Ride Across Wisconsin

My 1st ride to Lake Michigan.

 This is the third time I joined the Wisconsin Bike Federation's Ride Across Wisconsin, known as RAW.

 The first time was in 2016 when the route started in Dubuque, Iowa (there wasn't a city on the Wisconsin side of the river) with a route across the southern part of the state to the finish in Lake Michigan at Kenosha.  

The distance was 175 miles.

 While presented as a single day ride, I wasn't able to keep that pace, so my wife took me back to re-start Sunday morning in Beloit to ride to the finish in Kenosha.

RAW photo 2019.

The Bike Fed repeated the Dubuque to Kenosha route the next two years but in 2019 I was in La Crosse for a two-day trip across the center of the Badger State with Green Bay as our destination.  We stayed overnight in Plover, the rough half-way point of the 235 mile ride.

Covid shut down organized rides in 2020 and 2021 so it was nice to see it return this year, again using La Crosse as the starting point and a new finish line in Milwaukee.

We drove to the Missippi River town Friday.  Our hotel a short ride from the start line and next to a Rocky Rococo's for a perfect carbo-loading dinner.

It was an early wake-up call for the 5AM start.  After announcements and encouragement for the 700 riders, we rolled up Main Street.  150 riders were doing the ride to Milwaukee as a one-day marathon ride - some of those riders have competed in the Tour de France.  

Some of the 700 RAW riders.

 Most, like me, chose the two-day option with a stay in Wisconsin Dells.

 Just after 5 the countdown sent us slowly (at first) out from under cover (in case it rained) starting area riding through downtown before entering the darker residential neighbors where we used the temporary one-way street to our advantage before leaving Sparta on U.S. 16.

It took a block or two to get up to speed, then through the pre-dawn darkness we accelerated to between 17 and 20 mph.  

I briefly chatted with a Wisconsin native who came back for the ride from his current home in Arizona.  Most of the time I tucked in next to larger groups or followed a group of riders.  Ten miles from the start, we spread out in groups of twos or threes with an occasional peloton of 12.

A rare glimpse of the sun near Rockland, WI.

 Looking around a few miles later, you could see blinking red bike lights in front and bright LED beacons to your rear.  

 Around Bangor, 18 miles from La Crosse, I caught a rider from Chicago who worked in banking and was excited to be on her first extended bike trip.  It was the kind of conversation I enjoy as you meet people you wouldn't meet anywhere else.

 You can see the reason (photo left) that brought me to a stop.  While the sun "rose" after 6, it was closer to 6:45 before we actually got a look at it. The faint red light lower right, is that riding partner.

The repaired rear wheel.

The first real rest stop was Sparta.  The Elroy-Sparta trailhead is where we could get a bite to eat, refill water bottles, and use the port-a-potties (there were two lines, 20 people deep).   

A few miles later, I had an unexpected stop.  It wasn't restful.  I had a flat.  Overnight rain made the trail messier than usual and the grassy shoulder wasn't a good work area, so I tried to fix it standing up.  Most riders asked if I needed help.  I said, "Thanks, I'm OK," to most.

As the parade of bikers and time passed I realized maybe it wasn't a bad idea to accept help.  Evan and Pat, two riders from Madison, helped change the inner tube, seating it in the tire and re-aligning the wheel into place.  I appreciated their help.  My manual bike pump doesn't offer the leverage to fill the tire to the normal pounds of pressure, so when I saw a Wheels & Sprocket truck, their guy finished inflating the tire.  

Tunnel #3 near Norwalk.

 While it didn't rain on us Saturday (August 20, 2022), it was a foggy day and the earlier rain made the trail damp everywhere and dangerous in places.  Throw in hundreds of bikes using it in a short amount of time and that created miniature mud-pits and some very slippery bridges.  I saw several people receiving medical attention.

 Four miles after my flat was our first tunnel, Tunnel #3 which is 7/10ths of a mile long.  The Bike Fed lined the tunnel trail with luminaries (see white light in tunnel ahead of biker) to show the way.

 I've always walked the tunnels - the safest way to go if you don't have it lit in front of you - so this was a treat.  The flashing white lights combined with my bike lamp and the lamp on the bike behind cast my shadow on the walls and allowed me to avoid potholes and puddles.

 This tunnel was loud as water constantly drips or falls through the hill into the tunnel where it flows out either side in ditches made for that purpose.

Tunnel #2 near Winton, Wisconsin.

Six miles down the trail, Tunnel #2, the Wilton Tunnel greeted us as we rode to it through a grand and lush green canyon.  

Tunnel riding requires doing so single-file and keeping to the center to avoid those ditches.  It also means taking time to concentrate and enjoy.

These tunnels opened in 1873 to move people and cargo on trains.  In 1964, the state of Wisconsin bought the old rail line, opening it a year later as the United States' first rail to trail.

Eight miles further we passed through the Kendall Tunnel on our way to the Elroy trailhead for lunch and then continuing on the 400 Trail, named for the famous train that moved people from Chicago to Minneapolis in 400 minutes along this route.

 #1 Kendall, WI  

 On long rides, it's normal to feel alone or as if there are few fellow travelers, until you get to a rest stop where food is served.  

 

 Elroy was hopping with 50 or 60 riders taking a break - stretching, resting, and refueling before taking on the next stretch.  That's where I heard more stories of riders getting stuck or falling in the muddy mire (three miles south of Wilton was where I saw a biker with a gouged and bloody knee after scraping across an old rail trestle now a bike and pedestrian bridge).

 

 The 400 trail is 23 miles of crushed limestone winding through Union Center, Wonewoc, and La Valle before stopping (for now) at the old depot in Reedsburg (perhaps in the next ten years more sections will connect it to current paths).

Bikers lined up to hose the mud off bikes.

The Reedsburg depot was 85 miles into the ride.  

I felt good, happy that my tire was holding up, and ready to cover the day's last 15 miles so I could enjoy a chocolate malt at Culver's in Wisconsin Dells.

Going into Reedsburg I was riding with three bikers who passed me earlier then slowed.  

 

Coincidentally we left the Reedsburg station at the same time, making a number of right and left turns until we were on road linking this community with the tourist mecca to the east.

 

Mud covered.

 I thought about washing the bike in Reedsburg but wanted to get to the day's last stop more.  I stayed with the trio until one of the climbs put too much room between us.  From there I passed a handful of other riders - some of whom passed me on long uphills - as we covered the last few miles.

 The official Wisconsin Dells rest stop had brats on the grill for riders as they pulled into the campground to either pitch a tent or carry their bags to a hotel.  Since my wife was driving, I headed down the route two more miles to the Lake Delton Hampton Inn.  Kudos to their staff for letting me use water to clean my bike before taking it upstairs for the night.

 

My Day 1 reward.

 Day one went well.  I felt good.  The bike was in good shape (except for the flat tire) and I was thrilled to average 15 miles an hour.

 

A big round of applause and thanks to my wife who goes on these trips - traveling between La Crosse and Wisconsin Dells on day one - shopping and then registering at the hotel so I only had to worry about riding.  That's a big commitment.

 

100 miles, 8 hours - 30 minutes time on the bike.

 

Day two I slept in, I didn't ride out of the hotel parking lot until 5:25!  

 

Read it about it here, Thursday.

 

All photos by David Mossner August 2022 except for top photo which was taken by family in 2016 and the RAW photo in 2019.