I woke around 3:30 to the sound of thunder and heavy rain around our Dubuque, Iowa Days Inn Hotel.
My first thought was I hope it passes soon, because we are supposed to ride at 6. The second thought was how do I get back to sleep now?
Just a few miles from the hotel was the starting line for what I expected to be that day's 175 mile ride. As I told you Saturday, I had a plan in mind for how I could do it. What I didn't expect was a rain delayed start.
In the photo at the top, that's about 150 or 200 riders in front of me at the starting line on Main Street in front of the Five Flags Center and Holiday Inn Hotel. Another 600 riders stretched down the street behind me. After I got to the start, I heard the announcement the start would wait until 6:23.
Little did I expect that would be a small reason my "dash" across Wisconsin would be different than what I expected. Thankfully, it wasn't raining at the start. Cloudy and misty with wet pavement was in front of us, which we hoped would be as damp as we would get for the ride,
You don't start fast in the pack on a ride. It depends on the lead riders getting out and then each succeeding line of bikers settling in while navigating turns and potential spill zones.
We wound around Iowa's first city to an entrance ramp for U.S. 151 which we climbed to cross the Mississippi River and into Wisconsin. It's too bad we couldn't see the sun behind the fog and clouds, but it was still quite something to be riding on a freeway over a highway of water to start the trip.
After crossing the river, we quickly exited on to a quieter Wisconsin highway, the first of many. Some sections of the early ride crossed into Illinois according to our route map, but I was following along with a bunch of riders and trying to take in the sights as I went past.
One spot which surprised and impressed me was St. Clara College/Academy in Sinsinawa. It sits atop a hill overlooking the hills and valleys of extreme southwest Wisconsin and on a sunny day would have been worth a photo stop.
I was watching the road and looking for riders behind me and frequently checking my bike computer.
When the start was delayed I started calculating what I needed to happen to reach Kenosha in one day. I thought averaging at least 25 miles every two hours from 6am until 8pm would get me there just 30 minutes past sunset. To be on schedule, I had to be ready to leave Beloit before 2pm.
Rest stop #1 was on schedule, which felt pretty good considering the number of hills to climb. The hills weren't real tough, but one after another after another added up. Rest stop #2 near Gratiot for chocolate milk and other goodies was 44 miles in and my internal mapquest was already unfolding.
An early highlight for me was on a short downhill where I zoomed around a group of about 30 riders. Of course, they passed me on the next climb, but the sensation of hitting the low 30s while gliding past was pretty cool.
I was somewhere west of the milk break when this photo was taken.The photographer told me I looked like the only rider having fun. I was having fun, that's for sure.
The idea of riding a bike nearly 200 miles in a relatively short time over unfamiliar territory is something I enjoy.
The day before the start, I wasn't so sure about the whole thing. I doubted my fitness and wondered if I could keep up with the groups.
I really was hoping to keep visual contact with riders in front or behind me, because even if we weren't close together there was some comfort of watching how the riders in front handled obstacles in their path, if there were any (like loose dogs).
Riders in my rear view mirror meant I was still on the right road and didn't miss a turn.
Even though my ride times for 25 miles was under 2 hours, the clock was beating me. I figured if I didn't make Beloit on my preferred schedule, I could maybe get at least some miles under the wheels before calling it a day with a plan to finish on Sunday.
The 50 mile mark was passed just before 10:30 on a quiet country road which was recently treated with oil and gravel.
(The organizers had no way to know county maintenance plans, but riding on gravel is a bit dicey since traction is worse, so turns are slower and speeds are controlled, too. I think we had somewhere between 5 and 10 gravel miles for the entire trip.)
In Monroe, I ate my second peanut butter and jelly roll-ups (PB&J on a tortilla) for the day and got back on the road, believe the hills were nearly done or at least would become less frequent.
Mile 75 was nine miles east of Monroe as we crossed from Green into Rock County. It was 12:39. I knew there wasn't a possibility of hitting Beloit for refueling and on the road by 2 pm.
While disappointing, by now the sun had beat back the fog and mist and there was more of a lush countryside to see from the back of the bike.
Up ahead of me on Beloit Newark Road I saw a van appear to park very quickly along the road. The bikers scattered ahead of me seemed to be fine, but when I approached, the van's driver was getting out and reaching for her phone. I asked if she was OK, and she said she tried to avoid a turtle cross the road and ended up in a ditch, needing a tow truck to pull her out.
Thankfully, the riders were well and I guess the turtle made it to the other side as well. Earlier that day, only 4 miles into the ride I saw a rider take a nasty fall when a couple bikes veered in front of her. Her brakes seized up and she went over the top coming to a hard landing on the asphalt.
There was a medical team at that corner and they responded to her quickly. I grabbed her bike to get it out of the way. After several minutes on the ground she got up, upset and hurt at the accident. Later, maybe 15 miles, I saw the same team help her out of the van, it looked like she was going to keep riding. If she did, and how far she got, I have no idea. I hope she was OK.
After the turtle found safety, I found the fourth rest stop at mile 86. I really did still feel pretty good and thinking about how far to go before resuming the ride on day 2.
Then somewhere between Avon and Beloit, somebody must have slipped a space heater on the front of the bike and a piano in my bike's bag.
Beloit is 104 miles into what would be 178.5 mile journey.
The miles between 95 and 104 just drained me, and by the time I reached Beloit I knew I was done riding for the day.
Wife Rhonda, who provided the PB&J and logistical support by driving the car (and shopping) while I rode, was waiting to meet me in Beloit to see what I wanted to do.
It was closing in on 3 o'clock and I knew riding in the dark around a city like Kenosha wasn't a good idea for me no matter how many lights I had on the bike.
Volunteers at the center spot in the state greeted us warmly in Beloit with cowbells, signs, and cheers.
I was tired and knew I'd have to come back the next morning to finish this Ride Across Wisconsin.
(Look for "And Seventy-five" in Thursday's blog.)
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