Day 32--Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI

Day 32—July 20, 2006—Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI—89 miles—1690’ climb

GALLOPING TOM MIX WE’RE IN STATE NO. 6—WISCONSIN . . . WHERE THEY EAT BRATS AND CHEESE, DRINK BEER WHEN THEY PLEASE, AND THE “DAIRYAIR” WAFTS IN THE BREEZE.

A beautiful day on the road. Sunny but not too warm, breezy but not full frontal headwinds, great scenery, great roads, little traffic and only one detour (of about 300 yards) through a turkey farm (see photo above) just before SS #1, which Jim set up at Bucksnort Park, a pretty roadside park with a waterfalls.

Cannot now remember all names. That's Bill Wiedenfeller on 
the left and me on the right; the guy next to Bill is very familiar
but I just cannot recall his name; we are on the Root River Trail

I rode from SS#1 to SS#2 today, a very lovely ride up and down on great rollers past two big white and ornate country churches. I also rode the Root River Trail (a Rails to Trails trail) from  Rushford to Houston. It is a very pretty shaded trail along the Root River. In the areas that are not in forest, wildflowers bloom in profusion along the trail. At the end of the Root River Trail is the Houston Nature Center and Alice, a Great Horned Owl. Alice broke her wing as a fledgling and is now a pet who is used to teach environmental education. Also very interesting sculptures made of bike parts, even a swing made of bike parts.

The ride to La Crosse from SS#2 included riding through a beautiful valley and then climbing a steep mile to the top of the bluffs where the vistas were long and so was the downhill off the bluffs and into the Mississippi River Valley.

Tonight I said goodbye to the riders as tomorrow night I will be busy tying up loose ends and boxing my bike etc. I gave each rider my version of Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” which was meant for the final banquet but . . . (See it below.)  It is hard to leave something like this in the middle . . . it gives me a feeling of incompleteness, but leave I must. I will miss the daily routine and the riding and the riders and staff. [This many years later I am free to explain that my mother-in-law had died. I was meeting my husband--a college professor who could only finagle a break in his classes at this time--in Pennsylvania to see a lawyer to settle her estate and to clean out and sell her house. Susan Walker, 2016]

OVERHEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

• “I think this was the prettiest route we’ve had on the road.” 
• “What a beautiful trail.” 
• “That trail made the day!” 
• "We need to change the route so that we can ride more of this trail.” [All trail comments about the section of the Root River Trail between Rushford and Houston, MN.]

We've Been Everywhere!

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; Traveled o'er this fair land
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to:
O.R., I.D., W.Y., S.D.,
M.N., W.I., M.I. O.N.T
Left ocean, right ocean, N.Y., N.H., V.T.
U.N., I.T., E.D. States, Yeah!

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; ABB’s maps were way out there, man!
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to:
Astoria, Kah-nee-ta, Niagara, Henrietta,
London, Birch Run, Port Huron, Jackson, Worthington,
Baker City, Rapid City, Prineville, John Day,
Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, pedaling all the way.

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; Wore out our underwear, man!
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to:
Mount Hood, Mount Washington, Mount Rushmore, and more
Pine Creek Pass, Teton Pass, Togwatee Pass, Real Sore Ass
Cascades, Tetons, Rocky Mountains, Green Mountains
Riverton, Worthington, Birch Run son of a gun!

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; Buffets up to there man!
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to:
Twin Falls, Sioux Falls, Idaho Falls, Niagara Falls, Little Falls;
New York Canal, Welland Canal, Erie Canal, too, pal;
Michigan Lake, Erie Lake, Ontario Lake for Pete’s sake;
Boise, Burley, Brattleboro, Blackfoot and Brantford, Lord!

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; Fought gnats with our bare hand;
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to:
Wind River, Bad River, Dry River, Snake River make you shiver;
Rivers Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Mohawk,
Mosquito, Ochoco, Chippewa, Owyhee, and Kickapoo, too
Hoosic, Contoocook, Connecticut, Merrimack can’t go back.

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Used up every spare, man; New career could be bike repairman,
Bikin' we've had our share, man; We've been everywhere.

We've been to: 

Water tall, water wide on this ride 

Ontario, Mankato, Idaho baked potato
Places tall, places small, we recall, seen 'em all,
Can't name all for sure. Anyway, that's our tour!

We've been everywhere man; Crossed the prairies bare, man
Breathed the mountain air, man; Traveled o'er this fair land
May your life be rare, man; Now you've been everywhere!

 (Adapted by Susan Walker from Tour du Canada’s 2000 adaptation of Johnny Cash’s
“I’ve been everywhere, man” which was originally written by Geoff Mack)