Madison to Monroe, Wisconsin Thursday, July 1, 2021
Another low-key day to follow a busy one. The next destination is Charles Mound in Illinois, but as mentioned above I can’t get there until Saturday, and it’s only about 70 miles, so I can afford to take my time. Which was fine, spending a lazy Thursday morning in the company of Charlie, Mary, and their friends is quite a treat.
The obvious middle point is Munroe, and Mary pointed out that I could get there almost entirely on the Badger State Trail, in a fashion seeing my badger after all. Although I was tempted to say, “Badgers? We don’t need no stinkin’ badgers!”
In my typical form it was 1PM before I bid my gracious hosts goodbye, actually Mary guided me the first few miles to the Trail and gave me a hug. I hope to see them again, maybe in Vermont.
The rail trail was paved and heaven for the first 10 miles, then turned to stone dust. Oh well, I was used to that from the Erie Canalway. It did that gradual-grade thing where you only know you’re climbing because your speed goes down. At a rest stop I chatted with John, on a tri bike that weighed a sixth of mine, he was training for a grueling gravel ride in Utah. He mentioned a tunnel up ahead was out, and how to detour with a minimum of fuss. So grateful for the biking community. Beyond, there were a couple of downed trees that were hard to negotiate, one of them scratched me up a little, but for the most part the trail was fine, and delivered me to Monroe without further incident.
No campgrounds or warmshowers, so had to stay at the Super 8. Sure enough, second floor rooms only, and no elevators. Getting used to that, too. But that meant my bike was stuck there, so my only choice for dinner was the depressing cluster of fast food restaurants nearby. Such a shock after many days in idyllic towns. No indoor seating, so wound up walking through the Burger King drive-thru and bringing the Whopper back to my room. At least they serve early breakfast here.
Distance 38 miles, 3,344 total. Time 5 hours with stops. Elevation gain 742 feet.
©️ 2021 Scott Luria
The Ends of the Earth 