I woke up at 7am to pouring rain, flashes of lightning, and loud claps of thunder overhead. The sky was in a rage and it was raging all over my half-ass-assembled tent. At least I was dry inside, but the outside of the tent itself was filthy with limestone sand and I dreaded breaking it down and cleaning up. The weather said it should clear up around 11 so I killed time reading, preparing breakfast, and packing up the inside items. Sure enough the rain eventually stopped and I went about frustratingly taking apart and cleaning the tent. In the process a man, Buck, came over and we got to talking about my trip and his similar rainy camping experiences in the service. He brought his grandkids over and took a picture with me and the bike, although he seemed twice as excited as either of the kids.
I finally got on the road around 12:30 and got to see what a beautiful, lush park Wyalusing is, since I missed it in the dark last night. I headed towards Dodgeville, encountering some serious rolling hills before the road finally leveled out a little. Most of this higher WI country reminds me of my native Sonoma County only with corn instead of grapes. The hills and fields are lined and dotted with oak and similar trees, makes me miss home a bit. But a gentle tailwind picked up so my spirits were rising. A lunch break at Marsden Park in Fennimore was nice but I kept going. Dodgeville was pretty unremarkable as a town so after refilling water bottles I started on the Military Ridge Trail. The trail is crushed limestone, similar to Mickelson, and was mostly gentle slopes. The big difference is that crossing roads aren't blended with the trail well and jolted me around and the trail itself isn't maintained as well, but it's still better than the highway.
I rode Military Ridge for about 20 miles until Blue Mounds State Park where I found the hiker/biker sites. For some ridiculous reason they don't allow bikers to self register at the sites, instead I had to climb a hill to the visitor center. Also, once I got set up I found out the showers are back up the same hill. Why do so many campgrounds put the H/B sites so far away from the showers when they're the most likely campers to use them?! So I rinsed off in the nearby faucet, made some quick dinner, then got back on the bike at sunset. I saw that there was a brewpub in Mt. Horeb, 6.5 miles away, and since I finished eating quickly and the pub was right off the trail I was willing to ride at night on the way back for some beer.
It turned out to be a great choice. Grumpy Troll Brewery had 11 beers on tap so I got the sampler tray with all of them and sat at the bar with an order of their signature chips with shredded cheese and a Gorgonzola dipping sauce. Since I was still in my cycling gear it kickstarted a conversation with a few others at the bar and pretty soon I was scribbling down must-sees, must-dos, must-eats, and must-drinks for tomorrow in Madison and Wisconsin in general. The trio of patrons were great, as was the bartender Tabitha. She and her boyfriend Dan were going midnight kayaking on the Wisconsin River that night and I talked with Dan a bit when he got there. Tabitha bought me a pint for keeping Dan occupied while she finished work and the three of us chatted until 11 or so, when I clipped on the lights and headed back to camp.
I was riding under the stars, feeling a bit of the 60 ounces of beer I had just drunk, and was just plain giddy and joyous about how the night ended. It's fantastic to chat with great people who give me fun suggestions and are so supportive. I got back sweaty and dusty from the trail and rinsed off in the faucet again. Since it was nearly midnight and as far as I could tell there was only one couple in another site nearby, I stripped down and rinsed clothes as well. I figured nobody would just be walking around and rode the last 150 feet to my tent in just my birthday suit before settling in for the night.
I finally got on the road around 12:30 and got to see what a beautiful, lush park Wyalusing is, since I missed it in the dark last night. I headed towards Dodgeville, encountering some serious rolling hills before the road finally leveled out a little. Most of this higher WI country reminds me of my native Sonoma County only with corn instead of grapes. The hills and fields are lined and dotted with oak and similar trees, makes me miss home a bit. But a gentle tailwind picked up so my spirits were rising. A lunch break at Marsden Park in Fennimore was nice but I kept going. Dodgeville was pretty unremarkable as a town so after refilling water bottles I started on the Military Ridge Trail. The trail is crushed limestone, similar to Mickelson, and was mostly gentle slopes. The big difference is that crossing roads aren't blended with the trail well and jolted me around and the trail itself isn't maintained as well, but it's still better than the highway.
It turned out to be a great choice. Grumpy Troll Brewery had 11 beers on tap so I got the sampler tray with all of them and sat at the bar with an order of their signature chips with shredded cheese and a Gorgonzola dipping sauce. Since I was still in my cycling gear it kickstarted a conversation with a few others at the bar and pretty soon I was scribbling down must-sees, must-dos, must-eats, and must-drinks for tomorrow in Madison and Wisconsin in general. The trio of patrons were great, as was the bartender Tabitha. She and her boyfriend Dan were going midnight kayaking on the Wisconsin River that night and I talked with Dan a bit when he got there. Tabitha bought me a pint for keeping Dan occupied while she finished work and the three of us chatted until 11 or so, when I clipped on the lights and headed back to camp.
I was riding under the stars, feeling a bit of the 60 ounces of beer I had just drunk, and was just plain giddy and joyous about how the night ended. It's fantastic to chat with great people who give me fun suggestions and are so supportive. I got back sweaty and dusty from the trail and rinsed off in the faucet again. Since it was nearly midnight and as far as I could tell there was only one couple in another site nearby, I stripped down and rinsed clothes as well. I figured nobody would just be walking around and rode the last 150 feet to my tent in just my birthday suit before settling in for the night.
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