Day 32. La Crosse, WI. 88 miles. 2,850 ft climb

What a difference a day makes!   Energy and enthusiasm filled Zippy's voice in our phone conversation after today's ride.  "It was a great day!  Everyone agrees.  It kind of made up for the misery of the past few days.  Everyone is feeling better physically and mentally".   Wisconsin was lauded as being beautiful, very scenic and great riding. 

Terry Coming Up A Hill, Proudly Wearing His AZ-Flag Jersey

It was all about the weather---much cooler temps in the mid-70'st to mid-80's with slight overcast, light & favorable winds.   The roads were in good condition as they traveled over rolling hills with a lot of twists and turns.  There were several steep climbs, the longest being about a mile with 8 to 10% grades.  They still passed by many corn fields, but at least now they were broken up by hills and interesting landscape. There were trees and small woodland areas.  There were farmhouses of all shapes and sizes along with silos for their corn and grain. Hills were covered in wildflowers and day lillies, farm barns were neatly painted and tended, as were the tidy houses and flower gardens.  They were also passing increasing number of dairy cows and Lutheran churches.  At mile 50, they were routed onto a 12 mile bike path that is part of the "Rails to Trails" program.  I remember these from Baltimore and Annapolis.  The bike path went along a river, through dense woodland, and along the edges of corn fields, all the while being away from the road which was really nice for the riders.  At mile 83.5, they crossed the state line going into Wisconsin and at mile 84, they rode over the Mississippi River and through downtown La Crosse.   Of course, there were photo stops along the way, since everyone was feeling so good!



Terry, Lucy (England), Damian (Ireland), Connie (Netherlands), Andreis (Netherlands)



Day Lillies On Hillside

So Neat And Tidy

Wildflower Meadow

Rails-to-Trails Bike Path

Lotsa Lutherans

Cow Country

They crossed the mighty Mississippi, of course, pausing to take lots of photos.  They are now officially in the EAST.  Once again, I'm indebted to other riders for getting the photos they took to me so I can post them.   Thanks, guys!!

Andreis, Connie, Terry, Lucy