I had checked the radar the
night before, so I went to sleep with a plan. Set my alarm, get up
early, take down my tent and then quickly haul all my gear up to the
covered pavilion to wait out the rain that was supposed to start falling
by 7:00. My plan started out going smooth, I got all my gear up to
the pavilion and then set to making breakfast, drank my Starbucks VIA instant
coffee and got my bike all packed. I even found an electrical outlet, so I
started charging my battery bank. Watching radar on my phone it seemed like it should
already be raining but without a drop yet to fall I made the decision
that I was just going to have to go for it and see what happened, so off I
went. Ten minutes later…the skies began to dump.
It was a cold rain so I quickly pulled over and got out my raincoat. I've been fallen in love with waterproof socks so I already had those and my 45NRTH Ragnarök tall boots to keep me warm. Another thing I do is to wear thin latex gloves under my riding gloves. They keep my hands dry, and they also keep the wind down. So being dressed for it I stayed relatively dry, not comfortable mind you but dry. At mile seven there is a Citgo gas station, so I pulled in to warm up. A hot cup of coffee and a Hostess apple pie hit the spot. I also grabbed some beef sticks and a candy bar and proceeded to make conversation for a good time with the locals and staff about all things from where I was headed, to distracted drivers, to kids and cell phones.
I continued in the rain and started to climb up out of the valley. After about an hour and a half I could see clear skies off in the distance and I knew it was only a matter of time until the sun would be upon me and that raised my spirits.
Without any real options to stop for lunch I prepared my favorite riding lunch, bananas (with me since day one Kwik Trip) smothered in Justin's peanut butter and honey and then wrapped in a tortilla shell. So good.
Overall, it was another good day in the saddle. I am slightly amazed at how many roads they managed to keep paved in Southern Wisconsin. We're talking roads that would certainly be gravel in other areas of the state. That said there were some very nice views today. I concluded it by stopping at Dante’s for dinner (bacon cheeseburger #3), cheese curds and a number of craft beer options in Gays Mills.
Camping for the night was in the local city campground on the outskirts of town by the old dam. All was quiet so I tucked my tent down out of view of the road and settled in for the night.
