Day 22 - Portage WI to Manitowoc WI, 126 miles, 5000' cumulative climbing

Oh, did I mention the final and best part of yesterday's experience?  Mark drove up from home with Maggie to visit for two days and work on some routes for next year's WCCC Madison Weekend.  They were a terrific boost to my morale.  He has been my biggest and best supporter, coach, fan and source of encouragement starting from even before I signed up for this journey.  So after 3 weeks on the road it's great to have them here.  Maggie was a hit with the other riders.  She's always in a good mood and I think she knows how cute she is!
The day's ride, the last before our rest day, looked pretty moderate from the profile and description.  But like some of the other days out west that seemed easier at first, this was a very tough day of cycling.  Lots more climbing than I expected, with the entire middle third of the ride being medium size hills to scale.  And not "rollers" where you can get some momentum going down one to get partway up the next one, but steep and more sustained climbs that wore us all out.  Still some of the best roads in Wisconsin, but after yesterday I think we were mentally hoping for a less strenuous effort.

A faster group passing our paceline

We made it through, though, and hung up the bike shoes for a well-earned day off tomorrow.

 

 
Hills, hills, beautiful hills 

Steep!

Day 21 - LaCrosse WI to Portage WI, 133 miles, 4300' cumulative climbing

 I have biked thousands of miles in Wisconsin over the last 15 years, and am convinced it's one of the finest areas in the country for cycling.  At least of the parts of the country I've seen.  And today underscored and reinforced that opinion. Wisconsin has it all: Rolling farmland, steep wooded hill climbs, great secondary roads with light car and truck traffic, rivers, lakes, wildlife, etc.  Get it?  And I had been anticipating this day to be a good one because Lon Haldeman knows Wisconsin cycling like nobody else and picked a great variety of roads for us today.

We rode out of LaCrosse with 5 big climbs on the route, the very first starting on the edge of town and being the toughest one of the day.  It was about 2 miles long and varied in steepness from 6-10%.  But the morning was cool and calm and the surroundings were lovely. So while the climbing was difficult, it was a spectacular day of challenge and beauty.  The route also laid out in the way I particularly like; the tough climbing was all in the first half, and the second half was easier, flatter farmland roads that offered a chance to cruise along with just moderate energy output.

Along the way we passed Amish farmers and families, lots and lots of classic dairy barns and cows, horses, goats, steep uphill and downhill runs, vistas from hilltops that go for miles, and woods of pine and hardwood trees that cooled the air.  This was epic Wisconsin biking.  This is what keeps me coming back for more.

Stats for Week 3:                                               Trip so far (21 days)

899.7 miles ridden                                             2398.1 miles ridden
22,370' total climbing                                         82,990' total climbing
Replaced broken cue sheet holder

 Riding through farmland with David Groat from Littleton, CO.  His wife Alice joined us in LaCrosse as a crew member for the eastern leg of the trip.

Hand-baled Amish hay

Day 20 - Albert Lea MN to LaCrosse WI, 143 miles, 1500' cumulative climbing

 I've been looking forward to this day's ride for some time, because a few years ago Mark and I rode a portion of it and loved the experience.  The Root River Trail runs through a number of small towns in southeast Minnesota and has dense wooded sections, many miles along the river, open sections with views of farmland, and is well maintained.  And, the forecast for today called for more favorable winds.  Yes! 

And the day delivered, with a most enjoyable day on the bike.  We rode through rolling farmland, over the Root River several times over the course of 45 miles on the trail that follows it, had lunch in a park in Whalen, one of several towns along the Root River that have made something of a bicycle tourism industry out of the path's attractions. And had a memorable day on the road.  For whatever reasons, sometimes a day just stands out as one of the really good experiences.  






And finally a big symbolic sign of progress on the journey:   crossing the Mighty Mississippi into LaCrosse, Wisconsin.  Now I feel sort of like I'm in the neighborhood of home, since we ride so many miles in the Wisconsin hills every year.

Wrong turn!

Crossing into familar territory in Wisconsin

Day 19 - Worthington MN to Albert Lea MN, 120 miles, 1400" cumulative climbing

Being obsessed with the weather forecast is a common thread among all the riders.  If one person's weather app doesn't give you the kind of info you want, you just keep looking at other apps until the "right" forecast appears. But lately we don't care whether it rains or not, since it's so warm.  It's all about the wind.  Last night the forecasts finally showed some hope that we would get some relief from the never-ending headwinds we've been struggling to get through.  And though it rained briefly before we set out, the wind was very calm and the roads almost dry for our first few miles.  As the morning went on, the wind began to tick up a little bit at a time, and as we had hoped it was partly at our backs. Good enough to help increase our average speed over yesterday by more than 2 mph.  And good enough to call today a "120 mile recovery ride", because with very little hillwork and favorable winds we didn't have to work nearly as hard as the previous 3 days' ordeals.
As Cliff joked, "you know you're on PAC Tour when.....you call a 120 mile day a recovery ride!"

Bike cleanup area a few minutes later!

The change in mental outlook was palpable among many of our riders, and crew as well.  What a difference a day makes!  Now looking forward to tomorrow with a bit more enthusiasm as it might just be even better.  And an evening downpour, just after everyone had arrived at the finish and mostly cleaned up their bikes, didn't phase us a bit!

Bike cleanup at the end of the day 

 

Day 18 - Mitchell SD to Worthington MN, 135 miles, 2240' cumulative climbing

 After the last two days, with 292 miles of heat, headwinds, and endless rolling hills, you might think we were due for a respite today.  But you would be wrong!  Another long day in South Dakota (and finally moving on into Minnesota), 135 miles, with perhaps fewer hills, but still the unending headwind. It's hard to explain how much of an energy and attitude drain a strong wind can have over the course of a day (or maybe 3 long days!), but its cumulative effect makes you feel beaten down.  So when we finished today, my knees hurt, I was feeling like I had
been a punching bag for someone to practice on, and generally just worn out. 
This is truly grind week; it's getting the miles behind you that is the important thing, while not getting dejected, and certainly staying alert on the bike to avoid any bad judgment calls or potential crashes.  Starting to look forward to getting into Wisconsin this weekend, where I'll feel much closer to home.  We did reach the halfway mark in miles ridden just before lunch today so that's a significant marker.
For now I'm just tuckered out, so will save my words for another day. Ice for the knees is my next task this evening. 

Morning - still smiling before the afternoon sun and wind beat-down!

Not much variation in scenery today

Day 17 - Murdo SD to Mitchell SD, 145 miles, 2000' cumulative climbing

Nearly fogged in this morning at breakfast, we started out on the road with taillights on for safety.  Visibility was extremely limited for an hour or more before the fog began to burn off.  Fortunately it kept the morning cool, but sopping wet with moisture.  Then it looked like it might unexpectedly rain on us, something that hasn't happened for two weeks.  
It did not rain.  But the winds once again were against us.  Mostly out of the northeast today, something we call a quartering headwind, as it was hitting us across the front left shoulder.  Fighting the wind is draining when you are going in one direction all day and know there is no other option but to keep going.  Once again, the end of the cycling day couldn't come soon enough.  But, it's part of getting across the country and every mile is going to count, however unappealing it might be.

So when we are traveling from west to east and one ordinarily expects a prevailing westerly wind pattern, why don't we get what we want? Just wondering...
We crossed the Missouri River shortly before lunch today, and that was the major sightseeing attraction.  The beauty of South Dakota was apparently limited to the previous couple of days, as we slogged through corn, bean and hay fields with not a lot of passing interest to keep our attention.

At the end of the day, however, PAC Tour had one of their popular Ice Cream Socials in the parking lot for riders and crew.  As the picture shows, not much was left over!  This crowd doesn't stand on ceremony when there's food in the vicinity.  

Tomorrow we move on into a new state as our route takes us into southern Minnesota.  Maybe we can hope for a change in wind direction?  We'll still be going east.

Day 16 - Rapid City SD to Murdo SD, 147 miles, 4180' cumulative climbing

Now the really high mileage days start, with 147 today and 950 total over the next 7 days.  If there is a grind segment to the trip we have arrived at it!  The trade-off is less climbing on average, though today had quite a bit of elevation gain, including a relentless series of long rolling hills that were punishing in the heat of the afternoon.





Before talking more about today's ride I want to mention something from the other day.  On Day 14's blog entry I talked about being tired and struggling a bit on the hills after two weeks of uninterrupted days in the saddle. Some family and friends sent me nice, supportive comments and I appreciate the encouragement very much.  However, let's be clear here - I came on this trip to ride across the country, knowing full well that there would be challenges and tough days, hot weather, rain, discouraging moments, etc.  Don't think for a minute that my resolve has been tested yet.  Just let me complain a little bit here and there and I'll be fine!  My intention is to ride every mile of this journey as long as I'm physically able to do so.  There.  Point made.  Thanks for listening! 

Lots of sunflower fields in South Dakota!

Today's route was pretty straightforward:  Go east and don't stop until you reach Murdo!  Murdo???  Never heard of it.  One of many small towns you either have seen or you don't know they exist.  We had dinner in the Buffalo Steakhouse, which looks pretty decrepit on the outside but serves a nice meal.  Homemade soup, locally sourced steaks, all inside a rusty corrugated metal building. Our waitress was on her first day after moving here from Milwaukee.  Who knew?

See the Bighorn Sheep?

Lots of comments have been made by members of our trip about South Dakota, not any of them very flattering.  I have found the last three days in this state a real pleasant surprise, as the diversity of geology and landscape is really quite beautiful. First we had the Black Hills, then abundant wildlife up close, and today the Badlands, a stunning moonlike panorama of sandstone carved by water over many years, and rolling farmland with crops ranging from corn and beans to sunflowers, hay, and lots of cattle. All this made up for an afternoon of fighting a headwind/crosswind in the mid-90's heat. It sure was good to see old Murdo come into view!  These long days leave little time for anything but shower, dinner and bed.  More tomorrow!

The Badlands

Our group in a tight paceline to deal more efficiently with wind