Not where I meant to be, but it's nice

Today was day 4 of this trip. I am in Prairie du Chien, WI. Thought I would end up in Monona, IA, about 15 miles west of here. Turns out there is no place to stay there (I thought there was) and there is no good place between here and there. Boring...

Day 1 was about 53 miles from home to Jan and Tom Buckman's place near Ellsworth, WI and just across the Mississippi from Red Wing. Had not seen them since the last funeral so it was nice to visit without that reason. They have a great spot which they have created with their own hands, in a beautiful location on a ravine, pretty isolated and quiet. It was very nice to catch up and we definitely need to get back to visit again. The ride over there was good except for the stretch of US 10 from Prescott to the turn at US 63. Difficult ride because of narrow shoulders and high traffic. And it was the first day out and at the end of it I was seriously considering leaving behind all my camping gear to lighten my load and just do motels. In the end I decided to hang with the plan and left after a great breakfast on Sunday morning with all of my gear.

Sunday was a long day to Winona. Stuck with my Adventure Cycling route map out of Red Wing, up a long climb which got the legs and lungs working again. After that I stayed on US 61 the rest of the way instead of taking the county roads on the ACA route. I saved a few miles and is actually not a bad road to ride. The traffic noise is the worst part but there is a wide shoulder and you stay right on the river so the scenery is really nice. Riding down the river, counting the riding yesterday and today, is as beautiful and scenic as any I have done. Every place has its beauty, but this ride is right in there.

For jaw dropping vistas and riding yesterday from Winona to New Albin, IA was really the bomb. I did take the county roads off of 61 and it was really worth it. Riding through Pickwick and other quaint villages in the hollows and ravines off the river reminded me why I really love doing this. The spiritual experience of silently moving through these places, at a human pace is difficult to put in words. It is the reason to keep getting out here. And there are so many places to go and to see. And I have never heard so many birds. You can not do that travelling any other way.

I did the route down east side of the river, Wisconsin and Illinois, when I rode across the US in 2005. This time I am on the west side. The route will be the same once I get to Dallas City, IL, where I cross over from Burlington, IA. Then I will cross again to Hannibal, MO. Down to Chester, IL and across Illinois to Cave In Rock where you cross the Ohio on a ferry and in to Kentucky.

Today I started in New Albin, IA where I asked if I could camp in the town park because the campground I had planned on was not really a campground. So I slept in the park under the street light and did just fine. Today was highlighted by several experiences. First were three major climbs in the morning. Worthy of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was slow but steady and got over those. Then I had to ride on the worst road to date this trip, state road 76 in Iowa. I won't go into detail there. Just glad it is over. On 76 was the Effigy Mounds National Monument. Stopped there and ate a 400 calorie bar, found out my intended destination was not going to work, and saw some of the mounds and some spectacular bluff views. The mounds are burial mounds of the Hopewell native people, constructed about 1000 BC. Some are in the shape of animals, usually bears. They are quiet amazing.

Then, after the mounds, it was back on 76 for the last three miles into Marquette, IA. The road runs right along the sheer limstone cliffs and chunks of rock litter the road. I hit a chunk. It sounded bad and less than half a mile later I learned it was bad when my rear tube blew. I thought the rock had torn the tire but I inspected it over and over and it was fine so I guess the rock and knocked the bead of the tire off the rim and the tube had bulged out until it finally blew. There was little to no room to even pull off the road but I figured it out and got the tube changed. Can not have any more of these since I do not have another tube. No more flats!

That is the story so far. The weather has been perfect. Too much sun actually. Wind so far has been favorable.

Tomorrow it is Dyersville, IA hopefully. Then I will be on schedule. If not I will have some catching up to do to meet Jim on June 2 at Cave In Rock, IL.

Cheers.