August 14
Excellent zero day. Slept in, avocado toast and eggs, got a few planning things done, salads on the rooftop, and then walked around the harbor (where we saw multiple wedding and Quinceañera parties lining up for pictures against the backdrop of the harbor and city skyline). We also walked out on Navy Pier (chatted with Bob Newhart), then more relaxing. Eventually we walked to pick up dinner and meet a small group of Sara and Mark’s friends in Millennium Park where we listened to a free concert of classic show tunes. Walked more than 5 miles in perfect Chicago weather!
Sara and Mark are the quintessential hosts! We are so grateful to them for opening their home to us and making us feel so welcome as well a feeding and entertaining us! (Their coffee gives Fasanos some competition :). We felt so very spoiled. And we hope to be lifelong friends with more adventures ahead (biking or not)!
End of week 7!
August 13
What a fun day! Breakfast at the hotel (love my avocado toast) and then headed southeast towards Chicago. We knew mileage was going to be lighter (ended up at 59 miles) so we followed our “coastal” route (I know it’s a lake, but it sure seems like an ocean!) which included some beachy trails, a few roads, the Green Bay Trail (very shady), and the Lakefront Trail right into the city. Of course, I did get a flat about halfway, but once we pulled the sharp piece of plastic out of my tire, Craig fixed it quickly :). We stopped at a bike shop shortly thereafter to get some new tubes and chatted with a few other touring bikers and wandered through their open air market.
We rode through Northwestern University (in Evanston) then down to the Lakefront Trail. Not the major headwind we had feared and so fun to see all the walkers, bikers, and rollerbladers, as well as people swimming and playing on the beach. Stopped for a juice on the beach and quickly ordered another. Then stopped a little further up the trail for a fast beer with a city view!
Last summer, biking with Trek Tours at Crater Lake, we met Sara and Mark who live here in Chicago most of the year and they have an amazing condo on the 24th floor of a residential high-rise. We parked our bikes on their balcony and had an incredible evening with them – excellent conversation, dinner, and then rooftop ice cream. So happy and grateful to have a rest day here!
August 12
No real breakfast at the hotel today so we rode 10+ miles into Waukesha and had a decent one there. 67 total miles to Kenosha today, skirting Milwaukee on the way. We have enjoyed the trails in Wisconsin, but we dislike the lack of crosswalks at many busy crossroads and the fact that most Wisconsin drivers don’t even think about stopping for bicyclists.
The morning started in the 70’s and rose steadily – hot (high of 97) and humid but the trails offered shade sometimes. I talked about milkshakes all day and we passed by a few possibilities only to arrive at our hotel and find a Scoops directly across the street. Perfect!
Nice dinner at Sazzy B’s and a stroll downtown to a free concert in the park. Looking forward to Chicago tomorrow!
August 11
Breakfast at the hotel then on the road by 8. We started on the Capital City Trail, an urban trail with an extensive garden along one stretch, and then we took a few roads to get to the Glacial Dumlin State Trail. Bought a pass at the trailhead and headed out on the mostly unpaved trail. The storms from the last few days had wreaked some havoc though, so we had to go under, over, and around quite a few blowdowns. The trees provided shade (not as necessary today since it was mostly cloudy) and protected us from the wind a lot of the time. The temps stayed in the mid-70’s until noon, where the heat index soared for our last miles. We enjoyed the trail and will take the last 5 miles of it tomorrow morning.
Stopped in the quaint town of Delafield for a light lunch (more cheese curds, of course!) before going to our AmericInn for the night. More storms expected in the region tonight, but should blow by before tomorrow’s ride, fingers crossed.
August 10
Had a fabulous breakfast at The Mill House B&B before getting on the road before 8. Back on yesterday’s trail just for 8 miles, then into the hills for quite awhile before crossing the Wisconsin River. Today’s hills brought to us by Driftless Wisconsin (just watched a documentary on that!), aided by headwinds, and a max temp of 95 degrees (but a heat index of 104 degrees). We had warm sweat dripping off every inch of us in the last few hours. We only went 63 miles today, less than the last 3 days, but it was tough. We didn’t get into Madison until 2 PM but we beat the expected thunderstorm at least and were happy to shower before heading out for our first cheese curds (at The Old Fashioned) and then dinner at the hotel. Madison is still pretty cautious – lots of people wearing masks, and many places still closed or take-out/delivery only. We’ve been avoiding indoors other than lodging and dining, but we appreciate the concern!
August 9
Third time is a charm! 76 miles again today and this time was awesome. Yay us! After a great breakfast at Rainbow Ridge Farms (have to try and remember to try making peach scones and parfaits), we donned our still damp clothes and shoes and braved the road again by 8:00. We decided against the trail that embalmed us in mud yesterday and took the highway the first 25+ miles into Sparta; even though it was no longer raining, we figured the trail could still be soupy. We were happy with that choice and figure it may have saved us an hour or even two. But we had heard so much about the Sparta-Elroy trail we decided to risk it to get to our destination of La Valle (and another B&B). We were not disappointed. Even though the trail was unpaved, it was relatively dry, shaded, and peaceful. And it included three tunnels (the only time we donned our raincoats since the first one was pretty drippy) – not as long as the Snoqualmie Pass one, but damp and eerie and interesting!
After we got to Elroy (including a few detours where the trail was “out”), we got onto the State 400 Trail, which conveniently started near a bar advertising $2 beers for bikers. Since we only had 15 miles left at that point, we had to stop! Talked to a group of 9 men biking across the state (camping, but supported). Even though we were under ominous skies the rest of the time (and a few times throughout the day), we arrived quite dry at the Mill House B&B. The host here is so gracious – she let us do laundry and drove us into nearby Reedsburg for dinner since nothing great was open here; gave us a little history and interesting facts along the way as well :).
August 8
Another tough day. We both woke up at 4:30 to the sound of thunder, branches flying, and heavy rain on the metal roof. Checked our phones to see predicted thunderstorms all day at the current location and where we were headed. Ugh! Scrapped our 6:30 start, fell back asleep for awhile, and were pleased it was only raining with new prediction of dry hours ahead. On the road by 7:40 and back on the Great River Road (Highway 36). Stopped for great breakfast in Pepin, then it dried up and became extremely humid for the next few hours. Headwind off and on but not as bad as yesterday.
The fun surprise (not) was the trail we started for the last 25 (of 76) miles. It was a limestone gravel trail, pretty nice actually, but at some point it started to rain again, and then it really let loose. We put most of our rain gear back on, but the trail got so wet at some point it became a muddy creek. We also had to go over, under, and around a few downed trees. It was so sad we laughed between complaints.
Turns out Onalaska, the town we were bound for, had had 7 inches of rain in two days with near-tornado winds that busted and toppled trees all over. We were glad to only get the rain this afternoon! Arrived at our B&B (on a hill, of course) by 3:30 after picking up sub sandwiches in town. The women who run the place were luckily outside so they let us hose ourselves and our bikes down outside before going in. Sheesh!
Tomorrow is another big day (77 miles if we stick to the plan which continues on yesterday’s trail, or 87 miles if we scrap the trails for highway if it’s still raining). Send us your good vibes! Hoping the weather and routes will improve after that. It is much harder to plan than you would think!
Breit Bikes 