The Ends of the Earth

Verona to Madison, Wisconsin Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Today was a big deal for me, a marriage of my past life and my present trip. Just approaching that logo along the entrance walkway brought it all back.

All my colleagues have a love-hate relationship with Epic, but we go way back.

Back in 2002, I was on a task force with a handful of doctors to select UVM’s electronic medical record, and we went all over the country. Almost as an afterthought, we went to this suburb of Madison to visit Epic, a small player in a big field at the time. We met the founder, Judy Faulkner, who struck us as an eccentric hippie lady. The company was small, but scrappy, and we were impressed, it wound up being our first choice.

The first choice of the doctors, but the suits up the hill didn’t see it that way. It was too small, too untested, and besides, the chairman of our board of trustees was also the CEO of IDX, one of the big players. Surprise, surprise, IDX was the system that was selected.

Long story short, that was only one of the abuses rampant in our corporate structure at the time, and within a year our CEO had been fired and sentenced to jail, the entire board of trustees had resigned, and we wound up with no electronic record at all.

A massive frustration for me, who had been waiting for decades to be free of paper charts. It took years for the smoke to clear, but in 2009, we wound up choosing Epic after all, which by this time had become a big player. I was ecstatic, but my enthusiasm was not shared by others. Many were leery of the upcoming go-live, one partner actually quit to avoid having to make the change (only to have Epic implemented at her new job a few years later. You can run but you can’t hide). The big day was January 13, 2010; we closed off a patient room and put in a lounge chair, with muted lighting and soft music, it was the “stress room”. Our productivity dropped by 50% as we got used to paperless charts, some of us called it the winter of our discontent. Everything took twice as long to do. It was paperless, but patients complained that with all the forms printed at check out, they were getting twice as much paper as before.

We all got used to it, partially embraced the system, but when this video came out it struck a chord. https://youtu.be/xB_tSFJsjsw

The salient line: If some be sayin’ it’s Epic, We sayin’ it’s Epic fail.

After 10 years, I left my career feeling that Epic was no picnic, but light years better than what we’d had before, and superior to the other systems that my counterparts in other centers are using. To paraphrase Churchill, Epic is the worst electronic record, except for all the others. It’s been embraced by most of the major academic centers like Harvard, Stanford, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, not to mention Dartmouth and UVM. I check it even now, 15 months after retirement, to get updates on my beloved patients and to stay current. A couple of weeks ago I zoomed in to a provider meeting, and heard about the latest Epic upgrade. It brought it all back.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect, revisiting the Epic campus after all these years. Normally closed to the public on weekdays, I called and as a member of the Epic community I was welcome to tour. I knew better than to ask to see Judy, it would be like waltzing in to Facebook and asking to see Zuckerberg. The reviews compared it to Disney World without the rides.

Well, it was huge, eye popping, but to my expectations, a little underwhelming. I don’t know what I thought it would be. Basically it’s a huge complex of meeting rooms and offices, with whimsical landscaping, art, and sculptures centered around distinct themes, and lots of low-key, contented looking employees strolling around. I only had time to tour one of these campus areas, called Prairie, although the buildings were named with an astronomical theme. I never saw a computer or an Epic screen, only people, vegetation, and art.

I only scratched the surface, but my alarm went off and it was time for my weekly therapist call, so I found a secluded but idyllic outdoor spot and talked for an hour, reliving some of my Epic trauma. Using the bathroom, I chanced upon the Epic credo on the wall.

Note the right column, Epic is still privately owned, still Judy’s baby.

I was long overdue for a haircut, found a Supercuts in town that could take me in an hour, 10 hilly miles away. I had to cut short my Epic visit to cut short my hair. I arrived, as always, a sweaty mess, but they let me cool down. Thence to a couple of bike shops, dinner, and my next Warmshowers hosts, Mary and Charlie, whose house had that prairie style too. More about them tomorrow.

Distance 23 miles, 3,280 total. Time 7 hours with stops. Elevation gain 949 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Spring Green to Verona, Wisconsin. Monday, June 28, 2021

Frank Lloyd Wright died in 1959, Paul Simon wrote the tune in 1961, our guide was unaware if they had ever met. Bridge Over Troubled Water wasn’t released until 1970, which is where I first heard of the great architect. But no, I had been to the Guggenheim many times before, my grandmother lived two blocks away.

His masterpiece, Fallingwater, is just off the Great Allegheny Passage, itself a continuation of the C&O canal, where my love of bicycle touring was born. I’ve been to Fallingwater twice, despite the steep admission fee and the need to be on a guided tour, so compelling is his creation. Words can’t do it justice. And to think the total cost was $155,000. 2.9 million in today’s dollars, but still a bargain, given what it is.

That marriage of bike touring and stunning architecture in harmony with the land, made Taliesin an alluring destination. This was his home, and a “lab” for many of his designs. It’s a Welsh word meaning “shining brow,” reflecting Wright’s welsh roots and his vision to integrate his structures with the contour of the terrain. Never build a house on top of the hill, that would ruin the line. Instead, tuck it in just below the brow, make it part of the landscape. Brilliant.

He never went to architecture school. He barely finished high school, and blew off the University of Wisconsin after a semester. He did apprentice under Sillsbee and Sullivan, but his virtuosity was entirely his own. A short man with a Napoleanic complex, he always insisted on photographed from below, often with his trademark porkpie hat. Even our guide, clearly mesmerized by the man, admitted he could be “difficult.” That’s putting it mildly. We had to prod him, but he related the sordid tales of his affairs, and the grisly arson/murder that happened here. For all that baggage, though, the man is irresistible.

I opted for the longest (4 hours) and most expensive ($92) tour, and wished it was longer. I took these totally inadequate pictures. The theme, the most succinct summarization of his life, would be “preserving the line”.

I was so dazzled by it all, I was almost short of breath. Had an overpriced lunch at the visitor center, still had 40 miles to Verona (again, shades of Romeo and Juliet) where my hosts Emily and Michael, shared their new home, gracious hospitality, and their totally lovable Newfie, Abby. I was proud to be their first warmshowers guest.

Wherefore Verona? It’s the corporate headquarters of my next epic destination, Epic®️

Distance 44 miles, 3,257 total. Time 10 hours with stops. Elevation gain 1,193 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Prairie du Chien to Spring Green, Wisconsin. Sunday, June 27, 2021

I know I’ve already explained it, but the direction of today’s ride seemed just wrong. I rode 67 miles due East, and will continue in this direction over the next couple of days for a total of 100 miles. To see some great sights, sure, but mostly just to burn up time so I don’t get to Charles Mound until July 3. All this lallygagging around. Over 3200 miles, I should be at the Pacific by now. Instead, I’m still on this side of the Mississippi. As the title of an earlier post says, it’s not easy being me.

Not much to say about today, except that it was relatively easy, heading up the Wisconsin River, not too hilly, roads were OK. It was pretty hot, so I made frequent stops, and have been trying to find fruit instead of the usual junk food. OK, I had to get a root beer float at the A&W, who could resist that frosty mug? I passed a couple of seniors on racing bikes, that had been taking a rest. They blew by me, only to take another rest up ahead. We played leapfrog in this way, I the tortoise, they the hare, until I finally met them at a food stop.

They were Mike and Jim, just out for a day ride, but they gave me helpful route information, making it possible to avoid a bad stretch of road. The road they recommended had “road closed” signs on it, but both they and a passing motorist confirmed that you could get through. Still, it was disconcerting going down an 11 mile stretch of road, not sure if you were going to have to wind up turning back. In the end, it was all good.

This campground, the Wisconsin Riverside Resort, was very elaborate with miniature golf, a pool, and extensive boating facilities, but for me it was just overpriced, $47 for a simple tent site, and you had to pay for showers! It had a nice restaurant, though, which kept me from having to go into town. Right next door was a field of corn, and I got to see one of those irrigation booms in action, slowly rolling by, laying down a fine mist. Quite beautiful, actually.

Distance 66 miles, 3,213 total. Time 8 hours with stops. Elevation gain 879 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Spring Lake Inn to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Saturday June 26, 2021

Rained hard overnight, but no flooding in the immediate area. Thunderstorms all day today. Better stay put, or at least go no farther than Prairie du Chien; just 5 miles down the road was a Motel 6 with good WiFi.

Everybody pronounces it Prayer de Sheen, it bills itself as Wisconsin’s second oldest city, it’s where Marquette and Joliet became the first Europeans to see the upper Mississippi. Guess it means “dog meadow” in French, there are no prairie dogs around here. Right across the river is, I kid you not, Pikes Peak.

Lt. Zebulon Pike was commissioned to find the source of the Mississippi the same year as the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1805. He noted a high bluff at the confluence of the two rivers (Mississippi and Wisconsin) that he thought would make a good location for a fort. He proceeded to Cass lake, Minnesota and pronounced it the source, later determined by Schoolcraft to be Lake Itasca, as we have discussed.

So Zeb missed on the source, and the army decided not to build the fort, but they named the bluff in his honor and the next year sent him to Colorado where he named the more famous Pikes Peak, from where Katherine Bates would later be inspired to write America the Beautiful. Zeb himself got promoted to brigadier general, and was killed in the War of 1812.

I’ve toyed with climbing the Colorado Pikes Peak, but the road is closed to bicycles and the trail is 13 miles one way. This one seemed easier, just 500 feet above the river. You have to cross a series of bridges to get across the islands and channels of the Mississippi, and you get this view of the Peak, actually a shoulder of it called Point Ann, above a riverboat casino.

The road up was quite steep, and I was chagrined to have too walk part of it. Maybe don’t have a double hungry man breakfast right before. The guide at the viewing platform didn’t know much of the history, but he did have a spotting scope trained on a bald eagle nest. He said there were many more sand bars and mud flats exposed yesterday, before the big rains.

Old Zebulon may have died more than 200 years ago, but seeing what he saw back then made him very much alive to me.

I found this interesting sign on the way back

and I realized, hey, I’m in Iowa, whose politics is almost as whack as New Hampshire. First time I’d been here since an overnight drive-through in 1977. I’ll be seeing a lot more of it soon, but the storms were brewing, time to get back.

One bit of bike work to attend to. Time to rotate the tires. With more weight on it, the rear tire wears faster than the front.

• 

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So now, after 3,000 miles, it makes sense to rotate them. This is much easier with a floor-style tire pump. There were no bike shops in town but one of those outdoor bike repair stands had one. Great!

Alas, after deflating and switching the tires, I discovered the new-looking floor pump didn’t work. I had to use my little frame-mounted pump after all. Took close to 300 strokes to get each of those big tires up to 85 psi. Oh well, I could use some upper body exercise.

Distance 27 miles, 3,147 total. Time 5 hours with stops. Elevation gain 878 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

La Crosse to Spring Lake Inn, Wisconsin. Friday, June 25, 2021

Today started with a bit of nostalgia: we ate breakfast at Fayze’s. This was the one place we had stopped in Wisconsin in our cross country trip in 2005, and for some reason I remembered the name. I saw why—breakfast was really good, and there was lots of Wisconsin memorabilia on the walls.

I’d been wrestling with my plans for the next week. The highpoint of Illinois, Charles Mound, would not be open until July 3, and it was only 150 miles away. How to fill the time? Over breakfast, I picked the brains of my buds, all Wisconsin veterans, and alums of the U in Madison. Madison seemed the place to be, they had lots of suggestions of things to see.

En route, I noticed, was Spring Green, home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s estate Taliesin. I decided to dodge the hills of the Driftless Region by heading down the Mississippi and up the Wisconsin, which would also give me a chance to see Pikes Peak. Huh? Isn’t that in Colorado? Stay tuned.

Figuring all this out took time, of course, and I didn’t get rolling till 2 PM. Had to stop by the post office to send a box home, I gotten a newer air mattress. Balancing the box on my handlebars while going down the steep hill from Darren’s place was comical.

Bad thunderstorms were predicted by nightfall, so I wanted to get as far as I could. Aided in the beginning by a gentle tailwind, it was delightful to cruise down the flat terrain on the banks of the Mississippi, sometimes the road got so close if felt I was floating down the river itself. The high bluffs on my left, the river on my right, I was so ebullient I couldn’t resist belting out Old Man River at the top of my lungs. Good thing the cars had the windows rolled up on this hot day.

Sorry again for no pictures. The landscape was just too broad to be captured well. The river was a couple of miles wide in places, enhanced by dams downstream, and filled with many islands and mudflats. Barges were totin’ their bales through the channels. It was hard to know how wide it would’ve been if left untouched. We weren’t really that far down from the source, and it seemed wider than I remembered in New Orleans.

It was all too perfect to last. At Ferryville the wind shifted and I could see the storms ahead, arriving early. Shoot. I’d hoped to make the confluence with the Wisconsin at Prairie de Chien, 25 miles ahead. Better find something closer, but it was Friday night. Everything was booked. Helpful motel keepers would recommend other places, but those wouldn’t answer their phone. Finally I got through to the Spring Lake Inn, 18 miles away, and the idyllic cruise became a grim race through headwinds, intermittent rain, and crummy shoulders. Made it just in time before the storm hit.

The Spring Lake Inn was a noisy tavern with a few rooms attached, the one they gave me wasn’t made up, the next one had no towels or soap; there was a lot of back-and-forth in the storm, and I rushed to get in a shower before they stopped serving. It was all good, they had a cod special that was out of this world. No WiFi, and minimal cell service, that’s why this post is late. Flash floods were predicted overnight, I was gratified to see we were a little bit up from the river.

Distance 55 miles, 3,130 total. Time 7 hours with stops. Elevation gain 819 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

La Crosse, Wisconsin. Thursday, June 24, 2021

Today was a day to relax with friends. I slept the best I had in weeks. Darren got in late last night after his evening shift in the hospital, but was still up before me. The weather was warm but not too hot, perfect for showing off this lovely town on the Mississippi. We posed for pictures on the porch,

went up to Grandad Bluff for a sweeping view of the city,

ran some errands in town and got a tour of the highlights, along with the charming loft apartment that Darren and Anna just moved out of, and capped it off with a fine meal at the Driftless Café in Viroqua.

We all relaxed and went to bed early while Darren started his night shift in the hospital! Ah, to be young and strong.

No stats for today, didn’t do nothin’!

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Buffalo City to La Crosse, Wisconsin Wednesday, June 23, 2021

I was so excited today. For the first time in over a month, I’d be seeing familiar faces. Darren Knox was in my residency firm, one of our superstars, now working as a hospitalist in his hometown of La Crosse. He and his girlfriend Anna, now his fiancé, had been to our house a number of times for firm dinners, at the last one the group gave me a touching gift, a map of all the state highpoints that was instrumental in planning this trip. Just this week they moved into a new house, with lots of room for me and and another resident, Shawn Wayne and his family, their first houseguests since moving here. Shawn had been chief resident at UVM last year, and was starting his Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship. Seeing them all would be a balm for my homesickness, a little taste of my beloved Vermont.

It was hot today, and I welcomed the headwind. 25 miles of the route was on the dirt Great River Park State Trail, reminiscent of the Erie Canalway, beautiful but slow. So I made it in to La Crosse just in time to reach the bike shop before it closed. The staff there was so helpful in showing me good rides through the Driftless Region, to keep me occupied for the next few days.

Darren recommended a great local bar, the Recovery Room. Alas they were out of their trademark cheese curds, but I had wings to die for before scaling the hill to the house. I was such a sweaty mess I called a “cool-down buddy” (Annie Reading, actually, my last familiar face) to talk with while I rested in the shade to become presentable before availing myself of their hospitality.

Distance 56 miles, 3,075 total. Time 8 hours with stops. Elevation gain 637 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Hager City to Buffalo City, Wisconsin. Tuesday, June 22, 2021

OK, let me say at the outset that it’s not my fault. I didn’t finish today’s ride until 10 PM, so wound up staying in a motel when I had hoped to camp.

It’s not my fault because my tent was soaking with dew and condensation, it was 46° when I woke up. I had pitched it in the shadow of the lodge, so I had to wait until the sun rose high enough to dry it out.

It’s not my fault because the brake repair turned out to be damaged brake pads, which took about an hour and a half to exchange. Luckily, I had brought some spares.

It’s not my fault because my weekly therapist session was right before a huge hill, I can talk while riding but not while huffing and puffing. I did most of the session at a rest stop.

It’s not my fault because the route along the Wisconsin Bluffs was so achingly beautiful that I had to stop at every scenic overlook and historical marker. The one at Maiden Rock in particular caught my eye, especially because, well, I’ll let them tell it.

The story is remarkable for a number of reasons. It features our old friend, Henry Schoolcraft, the same dude that 12 years later “discovered” the source of the Mississippi River. The story has shades of the old Montague/Capulet thing, although in this case Romeo appears to have gotten off Scott-free. What especially struck me is that she died, apparently, of precipitation.

In our callow youth, my buds and I would often “honor” a precipice by precipissing over the side. I guess this maiden took a different approach.

It’s not my fault because I had to slow down to a crawl to watch the odometer roll over to 3,000.

OK, maybe this one is partly my fault. I had a microwave burger at my lunch stop. Burgers appear to have a soporific effect on me. At one of the scenic overlooks, I couldn’t resist lying down on the picnic table, wound up sleeping for almost an hour.

Now way behind schedule, I had to race to catch the North End Café in Cochrane before they closed. This had been recommended by Mary, the docent at the Mesabi Iron Range visitor center, her daughter Marie worked there. Marie was off that night, but I did talk to her husband Nick. I was so animated that I knocked my tacos off the table and onto the floor below. Nick was very gracious, and brought out some new ones. I was chagrined to leave quite a mess.

Even at 10 PM, there were traces of the sunset over the Mississippi, across from the lovely Great River Lodge.

Indeed, the Mississippi moon, almost full, was just rising. There was a fire ring out front, and I chatted for quite a while with Leah and Leanne, two sisters from Antigo, Wisconsin. Leanne had retired, Leah was an accountant who had decided to enter nursing school at age 50. When I got to my room, I found that some of the taco was still in my cycling sandal. Charming.

The next morning, I saw that a Viking had been presiding over the scene.

Distance 53 miles, 3,019 total. Time 8 hours with stops. Elevation gain 1,391 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

St. Paul Minnesota to Hager City, Wisconsin Monday, June 21, 2021

Weird to think that I’ve been out for more than two months, and that now I am in a new season, summer. The sun set at 8:54 (also weird, because it set as late as 9:15 when I was further north and west from here), and from now on, the days will be getting shorter. I will definitely have to do something about my late starts.

The Swansons were all up relatively early, Renée served me a great breakfast, and I was able to get out at nine for a change. Matt picked out a terrific route for me to re-join the Adventure Cycling route, and it took me right into downtown St. Paul again, so I got a picture of the Fitzgerald Theater after all. So here is where most of those great Prairie Home Companions were performed. A historical marker said it was built in 1910. Right now, it appears to be still shuttered for Covid.

It was still 30 miles to get to the confluence of the Mississippi and the St. Croix, which up until now had served as the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and rejoin the ACA route, which continued downstream for another 20 miles. This is the so-called “driftless region”: spared by the Ice Age glaciers, it’s crazy hilly, such a change after so many weeks of flat. The scenery was spectacular but hard to photograph, and capture the beauty of the rolling fields and forests—you had to be there to feel it. I did pass a cliff called Diamond Bluff, where they say eagles nest. Looks like they chain-sawed a view up there.

The hills were steep and frequent, but I was happy to see that after all these miles I can handle them without having to walk. Coming down, though, my rear brake suddenly failed. Luckily it’s the front brake that has most of the stopping power, since your weight tends to lurch forward when braking, so I did not have to stop right there to repair it, but I will definitely have to deal with it tomorrow morning.

My campsite for the night was a cute marina and campground called Mr. Sippy, and I met both Mr. and Mrs.

I recorded my fourth podcast session with Steve Shepard, I will let you know when it posts. Funny, on the first day of summer, it is going down to 46 tonight. Good thing I did not send my 20° topquilt back yet.

Addendum: that latest podcast episode just posted, here is the link. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-natural-curiosity-project/id1443160082?i=1000526482435

Distance 56 miles, 2,966 total. Time 9 hours with stops. Elevation gain 2,636 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sunday, June 20, 2021

Today I visited one of the darkest chapters in American history, at a shrine on the street in front of Cup Foods in Minneapolis, the site of George Floyd‘s murder on May 25, 2020. I didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard that part of the commemoration had been removed, that traffic was flowing through once again, and that Cup Foods had re-opened. All true, although significant installation remained, and there were maybe 50-60 people slowly walking around and paying their respects. It is hard to put what I felt into words, I will just let the photographs tell the story.

I was there for an hour, reading every tribute, listening to the soft music, paying my respects. I went into the store and bought a snack, so simple, so unremarkable with my white skin. Such a tragedy, this father of five, this Father’s Day.

The day was brightened by sweet calls from all my children, and by the statue of Mary Tyler Moore, whose jubilant hat-toss has been preserved forever. No Scary Mary, thank heavens (although now that I look at it, the hat makes a chilling face from this angle).

Two great meals with the incandescent Swanson family, a bike tour around the city and its Chain of Lakes, two drenching thunderstorms (the rain much needed), and the stunning campus of the University of Minnesota rounded out a vivid day. Luckily, Matt talked me out of the Mall of America.

Distance 29 miles, 2,911 total. Time 5 hours with stops. Elevation gain 812 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria