Wisconsin 

Day 50 Monday, July 19

Minneapolis MN to New Richmond WI

After a short day on Saturday and a day off on Sunday my legs just wanted to keep on resting. We were up at 5 though and got our day started shortly after 6 heading to Dunn Brothers for breakfast. I have to add another food item to my “do not eat again whilst on the bike trip”. I believe it was the artichokes on my flatbread yesterday. My stomach didn’t straighten out until after lunch, which made the morning ride slightly unpleasant. I was glad it was through the cities with plenty of opportunities to stop. 

The ride from Hudson after lunch I felt much better. 

There was a bit of climbing today, and I took it slow as always. I don’t want to push my legs too hard after a rest day!

I am loving having Kwik Trip convenience stores around! I miss them out west. We hit a few today 😊

We thought we were going to camp tonight but the camping spot did not have a bathroom of any kind. We ended up at a cheap hotel for the night.

Day 51 Tuesday, July 20

New Richmond to Bloomer

I’ve started calling every day a short day and mostly flat. I think it helps put me in the right mindset for the day - right?!

Yesterday was supposed to be a shorter day at 40 some miles. I think it ended up being 59 miles. Minnesota and Wisconsin are rolling hills so we end up with larger elevation gains. My legs can definitely tell. We do get the downhills to coast a bit which is nice. I just have to remember to take it easy on the ups. The beginning of the day is when the hills seem doable in harder gears, but that can’t last for me. I need to remember not to push my legs so they last thru the miles. 

The heat takes a toll on me so I want to get started early and finish early, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. I was up at 5 but we didn’t actually leave town until 7:10 after a stop at Kwik Trip for food items. With stops that we make along the way, it was almost 2:30 when we got to our stopping point. Hot and humid!! I’ll have to see if we can do better tomorrow…

Day 52 Wednesday, July 21

Bloomer to Medford 

We were expecting a cooler day today, so we weren’t in such a big hurry to get going early. I still got up at 5:30, but it was an extra half hour to sleep!

We got going after breakfast around 7:30 with what I thought was a 70+ mile day ahead of us. After 20 miles we had a convenience store stop for a mid morning break. Then after another 16 miles we had lunch at a cafe where I found out it was only a 65 mile day, which meant we were over halfway! It was a wind in your face sort of day and it was a bit of climbing. I did pretty good keeping in Terry’s draft, but it takes a lot of concentration to do so.    I have to constantly be watching so I can react if he slows down, speeds up, or moves from side to side. Today was best directly behind him, but I need to stay within a few inches of his back tire to get the best benefit. He’s really good about trying to make it easier for me. The long and many hills definitely slowed me down and Terry waits patiently at the top for me, either stopping or just going slow so I can catch up. I was pretty tuckered out by the time we stopped. We shall see how the legs feel tomorrow!

Day 53 Thursday, July 22

Medford to Antigo

The legs were so tired to start the day. I knew I pushed them yesterday, but I was hoping that they would recover with rest. Today felt like bicycling thru mud again. It was a 66 mile day with our first town at 32 miles. The road was not “mostly flat”. The first 45 miles were constant up and downs. Granny gears got called upon on a few of them. The winds weren’t as bad as yesterday, so that was good. The last 15 miles was a more reasonable “mostly flat” but it was still hard with tired legs. Camping tonight, and hoping for a restful night.

Day 54 Friday, July 23

Antigo to Clintonville 

It was nice to camp again, it’s been quite awhile since we last camped. We did get rained on; heavy rain, but nothing got wet inside the tent. The only bad thing is I really needed to go to the bathroom right when the downpour started before midnight.  I managed to wait until morning, so needless to say, I was a bit uncomfortable by then. It was a foggy, wet start to the day. We had trouble finding breakfast at first so got started a little later than intended. The roads out of town were good, but eventually turned into rolling terrain again with ups and downs. My legs seemed to take longer to warm up the last couple days, and wear out quickly, so middle of the ride is best! After lunch Terry seemed to go faster, or I went slower. Or both. I couldn’t seem to ride with him much. It was humid; really humid. Stops were not pleasant- much better to be moving so the wind could cool us. We got to Clintonville around 2:30 and checked into our hotel. I managed to stub my pinky toe on a doorstop in the lobby when we went down to get snacks. 2nd time I’ve done that on this journey ☹️

Day 55 Saturday, July24

Clintonville to Appleton/Sherwood

Waking up to rain in a tent is not fun, but being in a hotel isn’t bad. However, we still have to get ready and leave. We still have to ride in the rain. We didn’t hurry - after looking at the radar it looked like just light showers after 8 so we got going around then. The rain stayed light for a bit and then stopped, so I took my hood off and wouldn’t you know, the rain started up again. We had to stop and put our hoods up when the rain got a bit heavier. Terry tends to go faster when he wants to get away from bad weather, so I did my best to keep up. The wind was with us mostly and it really was “mostly flat”, so that helped. We took a break at a c-store in Shiocton and the rain seemed to be done. We were drenched, but it was warm out, so we were able to take our coats off and dry a bit as we rode on. We made it to Appleton around 12:30 and then to my brothers place in Menasha for a late lunch. Tomorrow is a rest day. We are staying with my nephew and family and getting together with lots of family today and Sunday 😊

Day 56 Sunday, July 25

Resting!  Great time with family! And I found a dress for my daughter’s wedding!