Dear Bikies,
Just wanted to thank everyone for their help a few weeks ago when I
asked for advice about biking from Madison to La Crosse by way of
Reedsburg. I wasn't sure I was going to go until the morning of, due
to thunderstorms passing through, but go I did.
I took Old Sauk to Old Middleton up to the Hwy 12 path, then Lodi-
Springfield Road for a while. A few other roads (and a light
sprinkle) led me to the Merrimac Ferry. I was briefly thrown off by
some road construction on the far side, but quickly figured out a
route and then entered Devil's Lake. I enjoyed a cup of tea under
shelter during a rainstorm next to the lake, then continued onward.
(It was less hilly getting up there than I thought it would be.)
Going through Baraboo was a bit miserable in terms of traffic, and
then my GPS decided (for some reason) to re-route me. I ignored it
initially but then took a route that seemed like it was shorter. It
was a busier road than I had plotted out initially, and then rain and
a strong headwind made for a fairly miserable ride. At any rate, the
rain eventually stopped and I made it to the B&B in Reedsburg, 60
miles for the day. (I did, however, pass and stop at the Van Hise
rock (which I had never heard of), and also take a little side road
south of Reedsburg that was an incredibly short, steep hill. The only
place I had to walk up a hill on both days!)
Day 2 I set out and pretty much avoided rain the whole day. Picked up
the "400" trail (2 blocks from the B&B) and had a little mishap
skidding on some not-very-impressive-looking mud just west of La
Valle. Luckily I just had a bit of a knee and elbow scrape and no
damage to the bike. Continued onward...I have to say, the tunnels were
cool but by the third one, a bit annoying since I was trying to get to
La Crosse by a certain time to join my family for dinner. The
darkness was impressive but nowhere near as impressive as the tunnel
on the Badger State Trail which had a bend. Also, there was enough
water seeping in that the third tunnel generated more "rain" inside
than I experienced outside. :-)
Made it to Sparta, then on the La Crosse River Trail...which, I have
to say, was kind of a boring trail. However, at this point, I
appreciated the gentle downhill. Got a little confused getting onto
the Three Rivers (City of La Crosse) Trail -- you have to go from the
La Crosse River Trail onto the connecting Great River State Trail, go
a bit further, and then you see the connector. Getting back onto
paved trail was great, and it took me right downtown and I turned off
that trail about a block short of the end, a whole 100 feet from the
hotel. Got myself cleaned up quick and managed to catch the very end
of dinner, during which i inhaled a rather large steak in about 10
minutes flat. (The waitress couldn't figure out why I downed a whole
loaf of their bread so quickly until my mother-in-law explained. :-)
All in all, it was a good experience -- the first time I had ever gone
on a multi-day bike trip on my own. I was glad to have the GPS,
particularly for day one, otherwise fiddling with maps would've been
annoying. In retrospect I think I would pack a bit more food since my
intended stopping for lunch never really happened properly both days,
primarily because I left fairly late in the morning due to rain
issues. I've also not biked in the rain quite as much as this, and I
was pleased that my waterproofing held up overall. (Aside from my
waterlogged shoes, but that's a different matter.)
Signage from trail to trail was reasonable, but I wish that they'd
have better signage in areas like the state trails-to-city trails
connections. I got worried that I had missed something or that the
connection wasn't as seamless. While I dont' think we need
hyperactive signage on the level of what's used for cars, it could be
better for those that are trying to use cycling as a way to get from
place to place.
Thanks again!
Peace and Prosperity,
Dipesh
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