Day 18 - Ending at Shawano, WI - Wisconsin on the Kick-back

August 22, 2018

Day 18 - Ending at Shawano, WI

Rode on Mountain-Bay State Trail

Up with the alarm at 5:00am. Today is my longest planned day for this trip, and I was concerned about making it to my planned destination - Odisha House of Rest in Shawano, which is my first "planned" motel stay for this trip. Most of the day will be on the Mountain-Bay State Trail, and it appears to be downhill for me (going east).

With just packing to do, I was ready to leave Marathon Park at 6:59am. It was cool this morning, but the air felt dry. Following my waypoints to the trailhead (in Weston), I headed east, then south to The Red Apple Family Restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, around a U-shaped counter, were local patrons, and I joined them. They asked about my trip, and the waitress overheard. She wants to do a trip like this, and even went outside to look at my bike. She presently has a ten-speed, but gets her exercise by hiking up nearby Rib Mountain. The men at the counter confirmed that the "mountain" in Mountain-Bay refers to Rib Mountain. The waitress is full of character, and delivered my breakfast with a flair. She agreed to a picture, then I had to get her to quit filling my coffee cup so I could go (at 7:55am).

North on a one-way street, then east across the Wisconsin River, brought me to a park. South along its path, then along a few roads to "Bike Route 15", which put me in Weston at 8:50am. After a little more street-riding, I was at the official trailhead for Mountain-Bay at 9:15am. According to GPS, I now had 49 straight-line miles to go.

I'd only been on the trail ten minutes when I met Claire, who promptly gave me some of the edibles she'd just gathered along the trail. Another fun visit with a bubbly personality.

Back to riding. I passed Ringle at 10:17am, Hatley at 10:52am, Norrie at 11:31am, and Eland at 11:50am. At noon, I'd just made it to the spot where the Wiouwash State Trail splits off going south. There is a shaded picnic table here between the two trails, which made a nice place to eat a crunch bar (actually, they're granola bars, I'm just calling them "crunch bars").

Noon report: 26.3 miles.

What a great weather day! Cool breeze and sunny skies. Also, those little puffy clouds that look great in pictures were moving in from the north.

Back to moving at 12:20pm. Here's my after-lunch timetable: 1:02pm - Shepley, 1:50pm - Bowler, 3:07pm - Lyndhurst, and 4:09pm - Thornton.

At 4:20pm, I was at Maple Avenue - the start of the street section of the trail west of Shawano. The street section is well-marked, and had me back on trail in the city at 4:52pm. Crossed the Red River on a nice trail bridge, and then proceeded through town.

I arrived at Odisha House of Rest at 5:25pm. Except, in the short time since I'd researched where to stay and now, the place must have changed ownership. Their sign had no name, just letters below the blocked-out sign stating they were open. When I checked at the desk, the clerk said I couldn't keep my bike in my room, so I decided to check other motels. Super 8 is where I ended up (in room 111 at 5:45pm).

At 5:55pm, I walked to Hardees next door for supper. Back to the motel for a shower - and laundry, since they have machines here.

This day sure worked out well. Now, if I could just get my hayfever under control.

Jeff

Spent: $9.16 plus $3 (breakfast) + $72.11 plus $5 (motel) + $11.81 (supper) + $4.50 (laundry) + $1 (Sun Drop) = $106.58.

Day 18 - Wausau, WI to Shawano, WI

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+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +