Madison, WI.
We have arrived in Madison, WI. home of University of Wisconsin, flagship of the Big 10 and as far as I can tell one of the best "party schools" of the universe. Man, the Student Union has lakefront beach property with stage, beer garden, outdoor grill and boat rentals. What a great place.
We crossed the Mississippi river into WI, @ LaCrosse, home of the worlds largest 6 pack of beer, I had my picture hugging it, it was wonderful. We followed the upper Mississippi river for a while and then climbed up into WI and dairy country. Quite a few Amish farms also. The thing that struck me was the sheer # of small farms, what with all the large corporations buying out the small farms of the west, it is nice to see that here there are still small, family owned, farms around. The route became relatively flat with lots of rolling hills after the big climb out of the Mississippi valley. Lots of contour farming with rotation of crops. Everything very green and hardly any irrigation noted. Miles and miles of corn and soybeans as we passed thru SE Minnesota and into Wisconsin. The Big Dogs (Dave W., Moon, and Justin) got bored with the corn and decided that they would have some fun, they stripped down naked and hid in the corn until Norm and several others rode by and they jumped out. They had a blast until some of the locals drove by very slowly to check them out, they feared for their "grundels", and skeedadled the hell out of there! The weather has been cooler and we have had favorable winds but the humidity has increased expotentially!!! It's like trying to breathe under water. It's not too bad if you keep moving, but feels as if you are in a sauna if you stop.
Our trip to Madison was 101 miles (my fastest century @ 5:45) and we arrived early. Unloaded the truck, showered and then Moon, Justin, and I walked down to the lake, sat and drank "a few" pitchers, and then hit a small corner bar on the way back to the University cafeteria for dinner. We went back to the dorms and Moon proceeded to fall asleep (or pass out if you prefer) and sleep all night. I walked down to the Union waterfront beer garden and met up with a group of Big Riders, and as the night progressed riders came and went. It was open mike night @ the stage and a few of the acts were worth seeing, most were not, such as "spoken word" aka rap minus the music, and quite a few rich, white, kids rapping about social injustice.... WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! Fast Lucas and I were the last to leave and we cruised the downtown looking into all the bars and restaurants. We were very tired and did not feel like pushing the limits, we walked back to the dorm and I was showered and in bed by 2330.
Up @ 0830, felt great this AM. Showered, did wash, and packed bags and then headed downtown. When I arrived on State Street, the main drag, the 1st store was a card shop, I bought some postcards. The next store was a barber shop, had my hair and beard trimmed up. 2 doors down was a Mexican restaurant, had tacos and then walked down to the Capital building. On the way back to the dorm I spied a brewery, I stopped in for a beer and it proceeded to thunderstorm like a mother!!! It thundered, lightening, and poured buckets of rain. Water was running 2 feet in the street, cars were stalled, and people stranded. 5 beers and 1 order of hot wings later it had cleared off and quit raining. I walked back to the dorm and am doing my blog now, we are going to go to Sean's parent's house by van for supper tonight.
We have a long week ahead of us, 7 days, before our next rest day. Hope to be able to blog sometime soon. The computer here in the dorm won't let me download pics, sorry!!
We crossed the Mississippi river into WI, @ LaCrosse, home of the worlds largest 6 pack of beer, I had my picture hugging it, it was wonderful. We followed the upper Mississippi river for a while and then climbed up into WI and dairy country. Quite a few Amish farms also. The thing that struck me was the sheer # of small farms, what with all the large corporations buying out the small farms of the west, it is nice to see that here there are still small, family owned, farms around. The route became relatively flat with lots of rolling hills after the big climb out of the Mississippi valley. Lots of contour farming with rotation of crops. Everything very green and hardly any irrigation noted. Miles and miles of corn and soybeans as we passed thru SE Minnesota and into Wisconsin. The Big Dogs (Dave W., Moon, and Justin) got bored with the corn and decided that they would have some fun, they stripped down naked and hid in the corn until Norm and several others rode by and they jumped out. They had a blast until some of the locals drove by very slowly to check them out, they feared for their "grundels", and skeedadled the hell out of there! The weather has been cooler and we have had favorable winds but the humidity has increased expotentially!!! It's like trying to breathe under water. It's not too bad if you keep moving, but feels as if you are in a sauna if you stop.
Our trip to Madison was 101 miles (my fastest century @ 5:45) and we arrived early. Unloaded the truck, showered and then Moon, Justin, and I walked down to the lake, sat and drank "a few" pitchers, and then hit a small corner bar on the way back to the University cafeteria for dinner. We went back to the dorms and Moon proceeded to fall asleep (or pass out if you prefer) and sleep all night. I walked down to the Union waterfront beer garden and met up with a group of Big Riders, and as the night progressed riders came and went. It was open mike night @ the stage and a few of the acts were worth seeing, most were not, such as "spoken word" aka rap minus the music, and quite a few rich, white, kids rapping about social injustice.... WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! Fast Lucas and I were the last to leave and we cruised the downtown looking into all the bars and restaurants. We were very tired and did not feel like pushing the limits, we walked back to the dorm and I was showered and in bed by 2330.
Up @ 0830, felt great this AM. Showered, did wash, and packed bags and then headed downtown. When I arrived on State Street, the main drag, the 1st store was a card shop, I bought some postcards. The next store was a barber shop, had my hair and beard trimmed up. 2 doors down was a Mexican restaurant, had tacos and then walked down to the Capital building. On the way back to the dorm I spied a brewery, I stopped in for a beer and it proceeded to thunderstorm like a mother!!! It thundered, lightening, and poured buckets of rain. Water was running 2 feet in the street, cars were stalled, and people stranded. 5 beers and 1 order of hot wings later it had cleared off and quit raining. I walked back to the dorm and am doing my blog now, we are going to go to Sean's parent's house by van for supper tonight.
We have a long week ahead of us, 7 days, before our next rest day. Hope to be able to blog sometime soon. The computer here in the dorm won't let me download pics, sorry!!
posted by ltsullivan3 at 1:29 PM
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