Several days ago, it had begun to sink in: we had been on the road for three weeks, and my part of our trip would be ending soon. Here we were, nearly one month into the trip, and we were on the verge of riding into Madison; my final overnight on the road. While riding this day, I felt torn: I've come to enjoy being on the road, yet part of me yearned for home (Illinois and Iowa). Returning to home to Dixon on bicycle would be unparalleled compared to any other bike ride I've ever had in the area. Returning to Iowa and seeing Clara for the first time in nearly five weeks would be hardly casual; in a way, I felt like a stranger. Nonetheless, I had drawn a line in the sand at Dixon, so my trip would conclude here.
Our ride from Reedsburg was subjected to change due to floodwaters, upwards of four feet deep, that had covered our intended route. We took a combination of paved backroads that graced us with the hilly Wisconsin countryside. Climbing up one hill, in particular, was very, very steep but fortunately very short in length. I wondered how well I would have tolerated riding up such an incline months before the trip? My reassurance was that I, along with Garrett, were able to ride up it in the present. Not far west of Baraboo, we rejoined WI-136 (our original intended route), and shortly thereafter turned heading south on US-12. We rode south on US-12 for about 30-35 miles, and we only encountered construction for about four miles of this segment. Riding through this in the early days of the trip, or prior to the trip at all, would have rattled my nerves a bit more; however, I believe a month on the road had built my confidence, or at the very least desensitized riding through construction zones.
About 18 miles from our destination, we departed from US-12 and took a combination of county highways into northwest/north Madison. As we approached our destination, good friends of Garrett's, we increasingly encountered dedicated bike lanes and bike paths which made the final parts of riding today stress-free. I stopped for a few minutes along Lake Monona at Olbrich Park. This was the first time, that I could recall, seeing the lake when it was not covered by ice. After a 15 minute break from pedaling, I rode on the remaining three miles to meet Garrett at his friend's home.
We met Garrett's friends shortly after we arrived, chatted for some time, and cleaned up prior to heading to downtown Madison for dinner. Garrett's friends kindly treated us to dinner at The Old Fashioned, a retro-style tavern immediately across the street from the state capitol building. The cheese curds and entrees were delicious and washed down well with beer. Afterwards, we returned to his friend's home, and Garrett and I said our goodbyes, as I would be waking early for the long, 100+ mile ride back to Dixon.
