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Four brave men left Batavia, Illinois to tour portions of southwestern
Wisconsin by bike. This is their tale.
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| Bill Hall, Rob Stevens, and Richard Vance at the Super 8 in Monroe, Wisconsin. It's amazing what passes for a continental breakfast these days.... | |
| Rob Stevens, Bill Hall, and Bill Qualls ready to ride. Unlike last year, we took the van along as a "sag wagon". Turns out that was a good idea... | |
| Richard conscientiously stretches every morning. But not me - Bill Qualls - I figure that's what the first mile is for. We left Monroe for Brodhead. Greenbush Road was a delightful route in spite of the rain. But just two miles into the trip I broke two spokes. | |
| Bill Hall and Richard rest along the way. I get concerned about my increasingly wobbly wheel. | |
| Like something out of a Stephen King novel? (I can't be sure, as I have never read a Stephen King novel.) | |
| The corn was much taller and greener than what we saw back home in Kane County, Illinois. | |
| Rob drove the van from Monroe to Brodhead (about 15 miles). I took over driving, hoping I could find a bike shop to repair or replace my back wheel. No such luck. The others biked the Sugar River trail from Brodhead to New Glarus (23 miles). I drove to the trailhead in New Glarus, then biked back to meet them. | |
| This cave is on the Sugar River Trail about 5 miles from New Glarus. | |
| Sign at the trailhead in New Glarus. | |
| Another failed attempt to slow down Richard. | |
| Some passersby warned us that this cow kicks! | |
| I think one of the neatest things about biking through Wisconsin is the churches in the small towns. I am inspired by the sacrifices people make for their houses of worship, regardless of religion. | |
| We had lunch in New Glarus at "Jimmy's". We played horseshoes while waiting for our meal. | |
| The team of Stevens and Vance beat the team of Hall and Qualls by a score of 21 to 19. After lunch, I continued to drive the van in search of a bike shop. | |
| Bill Hall shortly after departing New Glarus. | |
| I finally found a bike shop in Verona! Justin was fantastic. In just twenty minutes I was back on the road with a brand new wheel. | |
| Another picture of the master at work. Thanks again, Justin! Because of his excellent service, I was able to drive to the Military Ridge trailhead in Dodgeville and bike back to meet my friends. I was able to ride a total of 45 miles today in spite of my mechanical problems. The others rode about 80 miles. | |
| This rock is about three miles from the trailhead in Dodgeville. It is shaped like Wisconsin. Very cool! I'm pointing to our approximate location. | |
| Imagine...this is someone's driveway. Beautiful now, but probably not so fun in the winter. | |
| More corn. A beautiful day. It rained in the morning, then threatened rain most of the day. But the rain held off...until we were about one mile from the trailhead. Then it came down in buckets. Just long enough to get us soaked! | |
| See the rainbow? See the Pizza Hut and the Super 8? Because of the rain, we changed plans. Rather than campout, we stayed at the Super 8 and dined at Pizza Hut. | |
| Unfortunately, at this point my camera failed. I guess I must have put it away too many times with the power still on. Too bad, because I would have loved to show you even more! Friday we took a circuitous route from Dodgeville to Lancaster. Spectacular scenary. And Lancaster is real cool! Saturday we rode thru Platteville and Schullerville to Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois at a lung busting elevation of just over 1200 feet. Then it began to rain heavily. We loaded the bikes onto the van, changed into dry clothes, and headed home. | |
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Copyright © 2001 by Bill Qualls. Last updated August 27, 2001.
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