So we made it to Wisconsin! In Phelps, where we stopped the first night, we treated ourselves to a state beer called "Point," which was veeerrry delicious and crazy cheap! It has been really fun to travel through the states and sample really tasty local brews - especially when they are cheaper than your standard macro-beers!
Our first day's ride consisted of many beautiful hills and forests, which were nicely shaded and pleasant to ride. Nothing too steep or too laborious, but still plenty engaging physically. We saw more sandhill cranes (one pair had a baby!!), and ended up crashing (not literally) into a flea market in Boulder Junction where we stopped to have lunch and fill up water.
(Hilarious propane tank)
Boulder Junction also had a really long bike path that was paved and ran along 10 miles of the county highway we were supposed to ride, so that was extra nice!
In Star Lake, which was earlier, we spent some time talking with another cyclist who had made a trip from her home in Wisconsin to Connecticut. It was really nice to commiserate with someone who had already traveled the same route we had just covered. She said she and her husband got 11 flat tires in Michigan! There must be something about the roads there, which actually made us feel better about our flat tires.
We ended the day at a really nice campground, too! Our neighbor offered us some of his drinking water since the well pump tasted pretty rusty and gross.
(I didn't take a picture, but in the morning there was a low mist hanging over this lake. Spoooky)
Small Town, Big Lunch!
The next day, we got up early and headed off to the town of Butternut, which was another pleasant ride. Wisconsin has been beautiful, if a little remote. We go through 10+ mile stretches without seeing a town or store, let alone more than 20 cars. It's pretty wild.
(Really nice memorial of people in Butternut)
At Butternut we stopped at this place called "Jumbo's", where we had a humungous breakfast for lunch (and for the first time in a while, we felt full). Then it was off to Glidden, and then through a National Forest to another campground. Another thing about Wisconsin - the mosquitos here are voracious, much like those in Michigan. Who would gave thought riding through all these nortern states would lead to so many bugs?? (Sarcasm).
(We rode this here!)
Yay Consumerism!
The next day we rode through more national forest, and there were special lights along the side of the road that would blink if elk were expected to be in the area. Sadly, we saw no elk, despite seeing many blinking lights. We made a stop in Hayward (after around 25 miles of forests and vacation homes) to visit the local Walmart and pick up supplies. We got some backup camp fuel, a new foot pump (our initial one has gradually fallen apart), and a fanny pack for Erin to access while riding. Now it's a lot easier to take pictures on the road and get snacks on the go during the day!
We broke for lunch and the heat just kept getting more intense, so we waited a little to see if we felt like the next 30 miles to Birchwood were worth it. As we debated, we encountered two other touring cyclsits from Madison, WI. They were biking to every single county seat in the state - a 3,000 mile journey! They seemed like they were having a blast, and we thought that was an awfully cool idea.
The heat didn't wear off, so we opted to stay indoors in Hayward and refigure our schedule. And wouldn't you know it, we got a flat half a mile from the motel - back tire, as always. So we used the motel day to also rotate the tires from the front to the back - the replacement tire we got in Charlevoix, MI has already been quite worn away, while the original front tire has remained really sturdy over the whole trip. It's a heck of a lot easier to repair the front tire (the back is a threaded, steel axle, not a quick release), so we hope this will improve our riding.
So that was the first leg of Wisconsin - next post will cover the craziness that is the second half of the state!
No comments:
Post a Comment