to go to the bathroom a couple of times (TMI?), which I didn't when Sloth and I rode to Muskegon.

Anyway, with the slow pace and all the stops, I realized it would probably take me till about 10 p.m. to get to Baraboo where our hotel reservation was, so I had Tayler pick us up in Lodi. Tomorrow, though, the predicted high temperature is 66, the winds are "light and variable," and the base of the Elroy-Sparta Trail is only about 17 miles away. I'm hoping to accomplish 40 miles and get a good chunk of the trail behind me. The guys in Milwaukee told me that this particular trail is 102 miles long. They can do it in a day. It will take me at least 2 -- I'm being realistic now (finally!).

And here are some previous photos from the trip now that I've figured out how to post them!

Sloth and me on the way to Muskegon.

Nathan (L) and Steve (R) from South Shore Cyclery in Milwaukee.

Beautiful waterway along the Glacier-Drumlin Trail.

There's a red-winged blackbird in this picture. 

Rhubarb, ginger lemonade at Graze in Madison.

You know you're in a bicycle-friendly city (Madison) when the crossing lights are bicycle-specific. Hope you can see it.

Cool metal sculptures in Madison.

The best laid plans ... and Happy Birthday to Alice!

I started from Waukesha yesterday under bright blue skies with little wind. My first lesson of the day was that hotel maps are only good for finding things the hotel wants you to find, even if the bike trail is on there. I also learned that Wisconsin isn't great about posting street names. So it took a while, and one dog poopy stop, before we made our way to the trail head for the Glacier Drumlin Trail. I was supposed to have taken the Fox River Trail part of the way to get to it, but that didn't happen because of the hotel map. As I was riding, I got a phone call from Tayler, who had taken off in the car on her way to Madison. She had heard from the hotel, where I had left my card when checking out. Sheesh! She turned around, picked it up, and delivered it to me right before I got onto the trail.

The Glacier Drumlin Trail out of Waukesha is a lloonngg, steady, uphill grade - those trains, you know, that used to use these routes, couldn't go up and down quickly. Most of it was fine, except when I came out on an exposed ridge and realized that it was pretty windy. Nevertheless, I continued on to Dourson without much difficulty or mishap. Remy and I had a nice stop in Dourson, including snacks and water for both of us and nice conversation with a skater who had been on the trail.

Spirits risen and ready for the next leg, we mounted up and started across the street and back onto the trail, only to discover that this was where the crushed limestone started. I thought, "Okay. I don't know how far this goes, but how bad can it be?" The surface reduced my speed by about 2 mph on the flat. When I encountered the wind or a rise in grade, quite a bit more. After only a few miles (which seemed like more), I contacted friend Sloth for encouragement. Since he has many bicycling friends in Wisconsin, he found me an alternate route on roads. This was an area that he, himself, had not ridden, however.

After walking about a mile on the trail while Sloth did his checking, Remy and I began riding north on County Road D. The paved shoulder was only about 18" wide. There was crushed limestone shoulder beyond that, but it was uneven and certainly no better than the trail I had just been on. The upside was that it was much easier pedaling on the smooth road surface. The downside was that the wind was strong out of the west, creating a challenge to staying in the 18" area. There was little traffic, but what there was was mostly trucks, from pick-up to semi. One semi that passed caused Remy to nearly jump out of his basket. (He can't because he's buckled in, but the action is sort of like that of a person standing in a canoe.) I calmed him while continuing to ride, but the buffeting of the wind and his fear combined to bring me to a difficult decision. When we reached County Road B, on which we were to turn W, directly into the 18 mph wind on another road with 18" paved shoulder, I called Tayler to come and get us.

I felt a bit of a wussy, but I knew we couldn't do 20 more miles of that, and we all really wanted to stay in Madison last night. When we drove into Madison, we passed through Johnson Creek, the town I had originally thought I'd make it to on Monday (!), and I guess we could have stayed there; but I'm glad we got to Madison. We ate at a place downtown in view of the Capitol called Graze, with very interesting fare. I had bibimbop, which was spicy and delicious, but which I'm still experiencing this morning. Since it's still quite early, though, I don't think it will affect today's ride.

I haven't had a chance to check maps and conditions yet for today, but I hope to make it most of the way to the trail that runs from Reedsburg to La Crosse. If I remember correctly from talking with Nathan at the South Side Cyclery, that trail is 102 miles long, which will take me 2 days. If I can get to Reedsburg today, that's 3 days to La Crosse.

On a completely different note, today is the birthday of Alice Merlin Peterson, my beautiful and accomplished daughter #1. She is 29 years old today. I celebrate these wonderful years of having her in my life and all that I have learned from her. Happy Birthday, Alice!

First day in Wisconsin

Louise got up this morning and helped me figure out breakfast (a scramble with eggs, bacon and spinach). Then, she and Valerie drove me to the ferry terminal. As we were waiting for boarding, a woman behind me heard me talking about kenneling Remy and how stressful that would be. He was wearing his Emotional Support Dog vest, and she said that she works for the ferry company, and he didn't have to be kenneled. He marched on board with me and behaved like a perfect gentleman the whole time.

At the Milwaukee end, once again the staff was remarkably helpful. They encouraged me to stay as long as I liked and use the WiFi, and one man in particular (a fellow bicyclist) recommended a shop not to far away for me to get maps and things. The trip to South Shore Cyclery was pretty, mostly going right along Lakeshore Drive. Steve helped me with directions to Lacrosse, and then Nathan got involved, helping me find the best way to Minneapolis (where I pick up the Northern Tier Route at Stillwater) while Steve affixed my flag firmly to my bike and mounted the new mileage and speed-recording gizmo, which is battery operated, and I'm told the battery "lasts forever."

One important bit of information: If you're ever bicycling west out of Milwaukee, DON'T - let me repeat, DO NOT - forget to turn off from Greenfield onto 26th to get to the Hank Aaron Trail, and instead take Greenfield all the way to 116th, which was supposed to be the road to come back on from the trail. Yes, I did that. Even though Greenfield had (sometimes extremely faded to non-existence) bike lanes painted on it, the gutters were bumpy and potholed, the traffic was fast, and there was a patch of construction I would have LOVED to have missed. I realized somewhere around 78th that I had missed my turn, but knowing how trails are constructed, I couldn't count on just turning anywhere and finding an "in" to the trail, so I kept on Greenfield to 116th, turned L and found the New Berlin Trail. What a joy! I had a tail wind, and at one point registered 17.5 mph, the fastest I've ever gone.

Oh, I fell over again. I was making a reeaallllyy slow turn and suddenly had to stop, with no time to get my shoe out of the pedal. Fell on the same knee as yesterday. It looks pretty yucky, but still seems to be working fine. Thanks for the bandaids, Maria and Kathleen!

Along the way, I got a text from Tayler that she had made a hotel reservation, and the address of the hotel. It wasn't far from the route (about 1.6 miles), but it started with a really intense hill. I thought about calling Tayler to come and get me, but I broke it up into 3 sections and eventually made it. We got settled. I had a shower, and then we had dinner at a nearby Mexican place that was celebrating Cinco de Mayo, complete with a mariachi band and complementary chips and salsa to take home.

I'm beat. We're headed to Madison tomorrow. More later.

Is it only Sunday?!

Friday, as you've read, was a day of running around trying to prepare for the house to change hands AND the bike trip to begin. It was a long day, beginning with driving Remy to a 7:30 appointment in Kalamazoo.

Saturday also began early, because there was much to do. I started gathering and organizing things left in the house about 7 a.m. I taught a piano lesson 9-10 and then continued. Friend Annie, who was planning to help me, was called away on a family emergency, so I soldiered on, on my own. It was sort of like biking into the wind. I just kept my head down and kept moving. But after a while, with Katey and Trevor so eagerly working outside (and doing amazing things, btw!), the pressure started to build. Vickie called me around 2:00. She said, "How are you doing?" and I burst into tears. The voice of overwhelmedness had been playing in my head for at least an hour, and her question brought the feelings to the fore.

She said she was on her way. Right about that time, I also heard from my mom (who lives closer), and she also said she'd come. -- You should know that I had hoped to be OUT by 2:00. I had no idea how much work was left to be done. I had purged so much and was down to one plate, one fork, etc., I thought this would be pretty easy. It wasn't -- Mom washed dishes and cleaned up a bit in the kitchen, while Vickie and I continued to haul things to go to Goodwill and to store at Annie's house. Mom carried Goodwill stuff to her car and made a run there. It helped to have others involved, to have someone saying, "Where do you want this to go?" At one point, Vickie said, "Why don't we finish up in here before we move on to that space?" -- I was getting pretty ADD moving from one room to another, probably part of what gets me overwhelmed.

As things were finally starting to get emptied and organized, and my next task was to pack the car and the bike, Katey and Trevor's family members came to celebrate their new house. They had told me they had invited a few people over and wanted to make sure they wouldn't be in my way. I said that I thought, if they stayed in the front room, it would be okay. It was tough. There were quite a few people. Remy was already kinda freaked about all the stuff moving out and the new (2) people who  had been hanging around. Having people over to eat involves a kitchen, whether you mean for it to or not, so there was a lot of activity going on in the areas where I was working, with the unintended consequence of me getting pretty stressed out.

It probably would have been better for me to take the allotted time till noon today to get things cleared out, and to postpone my journey till Monday; but I didn't know that when I made the reservation for the ferry; so I had to get going. I finally "finished up" at the house about 10 p.m., made another trip to Annie's, and made my way to Sue's to sleep. I set the alarm for 7 a.m., but fortunately I woke up at 6.

I walked Remy in the rain, made yet another run to Annie's to empty more stuff out of the car, because I didn't know if Tayler would have anyplace to put her stuff, I had so much in the car. I also needed, when I got back to Sue's, to move things from the bike panniers to the car. (I could barely lift the bike onto the rack last night.) Another stop to leave a last box at Goodwill, and I made my way back to Sue's for one of her wonderful banana pancakes. I know she'll scoff about the "wonderful," but I just love the things she puts in them. And having someone make me a delicious, healthy breakfast is a demonstration of love to me.

Sloth showed up just before 9:00 to get on the road, but I was still eating. When all was finally in readiness, we took off, stopping briefly for hugs for/from Betsy, Isabel, and Vanessa. Then Sloth and I cruised by 120 Eastern one more time to get my rainbow flag for my bike. The new owners were already there, and Katey made some reference to them "cleaning up the mess [I] left." I felt bad. I felt bad when I left last night, and I felt bad when I heard her say that, but I wasn't sure what I could do. I remembered moving into the house nearly 15 years ago, and the garbage bags full of clothes and all kinds of other items in the attic and basement, and how I figured out what to do with everything and got rid of it AFTER moving in, because I didn't have time for painting and fixing up before moving. And yet, I didn't know that previous owner. I didn't know what her circumstances were or why she had left so much stuff. Katey and Trevor and I have gotten to know each other a little, and I felt really terrible that they had to clean up after me. They so wanted to walk into a beautifully clean new place, ready to set to work on painting, refinishing floors and all.

Sloth and I made our way to Richmond, then west to Walker, to 3 mile, and to the trail head. The city riding wasn't fabulous, but it was Sunday morning, so it wasn't too bad. The trail was great, especially after the drizzle ceased. We even saw some sunshine. Remy was a great, little rider. He was a pain to get back into the carrier after we took breaks, but overall he was a real trooper. He even survived a shoe clip failure fall that occurred early on (as did I). As Sloth and I were nearing Muskegon, I checked my phone and discovered a message from the ferry service saying that this afternoon's ferry was cancelled due to mechanical issues. After I told the voice mail, "You Suck!" I contacted my family (Dean, Louise, Valerie, and Stephanie) who live in North Muskegon, and eventually we connected at the ferry site. The ferry people agreed to hold my bicycle overnight, so all I had to bring back to the Derks abode was the pannier pack from the back.

Louise drove me back to their house, and Remy and I are relaxing while Louise, Valerie, and Stephanie go out to eat to celebrate Steph's birthday. I'm going to do some stretching and maybe take a shower before they get back. Dean isn't feeling well, and he's downstairs, so maybe I'll go hang out with him, as well.

Remy seems to be taking everything in stride. I don't know how much he'll like being kenneled away from me on the ferry tomorrow, but I suspect it will be a lot less stressful after a car ride to the ferry than after an extended bike ride of over 45 miles. (Sloth and I missed the turn off to the ferry and put in an extra 4 or 5 miles, I'm guessing.) Interestingly, that's about the distance I had figured out for tomorrow in Wisconsin, but now I will be arriving much later than the departure time I had counted on, so I may have to rethink tomorrow's destination.

Tayler picked up my car from Sue's house late this morning. I will update her on where I expect to end up late in the day tomorrow. I learned lots of gems from Sloth, both about him personally and about his solo biking experiences. Having someone fun and interesting to talk to definitely made the first day of riding go by quickly. We arrived at the ferry around 4:00, even with the detour. I felt as though the pace was doable, so I'll keep planning with that in mind until I feel stronger and can make the planned distance without exhaustion. Then perhaps I can add some miles.