July 22, 2024
Day Thirty-eight: West Baraboo, Wisconsin to New Holstein, Wisconsin
Once again I didn't sleep well. I finally got up for good at 3:30. A few months ago I'd added an entry to my Google Calendar, which my phone alerted me to when I picked it up off the nightstand: "File quarterly Kentucky sales tax." The filings for both my LLCs were due today, so I spent an hour doing that.
I had the TV on, and was half listening and watching as the Madison TV stations covered some big national political news that had taken place yesterday.
Despite the lack of sleep, I felt much more energized than yesterday. I quickly got everything together, ate the leftover pizza, drank the leftover chocolate milk, had my morning Diet Pepsi, and carried the bike down the stairs. I didn't bother with the hotel breakfast. I'm sick of those things by now.
I zigzagged on country roads. There was a little commuter traffic, but it wasn't bad. Scenery was very nice. Lots of barns. I'd eventually get tired of photographing barns today.
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I entered a long, zero traffic road through a wildlife area. It was nice, but absolutely full of mosquitoes. I couldn't stop even for a few seconds before they swarmed me. So only one photo from this section:
I made a left turn and was suddenly in the very busy city of Portage, population 10,200. I had to pee very badly now, since stopping to do that a few miles back would have been extremely unpleasant with all the mosquitoes, so I'd delayed doing it. It took me a while to find a public restroom, in an urban convenience store / laundromat that looked pretty sketchy at first glance; the clerk was behind a glass partition. It was fine, though, and one of the men hanging out at the laundromat provided useful directions for getting me out of town and back on my route.
I don't enjoy even minor urban riding, and was anxious to get out of Portage, so I only took one photo while was there, of the welcome sign:
After Portage, I had many miles of great, low traffic country roads. This was the route that John Egan had worked out for me, and it was very nice.
I entered an Amish area. I like riding through these places, because drivers are used to the buggies used by the Amish, and are, presumably, more careful while driving amidst other slow moving vehicles, like me on my heavy bicycle. I saw a few Amish children, and some adults, walking along the road , but didn't photograph them, of course, since they don't like that.
I saw two touring bicycles in the distance, and sped up to catch them. They were a friendly couple from Logan, Utah. They'd started in the Seattle area, it sounded like, and were on their way to Chicago. I've been very, very lucky with the weather on this trip, but this couple hadn't been as fortunate, and had encountered extremely strong wind gusts near Buffalo, Wyoming, that had knocked the woman off her bike.
I rode along with them for a while, at their slower pace, but then said goodbye and sped away. I was making such good time today that I'd decided to go farther than my original destination, Fond du Lac, and instead do my longest day of the tour, well over 100 miles, so I'd have a super short and easy last day tomorrow.
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Waupun, population 11,344, was bustling. I stopped at the Kwik Trip convenience store for Gatorade, and as I was taking off my expensive sunglasses, I snapped the right earpiece off. I bought a cheap pair in the store to replace them, drank my lemon lime Gatorade, then rode out of the city through the very busy downtown area. After a few miles on the highway outside of town, I turned onto the Wild Goose State Trail.
Unlike the other day, when I was annoyed by the long bike trails, I was happy this one was here. It was well maintained, and almost completely empty. I think I saw two cyclists on it.
I pulled off the trail in Oakfield, population 1,055 and sat at a picnic table in the town park. I called the Starlite Motel in New Holstein, about 36 miles away, to verify that the place actually still existed, and had a room available. The man I talked to seemed very casual - "Oh, I'll have a room for you." He didn't want my credit card info, or even my name. I had a feeling this was the kind of place that always had available rooms, because few people wanted to stay there.
I'd done 73 miles at this point, but felt strong. I was sure I could do another 36 miles.
Before leaving Oakfield, I stopped at the gas station, where I purchased my last Pearson's Salted Nut Roll of the tour.
In the parking lot of the gas station I had a slightly bewildering conversation with an old man who strongly resembled the comedian W.C. Fields - specifically his large, red, bumpy nose. It was striking, and hard not to stare at it.
He began the conversation by asking how many miles I was doing a day. I told him I was averaging around 70, and he scoffed, unimpressed. I was more amused than irritated by this. "And how many miles a day can YOU ride a bicycle", I asked. He mumbled something.
Then he pointed to the nearby bike trail and mumbled something about "those assholes in their pink helmets."
"Do you man bicyclists? Like me? Are you calling ME an asshole?" I was still more amused than annoyed by this old guy. He quickly clarified that he meant the people who rode E-bikes on the trail, not regular bicyclists.
Finally, he asked what, if anything, I did for a living. I told him I wrote software. Apparently, based on his scowl and irritated mumbling, he didn't like computer programmers for some reason. I just laughed and rode onto the trail.
As I got closer to the big town of Fond du Lac, population 44,339, the trail had a much more urban feel.
I rode onto city streets, for a long, slightly frustrating section of urban riding. I'm never going to enjoy riding a bicycle in cites. I got lost a few times, as I always do when riding in places like this. I didn't feel like stopping and taking many photos. I just wanted to get back on quiet roads.
One positive thing about Fond du Lac: There were a couple of new bike trails that were not on the circa-2019 route I was using, so finding them was a pleasant surprise.
Finally I got out of Fond du Lac and onto rural roads. The roads were surprisingly busy, though. All the drivers were courteous, but the unexpected traffic annoyed me.
Scenery was nice, though.
I arrived in New Holstein, population 3,007, to find that the Starlite Motel was about what you'd expect for $70 in 2024. Old, worn out, but clean enough for my degraded bike tour standards. I cleaned up, then walked to the nearby Kwik Trip for my customary post-ride supplies.
Back in my room, I realized that I was very tired after riding 110 miles. I checked the map, and found that it was only around 30 miles to Manitowoc, which was fortunate, since the forecast for tomorrow was scattered thunderstorms.
Today's ride: 110 miles (177 km)
Total: 2,644 miles (4,255 km)
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