The Wright Stuff

It's said among bikers that hills are personal and build character.

My character received a heavy dose of character yesterday.  I have no idea how many hills we climbed, but four of them made names (not repeatable here) for themselves.

Just look at the photo at right for a moment.

I'll wait.

OK?  Well, I don't think the photo quite conveys the reaction each biker had when seeing this rise before us.

From a distance I thought I was looking at pieces of the sky obscured by branches hanging over the road.  A second look made it obvious it wasn't sky - it was pavement!

I paused under the shade to eat a granola bar and drink some water before climbing in the saddle for the ride.

I downshifted to the lowest gear.  As we climbed the incline increased.  I wasn't going very fast - 3 miles an hour near the top.  I could have walked faster, but I don't want to walk hills.  A young rider to my left offered encouragement, "Way to go Dude!"  It worked and got me to smile as the angle lessoned.

The hill wasn't over, it kept going and going.

Another hill rose for a while and kept the sharpest grade for the top.  Aargh!

Two years ago I rode the Dairyland Dare which included some of the same roads.  For my money, this one was even hillier.  Most diabolical was the long hill and sharp rise to the finish.

The ride, organized by Madison's Bombay Bicycle Club, was the 38th edition.

It was my first.  We started out of a gorgeous county park and rode downhill at least 2 miles.

It was up and down hill for the next 73 miles.

There was one stretch, as we rode a quiet road near the bottom of a valley when I noticed something ahead in the ditch.  It took a few steps on the road and looked at me some more.

A couple more steps, then the spotted fawn retreated to the ditch, disappearing into the forest.  Other than a couple sounds, she was gone but left me with a very nice memory.

All of us were well-fed with rest stops along the way - this one (right) was a mile down the road from Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin home property.

Usually the hills were topped with trees, but on a few blessed occasions we could see for miles (lower left).

The day was perfect.  Mostly cloudy and cool to start the day.  Sunny and mild at the finish.

My goal was to complete the Wright Stuff Century.  After hill upon hill, I thought it better to finish before I might just have to walk up on of the driftless hills.

The unglaciated part of Wisconsin offers incredible beauty, especially seen from the back of a bike.