MJ girds her loins for a BIG day…with artichoke frittata and rhubarb crisp served up by hostess Debra.

Deb and her little Yorkie Pickles waved goodbye as we rode down the hill from the Trail’s Gate Inn.

Wet but scenic was the theme for the day. We headed out in a drizzle which lasted several hours.

What is this all about!? Made us think of our friend Gail!

One of many bridge crossings, over the Baraboo, Kickapoo and La Crosse rivers today.

Our first trail town was Kendall, with a historic depot. The trails are on old railroad right of ways.

Parts of southwest Wisconsin have large Amish populations. Don’t scare the horses!

EmJay alerts Rick to one of many “widow-makers” across the trail, caused by the recent storms. Rick nearly hit one near Tunnel Campground…which would have ended our trip. Luckily he listened to Wifey when she said “Tree!!! Tree down!”

The Elroy-Sparta bike trail runs 32 miles and is famous for its three tunnels. Tunnel #1!

 

Crossing over County M near Wilton. You can see the wet condition of the trail.

Friendly welcome station in Wilton!

Yech! And we are doing this for fun?! MJ’s bike is not a touring bike, and has no fenders. And it shows!

Oh my!

MJ pauses by a little waterfall just before Tunnel #2.

Every town needs to be famous for something!

We saw a big red DNR pickup truck coming down the trail, and we greeted Ranger Jane and had a big chat. She was out checking the trail conditions after the rain and storms. Turns out Ranger Jane got her conservation start in Wisconsin as an intern with The Nature Conservancy in the early 1980s! She had worked with Emily Earley, John and Olive Thomson, Donald Kindschi, Lori Otto and other legendary volunteer conservation leaders. Jane was a little shy and didn’t want to be photographed, but she happily photographed us!

These tunnels are DARK, and wet! You need a light to get through. In one side…

…and out the other!

Here is some of the fine Driftless Area sandstone that is now being mined for fracking operations.

You can see how soft it is and how it lends itself to defacing and graffiti.

Here we are crossing over Interstate 90 near Sparta.

YeeHaw! This marks the end of our first trail today.

MJ’s bike is very gritty and dirty. Tough cookie!

Happy sigh. The day has improved; MJ has removed her “shower cap” over the helmet to keep her head dry. No more rain! On either side of Sparta there were native prairie remnants along the trail. She’s admiring one of her favorite plants, the hoary puccoon.

Here they are up close. Also lots of spiderwort, baptisia, milkweeds. And dickcissels again!

Here is a quiz for you. Name the plant! Latin or common names accepted.

One of the big joys of a trip like this is meeting other “through-riders.” We had a lovely chat with Jennifer and Becky from Milwaukee. They had trained to St. Paul and were taking a week to bike back to Milwaukee, essentially on the same route we are taking. So we compared notes on track conditions, gear, places to eat. They have a great WordPress site here: Life at 15 mph

We are now on the La Crosse River trail. There are 4 connected trails that we will ride, making up a total of 101 trail miles. Here is a preserved metal truss bridge over the La Crosse River.

And at last! We have completed 60 miles for MJ’s 60th, and we arrive at the Stoney Creek Inn in Onalaska, WI.

We piled up our dirty gear to take to our room. And hey! They are giving us a suite because it is MJ’s birthday!

The highly coveted Trail’s End Room. Do you see a theme? Trail’s Gate B and B? And now this? What lies ahead?!

Roomy, all amenities, and with a combo “western and up north” flair in the décor.

We celebrate the day down the road at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

Can’t get away from the land trust thing! MVC does a nice job in the La Crosse area. There was a hiking trail behind the hotel.

We are located on a hillside, overlooking the vast wetlands and riverbottom we just biked through!