Day 32, Thursday, July 16, 2015, Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI, 88 miles and 2850 feet of climbing.  Mother Nature decided that we were getting dehydrated so she opened up the skies and let it rain all day long.  It was dry and overcast when we left the motel at 6:30 a.m. but a ½ mile down the road it began to rain a slow steady down pour that lasted until we pulled into the motel at 3:00 p.m.  Fortunately the temperature hovered in the upper 60’s and the winds were out of the southeast at 8 mph.  Last night at our RAP meeting when they reported that it would be rainy today most of the group got pretty hysterical.  I thought, “Come on, we have been on the road for 30+ days, the weather has been perfect, so what if it rains!”  The kicker came when one of my peers asked, “I have not done much riding in the rain, what should I expect?”  Fortunately I had taken a brief nap and declined the offer to have a cocktail before dinner, so my “filter” was fully intact and I was able to keep my mouth shut! Geesh….as my Dad used to say, “People are funny.”  That same person showed up to ride in the morning dressed like he was going to go King Crab fishing on The Deadliest Catch in the Bering Straits of Alaska.  Several others were dressed the same.  As for me I wore what I always wear, a jersey and shorts.  I don’t care what kind of rain gear you might have; if it rains while you are riding a bike you are going to get wet.  You just have to make peace with it and ride on, which is what I did.  We road through some very hilly and beautiful terrain today.  Unfortunately the weather prevented me from taking many pictures.  I saw some incredible farms and you could tell that the owners took great pride in their properties.  At mile 50 we accessed a bike path that meanders through the woods and crossed several streams for 15 miles.  It was great.  When we exited it we had a 2 mile, 12% climb that was a real thigh burner.  The payoff was that we road for 5 miles along a ridge and the views down in the valley were breathtaking.  I can only imagine how spectacular they would have been had it been sunny.  The other payoff was that we had a 2 mile, 12% descent on the other side where I reached a max speed of 41 mph.  The rain felt like sleet stingy my cheeks and lips but it was exhilarating.  Shortly after, we crossed into Wisconsin (our 5^th state) and then took a bridge across the mighty Mississippi.  By the time I got to the motel my bike, my clothes and my body were coated in wet sandy, greasy road grime.  It took quite an effort to get everything clean again and ready to ride on tomorrow.  All in all it was another WONDERFUL day.  I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

 

This is just one of the beatiful farms I passed.  I had to take a pic of this one because the name is very similar to my maternal grandfathers, mother's family name i.e. Vogland.

 

Next state: MICHIGAN!!!

 

Many days ago when we crossed the continental divide I stated that the ride would be downhill all the way to the Mississippi River.  My dear sister-in-law, Lanette, correctly noted that my knowledge of geography was a bit flawed.  Today's elevation profile proved that she is (as always) correct!!  Take a look at that last climb of the day.  I just got a cramp in my left thigh that was caused by that climb!