August 14, 2018
Day 10 - Ending at Wilton, WI
Rode on "400" State Trail, Elroy-Sparta State Trail
The alarm has me up at 5:00am for report writing, which was mostly done by 9:32am, when I checked out of my motel room. I made my way to Donnie's Restaurant a block away. The special this morning is the Breakfast Scramble, which I had with orange juice and coffee. Completed report and was on my way to the trailhead for the "400" State Trail at 10:47am.
There's a depot at the start of the trail, but what really caught my eye was a repurposed combine across the street. It's now artwork!
Back to bicycling at 11:15am, heading northwest on the "400". Twenty-two miles on this trail would get me to Elroy, and the start of the Elroy-Sparta State Trail. I'm a day behind schedule now, since I had planned to be in Elroy last night. Getting a little farther along would be good, and making it the Wilton, which has camping, appears reasonable.
The trail parallels the Baraboo River, and wetland areas are next to the trail here and there. This trail is flat and smooth, I was finding out, allowing me to ride above 10 mph. This is fun!
At 12:30pm I passed through LaValle, at 1:32pm, Wonewoc, and at 2:10pm, Union Center. All these towns have great trailhead facilities. Elroy was next, and I arrived there at 2:37pm, along with a young couple returning their rented bikes to the trail-side store. The store - Trail Stop - has everything a bicyclist wants, and for me that was an ice cream bar and a Powerade.
I enjoyed a long break at the Elroy trailhead, finally moving along at 3:05pm. At 3:06pm I was at the official end of the "400" State Trail. After a block of street riding, I was at the official start of the Elroy-Sparta State Trail.
At first, the trail was flat and open, still following next to the Baraboo River. Then there was the start of a gradual rise. This was especially true after Kendall, which I passed through at 3:54pm. The trail was leading toward "Tunnel #1" on the map. I was back to around 5 mph.
At 4:38pm, I arrived at the tunnel. There was a large group at the entrance, but they shortly turned around and went back through. About that time, a group of touring cyclists passed by heading toward Elroy. The entrance showed a foggy haze inside, and was pouring out cool air. Walking bikes through is recommended, and I started - with my bike lights on - at 4:45pm. I started seeing the light at the exit, and noticed with my mirror that the brightness for the entrance behind was about the same. At 4:54pm, after a few close-to-exit pictures, I was out.
A downhill coast from here, for a while, anyway. There is a trail bridge over WI-71, which I rode over at 5:22pm. Then, at 5:26pm, I was at a bridge over Kickapoo River. I took a break here, watching a turtle for a while on this quiet late afternoon.
Wilton was ahead, and I arrived there right at 6:00pm. Rode town streets south and east to get to Wilton Village Campground. By 6:18pm, I had decided that site #21 would work, and set up the tent.
A fellow camping in his Subaru stopped by on his way for a shower to ask about my bike. Then the campground attendant stopped to collect the camping fee ($10 for site with electricity). He provided information about the showers and laundry machines. Everything takes quarters, and I gathered up all I had to see if I could do laundry AND take a shower. The shower provided four minutes of water for fifty cents. I was surprised, but with inspiration, four minutes was enough. Laundry was next, requiring five dollars in quarters, and I had them.
In between attending to my laundry, I enjoyed a longer visit with the fellow in the Subaru. Then, after laundry was done, I went to the camp area of an extended family group, one who had invited me over earlier. They are here to go canoeing one day, and bicycling the next. It was fun sitting by their campfire enjoying stories, and I did that until after 10:00pm, when one in the group was congratulated for making it to ten o'clock.
I talked briefly to two touring cyclist who arrived as I was heading back to my tent. They'd done over ninety miles today, and were looking to set up hammocks.
I worked some on picture-selection, then to bed at 11:28pm. More trail-riding tomorrow.
Jeff
Spent: $9.98 plus $2.50 (breakfast) + $3.36 (ice cream bar, Powerade) + $10 (campsite) + $0.50 (shower) + $5 (laundry) = $31.34.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +
Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 319 miles (513 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 6 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
1 year ago
Thanks for your interest in my journals, and for letting me know!
Wisconsin is a great state to bicycle in. I'm still receiving and enjoying email messages from Wisconsin Bike Fed, the website where I purchased my maps and trail pass. Your state does bicycling right!
Jeff
1 year ago