June 14, 2021
Day 40: Trempealeau, WI to Pepin, WI
Easy Rolling On A Milestone Day
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Climbing Today; 988 ft Climbing to Date; 63,370 ft
Eating in the restaurant of the hotel across the street, we got into a conversation with the couple seated adjacent to us and discovered we had a lot in common. Tammy and Ed invited us to join them at their table, and we did so. Ed had spent 25 years working in Germany, and Tammy works in the financial management sector - it was a nice surprise to run into folks who were not of the "conservative" mindset, whatever that means. Good pizza, good beer, and good conversation; who could possibly wish for more than that?
We were up at 0500 - we had no breakfast in the room and we didn't want to backtrack to the nearest C-store, so we figured we'd find breakfast along the way. Leaving Trempealeau on the Great River State Park Trail was really nice; there was a lot of wildlife out this morning.
In case you were concerned, Wisconsin also has corn. So far I can say that we grow a LOT of corn in the U.S.
I added a quarter to the found money fine as soon as we rejoined the great River Road, route 35. It was also at this point that we passed 2,000 miles on this journey. The scary thing about this is that we aren't even halfway yet - best thing is to just focus on each day because the overall goal can be pretty overwhelming.
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Not having had any breakfast, we were a bit hungry when we hit Fountain City - the only option was the Kwik Trip. I had an apple fritter and a small croissant sandwich washed down with mango juice while relaxing in the shade of a building and sitting on the sidewalk in "downtown" Fountain City. Then we cruised on up the road to Cochrane and were disappointed because the stores were separated from the Great River Road and we couldn't get to them easily, so we rolled on to Alma and had breakfast at the Alma hotel. It was great, very relaxing, and I had my staple "second breakfast" BLT.
We arrived in Nelson just after noon, and enjoyed a cold drink before continuing on to our finish in Pepin. We were surprised by the sign entering Pepin; I just didn't know that interesting bit of history.
We checked into the Pepin Hotel, which is really quite nice. Then we hustled across the street to beat the 1400 closing time of the Homemade Diner, a place famous for their pies. I enjoyed a piece of the apple/blueberry pie, and it was fantastic.
We are crazily trying to plan the next few nights - actually, we had them planned out, but are having trouble getting lodging everywhere - Doc has been busy calling folks and we HOPE to be able to stay in a cabin at a B&B location, but won't know until later.
A bit of an update; we know where we are staying the next 3 nights, but we have dead-ended after that. The number for a cyclists-only lodging option is a bad number, and if we can't stay there then things fall apart. So the next week will be interesting.
We are staying in a yurt in a state park tomorrow night. No electricity, no wifi, so don't expect much of an update - maybe some text, maybe not. It's hard to stay awake right now, and I have to pack and do a bunch of things in preparation for our 0445 wakeup tomorrow. Doc is trying to work on the planning-ahead task, but he has fallen asleep. The pace is becoming a bit hectic - but that's part of the adventure. Good night everyone...
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 2,047 miles (3,294 km)
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It was great to meet you two and I enjoyed our roadside chat. As I said probably too many times, I wish you the best on the rest of your tour. If interested, you can read a little bit about what's ahead of you on my "Greg's Questionable Judgement" journal here on CycleBlaze. I also wrote about what's behind you on the "America's Most Naive Bike Tourist" journal if you'd like to compare notes.
When I'm not on a bike tour, I write about my day rides on a website created by Scott and Rachael Anderson. It's called Cycle365. Here's what I wrote about our encounter today. It includes the picture I took of you guys.
http://cycle365.life/animals-clouds-that-look-like-something-else/
3 years ago
It was great meeting you today! You coming out to meet us on the road was the highlight of our day. It's good to actually meet someone you "know" from online, and it feels good knowing that someone is actually following the journal. You should ride out and "intercept" others that are passing through as well - they will be glad you did!
I looked at your Cycle365 post of today - that looks like an interesting site for when I'm not touring. And we will definitely try to look ahead by researching your "Greg's Questionable Judgement" journal here on CycleBlaze. Best of luck,
Buddy Hall
3 years ago