Tom on the BIG bike

Day 32 - La Crosse, WI 92 miles today,we rode with Steve and Larry which we hadn't before. They are very good riders, we rode with them until our 2nd rest stop where we got something to eat. After lunch we had several miles to a steep climb. As we were going there Karen, on of the staff members, joined our group. I was leading going down the hill and I heard Tom here she comes. I had to start going to stay ahead of her. I was still ahead going into the steep climb and then I heard gummy bears Tom gummy bears. I usually eat gummy bears on a ride when I need a little pick me up, but I chose jolt chewing gum this time. It was long until Karen passed me, but I hung on as long as I could and she let me pass her near the top.

We did have a great ride on a paved trail around a river for a good 12-15 miles. Near the end of our ride we crossed the Mississippi and into Wisconsin.

Day 33 - Wisconsin Dells The picture of me on the bike was from this day in a town called Sparta. This was our 1sty day of rain since we had started. We went on a rails to trails called the Elroy-Sparta Trail, it was 30 miles long with 3 tunnels. We had to get off our bikes and walk through the tunnels which were pitch black. We took flash lights to see our way through them, the longest was 3/4 of a mile. It started to rain after the 1st tunnel and it was a mess. At the end of the trail we cleaned off our bikes the best we could and then we gave them a real good bath once we got to the hotel. It was a maze of bikes all getting washed off along with ourselves. Time for laundry so it made for a long day after riding 93 miles and half of it in slop.

Day34 - Fond du Lac, WI Today was our 1st day in 5 days that we didn't ride over 90 or 100 miles, we only did 83. Sounds funny saying we only did 83 miles, before I came on this trip that would have been a killer of a ride. The other picture was of a quarry at a rest stop right alongside of the road. A lot of back roads today past farm land and a huge lake, great scenery, it seemed a lot like PA. Stopped at bike shop, they told us about a brat and beer function at the end of town so that is where we went for lunch. We had a T-shirt exchange tonight among all the bikers, which was a lot of fun and laughter.

Tomorrow is a short 57 and then a rest day with a ferry ride across Lake Michigan.