Day 33--La Crosse, WI to Wisconsin Dells, WI

Day 33—July 21, 2006—La Crosse, WI to Wisconsin Dells, WI—92 miles—2850’ climb

Another day that could be divided into thirds. 30 miles to SS#1 at the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail trailhead, 30 miles on the bike trail, and 32 miles after the bike trail to the motel in Wisconsin Dells. It was my last day to ride. I rode the to SS#1 at the trailhead and then supported the riders as best I could by riding Hwy 71 parallel to the trail. Every once in a while the trail and riders were visible. Chris and I also parked at the trailheads in the various small towns we passed through so that we’d be there for the riders. It was overcast and cool all day, but we got no rain.

At Sparta (advertised as the Bicycle Capital of America), riders picked up the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail. It’s a Rails-to-Trails route of 30 miles that takes riders through several small whistlestop towns with plenty of places to eat and sights to see. The trail was a hard packed limestone surface and was basically flat (or no more than a 3% grade) since it had been a railbed, but the main attractions were the tunnels . . . three of them ranging from a couple hundred yards to about 3,800 feet in length. To say it was dark in these tunnels is understatement. Close your eyes in a dark room and put your hand about 6 inches in front of your nose. That’s what riders could see in the longest tunnel. It was also very drippy in the first tunnel, which had a little gurgling stream running along each side of the path. When riders weren’t in a RR tunnel or a tree tunnel, they would break out into beautiful farmland nestled in a backdrop of large rolling tree covered hills . . . very pleasant and visually stimulating.

We set up SS#2 at the Elroy Commons on the picnic table under their pavilion there. At one end of the Commons were the bathrooms and at the other a little store selling cold drinks, a small assortment of snacks, bike pumps and CO2 cartridges, postcards and other touristy stuff. Several curious asked us about ABB, and I gave out catalogs and left a handful of them in the Train Shop so that the woman there could hand them out to interested riders.

To say this is a bike friendly area is also an understatement. With all the trails they have around here, cycling is not only for the hard core, but for families as well . . . young and old alike. Everywhere you looked someone was either riding a bicycle or carrying one on the back of their car.

After the trail, our last 30 miles was again out in the Wisconsin countryside with several hills, which made the last push to the motel pretty difficult, especially after casually noodling along the trail. Now riders had to work to get to the motel. This last leg was maybe the longest 30 miles riders have ridden so far. The last riders got in just before Route Rap and dinner.

OVERHEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

• “I’d ride a mile for pie.” [Several did ride back a mile to the Cherry Tree Cafe]
• “Is Lois running for office around here or something?” [re: the many encouraging signs that Lois’s sisters and family posted along the route today]
• “Would you like some? Here’s a fork.” [from a group of four trail riders at the Commons who were all dipping their forks into a large cherry pie in a box.]