Albert Lea, Minnesota to La Crosse, Wisconsin
140 miles
2,933 feet of climbing
Today we said goodbye to marvelous Minnesota and entered into the seventh U.S. state of our Tour - Wisconsin . . . but not until mile 138 of our ride. We left our hotel in Albert Lea at 6:30 this morning under mostly sunny skies and and a pleasantly cool temperature of about 60 degrees. We spent more than 50 of today's miles on the Shooting Star Bike trail, at two different times. Our first ride on the paved bike trail was a 12-mile stint right after our first rest stop at mile 31. Then we hopped off the bike trail and made our way up and over some lovely Minnesota rolling hills amidst a beautiful bucolic landscape (geez, I wish my camera was working!). Then at mile 77, at the town of Preston, we hopped back on the bike trail for about 41 more miles, which brought us to the town of Houston (that's Houston, Minnesota, by the way, not Texas). I really wish they wouldn't name small towns after big cities in other states. I find it very confusing, especially when my intellectual resources are depleted from all this physical exertion. From Houston, it was a fast 23 miles to the town of La Crosse . . . and to the "Welcome to Wisconsin" sign, which, by the way, was the best one yet! But was I able to get a decent picture of it? No, of course not, because my #$%!&@$ camera isn't working. The picture below was taken by PAC Tour. We then crossed the Mississippi River over an incredible blue steel deck bridge. It took all of my strength not to throw my camera into the river. From there, it was a hop, skip and a jump to our hotel, which, incidentally, was located under the bridge. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice Marriott - just located under the bridge. Our bikes were pretty dirty from riding on the bike trail - because we had to ride through some puddles, mud and sand. So we took some time to give the bikes a thorough cleaning. My great bike practically sparkled after I was done with it! Our hotel was located close to downtown La Crosse, so Art & I took a walk and had a nice dinner at a great bar & grill called Buzzard Billy's. We then went across the street to an ice cream shop for some homemade ice cream. Feeling strong and having the time of my life!
(Photos by PAC Tour)
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| This is the cool blue bridge we crossed over the Mississippi |
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| Art arriving at the rest stop: "Show me the Oreos!" |
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| Tom & me getting ready to saddle up at the rest stop |
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| Welcome to Wisconsin! |
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