Revised Route – Skipping Madison

I have revised my bike tour route, following the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) all the way to Rosemont, MN and skipping Madison, WI.

I had been planning to swing northeast from Galena, IL and visit my cousin in Madison. From there, I wanted to visit Devil’s Lake State Park and then follow some gorgeous bike trails northwest to La Crosse, WI where I would rejoin the MRT. Unfortunately, Devil’s Lake State Park is hugely popular with over 400 campsites and minimum reservation of two nights. I tried finding a route that went west of the park but found myself in a camping dessert; the distances were too great for me to bike in one day and I could not find a place to stay in a convenient spot to break the ride into two days of roughly even mileage.

Fortunately, Melanie is willing to come down to Galena. We will hang out there for a day and then ride north together to Potosi, WI. She will drive home from Potosi. I will camp there for the night and then continue riding north along the MRT to Wyalusing State Park.

These two days, Galena to Potosi to Wyalusing, will be the toughest of my route. It is only 77 miles, broken into two days, but I will ascend 4,752 feet with the worst a 7.5% grade and I will have 60 lbs. of gear in my panniers. But it should be gorgeous so I’m going for it! If I get too tired to ride, that must means that it will be the right spot to dismount and take pictures.

From La Crosse north, there are not many campgrounds. I plan to ship my camping gear home from La Crosse and stay in hotels or bed & breakfasts for the rest of the route.

I am all packed and just about ready to leave tomorrow morning. If FedEx does its thing, my chainring will arrive and get installed today.

A couple of days ago, I test-packed everything, hung all four panniers on my bike, and took a ride around the block.

This was my first time riding with panniers on the front fork and I wanted to see how it affected the bike. Surprisingly, it did not make much difference. No, I would not want to hit the BMX track (like you would ever find me on a BMX track!) but just riding down the street and making normal turns at intersections was easy as pie.

Fear not, by the way, I will be riding with a helmet. I am bare-headed in this shot because it was only a quick ’round the block test. Also, much as I like blue jeans, I won’t be riding in cotton pants. If nothing else, my butt needs the padding in my bibs. I have turned into the dreaded MAMIL.

Tomorrow morning, I start on my first leg, St. Peters to Louisiana. You can follow my progress here, where I will be posting photos and narrative. I have started a collection on RideWithGPS which I will update daily each day’s ride and the routes for the next few days. My rides will also pop into Stava.

To be continued….