Day 31

Day By Day Notes From The Road
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This document updated August 1st, 2004

Viroqua to Madison Wisconsin - 109 Miles

By Erwin:

Today was one of the longest days of the ride, but overall I felt good riding it. Early on, we rode through really nice scenery, enhanced tremendously by early morning fog, draped over the hill and valleys. The riding early on was really pleasant.

After we reached the town of Madison, WI, however, the route deteriorated significantly. The environs became much more urban (this country has way too many strip malls and commercials "drags" - they are the most ugly urban landscape). The road surface also worsened. One turn on the route was so tricky, that three people fell off their bikes in separate incidents (ironically, the road was called Pleasant View Drive).

After we had passed Madison, however, the the nice pastures and fields around us returned and our camp was located in a nice park on a lake. Reaching camp is always a highlight of the day, but today was even better than usual, not in the least because Katie's (one of the riders) mother brought some of the best muffins I have ever had!

Tomorrow, we should have an easier day with "only" 80 miles to go. Let's hope our legs feel ok tomorrow.

By Lucija:

Fuel fuel fuel.  I've found that when the going gets tough, the smartest thing is to stop in a Subway Restaurant, have a sandwich, and all will seem better.  That's what we did today.  We stopped for a sandwich/chips/coke at mile 80, and the rest of the way went much easier.  The good news is that these days we can find a Subway Restaurant just about everywhere!

Overall, for me, the long bike days are starting to blur into one experience.  Longer bike routes mean that we get into camp later in the day, which means that we basically shower, wash our water bottles, set up the tent, eat, make lunch for the next day, and go to sleep.  This means that there is less opportunity to experience the local area, which makes the experience memorable.s

Photos:

The view from a hill ridge, before we descended into the morning mist.