Thursday, July 14, 2011 La Cross, WI 76 miles



Corn - high as an elephant's eye

Wisconsin back road

This 70 mile day turned into 76 miles due to some confusion on our que sheets, but that was fine. The route had an option to follow the Great River Trail for 30 miles OR to stay on the Hwy. 35 and backroads. Since we were told last night that the bike trail might prove difficult to follow, Judie and I decided to follow the regular roads. To a point this was a good decision, for we had a few really pleasant back roads that had no traffic and pretty scenery, i.e., corn that is “as high as an elephant’s eye,” lovely flower gardens, the Mississippi River, and foothill mountains.  Seven miles from La Cross, however, we were directed away from busy Hwy. 35 and told to get on the bike path for the final few miles. From then on our mileage and the que sheet just didn’t seem to match up. The large group that took the entire trail caught up to us, and after much discussion, we figured out where we needed to be. Even then, though, the trail was a little confusing at times. Just about everyone arrived at the hotel about the same time which must have been a nightmare for the staff.

One pretty little town that we biked through was Trempealeau which I remembered from four years ago; also Winona. After going through Winona, we crossed the big river again into Wisconsin. Since we’re spending this one night in Wisconsin, guess what tonight is? That’s right - Marguerita night.  Each time we cross a state line to spend the night, our guide mixes up a batch of Margueritas. It’s something we all look forward to.

The weather today was ideal - 60 deg when we started and only in the 70’s now. The day stayed overcast and for about 10 miles we had a “spitty” rain - enough to feel sort of good and not enough to put on a rain jacket.   In fact my new WT vest was just fine.  . . . .My roommate tonight is Peggy from VT, and she, too, has ridden with WT before. In fact there are seven on this tour that did the Southern Tier together in 2009.

Menu tonight:  Macaroni and Cheese, Slaw, left-over couscous, canteloup and strawberrier, apple pie.  Michelle really knows how to make Mac & Cheese and promises to give me the recipe.  She includes portebello mushrooms, a little cabbage, onion, a little fresh spinach, cottage cheese, yogurt and cheddar cheese.  It's to "die" for!  I know I'm gaining weight!