SP2M Day 9 – Galena, IL to Cassville, WI

Fun though it was to laze about Galena, eat too much, and shop more than I oughta, I could hear the Stone Arch Bridge calling me and there were hills to be conquered. I set my sites on Cassville, WI, 44 miles and 2,800 feet of climbing away. It was going to be my climbing-est day but I had the Potosi Brewery at 29 miles to motivate me. Click on the profile graph below to see my ride with a map and stats.

Shooting down the hill into Galena was fun, of course. Back up the hills was nowhere near as bad as I feared, mostly because it was a sunny morning through pretty rolling Illinois farmland. I just took my time and enjoyed the views. I hit an emotional low when I was snubbed by a whole herd of cows. Like really! Here I was huffing and puffing up a hill and they turned their butts to me. It almost crushed my spirit.

Indomitable me pushed on to Dickeyville, WI and Millie’s Diner. French toast seemed like the salve that my soul needed. The menu offered the choice of one, two, or three slices. I don’t know what I was thinking; I ordered three. Worse, I ate all three, despite their size!

Just down the street from the diner was a honest to goodness grotto. It was mostly bits of stone and not so many shells but still… a real grotto.

Pedaling on, I crossed the Little Platte River and just beyond I crested a hill. These gave me two of the best views of the day. You can see why this was such a good day despite the ascents.

From there it was downhill (13% grade wheeeee) to the Potosi Brewery. They claim to be the oldest brewery in the state of Wisconsin, being the first to be licensed after Wisconsin became a state. There are two other breweries in Wisconsin which have been operating longer but still, it’s pretty cool history and they have an awesome old building. They also have great beer and cheese curds. This is the Invigorator Pale Doppelbock.

I left the brewery after just one beer because I still had 15 miles to go, including one long climb (1 mile, 258 feet up, 8% max grade) and a short climb (1/2 mile, 80 feet up, 7% max grade).

I made it through the day in good shape. How many of those hills I pedaled and how many I walked shall be forever known only to a select few composed of me and the cows. I got more Potosi beer plus rib tips and live music at the Anker Inn Smokehouse in Cassville. It was a very satisfying end to a good hard day of bike touring.

To be continued….