Riding out of Madison was somewhat tricky. The bike path I had intended to use was under construction in spots, and this required navigating some busy stretches of morning traffic in town. Soon enough, I was riding away from the capital city and into the countryside to the northeast.
Traffic quickly lightened up as I rode further and further away from Madison. I stopped for a quick bite at a gas station just north of Cottage Grove. While there, a gentleman approached me and commented that he liked the 520 (my Trek bicycle). He then shared that he works at the facility that makes Trek bicycles in nearby Waterloo! He asked how I liked the bike, and I shared that everything was great but added that the quality of the spokes on the rim could be improved (from the past tour: very unexpected to have spokes breaking with less than 1000 miles on a 32-spoke rim).
I continued riding northeast away from Madison on county highways. A steady rainfall stuck with me for the next couple of hours to and through Colombia, WI. By the time I reached Beaver Dam, rain had subsided, and I was only several miles away from the Wild Goose State Trail.
No more than half a mile on Wild Goose state trail, I found a downed tree blocking the bike path! I surveyed the brush along the path and determined that it was too thick to go through and around the tree. Mosquitoes has already honed in on me, turning back to detour around the downed tree via a state highway was a poor option (twofold), so I began breaking small limbs to go through the tree. All told, about 10 minutes later, with about as many mosquito bites, I was through the tree and once again pedaling down the crushed limestone of the Wild Goose State Trail. I couldn't help but wonder, though: would there be other downed trees along the trail?
The remaining 34 miles of the trail were a great surface for riding on, and the solitude was nearly eerie: I encountered four people along these next 34 miles on the trail. Even with a somewhat cruddy day weather-wise, I thought there might have been a few more people along the way. Nonetheless, it was pleasing to have the trail to myself. It was a peaceful and uninterrupted way to reconnect with nature.
I arrived in Fond du Lac around 3:45pm, and was ready for a large meal. Chicken noodle soup along with a hearty macaroni and cheese dish quickly squelched my appetite. To my surprise, Fond du Lac doesn't have camping options in the immediate area. There were some options to the southeast, but these were out of the way and were logistically tough to justify. Attempting to camp out with imminent rain in the forecast was also tough to justify, so I stayed in an inexpensive hotel. Was I glad I did this: it rained well over one inch overnight! Tomorrow's ride would be to Teresa's parent's home near Oconto.
Comments