Always a good idea, if one has the time,  to do a pre-ride about, ‘rideabout shakedown tour’,  I have the time and was anxious to make sure Connie ‘the Clydesdale’ Cannondale, had one more big ride in her, the new equipment I had installed and my body all worked OK!!!

Connie received a new bottom bracket, chainrings, chain, cassette, shifters and brake levers. Also a new headlight/taillight, USB hub charging system and a new Sella Atomica saddle.

I checked in with George, one of my mid week riding buddies, and he was anxious to test out his new Lindsey framed touring bike.

So we headed off for a four night, five day ride through the hills of SW Wisconsin, camping along the way.

260 miles latter I am hear to tell you the tour was a success!!!

Below are the details:

We decided to go out and be done before the big Memorial Day weekend so we were not on the road during that mess. Our camps would be at state parks, except at Spring Green where Tower Hill State Park has no showers!

Leaving at 9:00am on a Sunday morning we quickly arrived in Mt Horeb, home of the Grumpy Troll. This one is happy because he is on two wheels!

Along the way we me Pat and Greg from Platteville heading east to Milwaukee, north to Cedarburg and then back home. Nice couple!

After fighting a headwind most of the way, we finally arrived at Gov. Dodge for night Number 1.

The Campsite had plenty of room for all our our gear . . .

. . . and more!

Always amazing how it all fits back in ones panniers . . .

. . . .mmmmmm who owns the NeoAir, in the black stuffsack,  and who owns the air mattress bed and banana carrier????

Here is George’s new tent that he nicknamed, ‘the circus tent’. A 17 foot long Big Agnes tent he bought in the REI Garage Sale area after it had sat there for sale for a year. Finally, they dropped the price to where they all sold.

. . . big vestibule. Evidently the tent was marketed to outdoor enthusiasts who own dogs and want to bring them along on their adventures. They have their own bedroom.

No dog, but everything on the bike fits under the cover. During inclement weather one could also cook under in the vestibule.

George served as ‘chef du jour’ each day, whipping up some tasty viddles!!!

. . . yes, we ate the whole thing.

Of course the chef had a little ‘creative enabler’ to help the cooking process!

The next morning as we rolled through Dodgeville I saw this work of ‘rural art’ of repeating patterns.

This themed hotel put Dodgeville on the map during the 1980-90’s Kinkiest thing west of the Poconos’s!!!

The well outfitted touring biker! George’s Lindsey buildup worked great although he may need a new fork.

Near Montfort,and the wind farm , as it started to rain . . . out came my new Showers Pass rain gear. Worked great!

As we climbed through the valleys and hollers’, the road names kept getting more unique!

Night Number 2 at Wyalusing State Park . . .

. . . this looks like a good site. During mid week, we had our pick of sites.

Home sweet home overlooking the Mississippi and Clayton, Iowa.

George produce another great meal with all the ingredients coming straight out of his panniers!!

It started to rain again after dinner and rained most of the night. The several times I had to get up, there were tremendous lightning shows, 360 degrees around. As we biked across the Wisconsin River in the morning, we could look over our shoulders to what we had climbed up to yesterday. The red oval shows the campground. mmmmm . . . maybe being on top of a bluff, in the middle of an electrical storm was not the safest place to be!!!

Great riding the next day through Crawford and  Richland Counties. Scenic, good roads and low traffic . . .

. . . if only the sun had been out!

Pride of ownership displayed in this farmer’s front yard!

Night Number 3 would have been at Tower Hill State Park, but with no shower there we opted for Wisconsin Riverside Resort . . .

. . . we were the only tenters. ALL sites had electric hookups!

They had a nice restaurant where we spent three hours out of the cold and wet, drinking beer, eating Cuban sandwiches and also this dessert our server, Andrea, suggested. George only had ONE BITE  . . but I was able to devour the rest (and he paid)!!!

Classic private resort ‘summer places’. The additions were usually bigger than the original trailers. Almost bought one for a western  mbbt clubhouse!!

We only had coffee in camp because we planned to shop for tonight’s dinner and to have breakfast at the General Store, a Spring Green tradition.

This breakfast burrito kept me going until noon!!!

George has three thermoses along and filled one with this special ‘Bike Fuel’. With all the caffeine in him, I had a hard time keeping up !!!

Speaking of fuel . . . we were beginning to run low on fuel for his stove and we had more cooking and coffee drinking to do in camp so we wheeled into the local Shell station, got in line and topped of the tank up . . .

. . . NICE!!!!

Into Sauk County we ventured, where I stopped to admire the Harrisburg School Historic site and met Dean, one of three individuals building a historic gallery and display next to the school . . .

. . . using all 4/4 sawed poplar from local farms. No nails in the building, all screws.

Should be completed by next year. We will have to do a ‘bike by’ sometime when it is open to tour the final result.

With all the wind and rain lately, we were both happy this one decided to blow down in a northerly direction and when we were not around!!!

As we biked closer to Devil’s Lake we had to get up and over over the Baraboo Range. Up ahead, you can barely see George as he approaches Freedom Rd where it tees, turns left and is a 14-16% grade to the top!!! (lots of walking on that part).

Nice scenery at the top as we bicycled along the four mile ridge line.

Then it was time for a BIGGGG downhill!!!!

We passed under a bridge right outside of Baraboo that is part of the new Hwy 12 bypass.

Nice artwork that is either a representation of the Ice Age Tr that passes nearby or the Circus World Museum located in Baraboo.

Our last night on the road will be spent in Devil’s Lake. NO CROWDS. YEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!!

. . . and a BIGGGG downhill into the park.

After dinner we biked over to the visitor store located in the Beach Chateau for some ice cream. They closed at 5:00pm and it was now 7:30pm. NOOOOO!!!

The next morning it was time to head south to Madison and the end of our ride about.  Considering we had had a quartering wind most of the way and rainy, cool days we were looking forward to the predicted sunny skies, variable winds and a 70 degree day! Unfortunately the sun didn’t come out until we got to Middleton.

We did cross the river via the Merrimac Ferry which is always a fun time.

Lots of ‘funny looks’ from folks in their cars looking at our loaded rigs.

This was a familiar routine we kept up right through the ride 10:00am  . . . snack time!!!!

We passed through Lodi on the way south which of course is the Home of Susie the duck . . .

. . . who unfortunately for any tourists stopping by was nowhere to be seen!!!

We followed Columbia County Bike Route 11 through Lodi . .

. . . and Lodi Springfield Road to Middleton. Nice riding  . . .

. . . as the cranes we had seen so often along the way bid us farewell.

All the new equipment work superbly and my bod did too. No sore knees.

The new tent emJay gave me for my b-day is fabulous!!!

George was concerned about the new Sella Anatomica that replaced the Brooks saddle I had had for many years. He has also ridden Brooks for many years on all his bikes. As a retired engineer, he was concerned about the shape and support, which he came to call a ‘hammock’. I told him EVERYBODY was very comfortable and happy. Ride on!!!

Connie’s back home for a little rest . . . but don’t get too relaxed girl, we are on the road again in a couple of weeks!!