I had had one continual problem over the last several days: black flies a/k/a buffalo gnats. I had blithely cycled into black fly season and it was a particularly bad one this year. As long as I was riding and moving eight or nine miles per hour, I was free of the nasties. But any time I slowed down, like when climbing a steep grade or taking a photo break, my mouth, nose, eyes, and ears got swarmed. In theory, the devils are most active in the morning and evening but the damned things would find me all day long.
Since i was camped in Cassville, WI and Cassville had a diner and Google Maps reported that the diner opened for breakfast at 6:00am, I decided to flee the flies and head for the diner for breakfast. I woke, packed (quickly!) and rode into town to discover that the diner was closed. Being before Memorial Day, the diner was only open on weekends. Where I live, in suburban St. Louis, I have come to trust the business hours shown in Google Maps; they are almost always right. Unfortunately, I learned that many rural businesses don’t keep these listings up to date so I was often disappointed on my tour.
Fortunately, Okey’s Market was open just down the street. This family owned grocery store has been in business for 90 years and is still going strong. They had hot coffee (woo hoo!) and Pop-Tarts and were willing to let me hang around inside while I ate. I also bought a pre-made sandwich to save for lunch, since there were no restaurants along the day’s route.
I had been waffling about my destination for this day: camp at Wyalusing State Park or push on to Prairie du Chien and stay in a hotel. Melanie had recommended Wyalusing State Park as beautiful. Everything I found online supported her. The park sits on hills above the Mississippi River and is exactly the sort of camping that I had hoped to find on my trip. On the downside, I had not brought much in the way of cooking gear and there are no restaurants or grocery stores within several miles of the campground. The black flies ultimately pushed me toward the hotel. This would not be a long day, only 34 miles, but it would contain the last of the significant climbs of the tour, 1,772 feet. Here is a profile of the day. You can click on it to see a map and details about the ride.
After leaving town, I rode northwest along the Cassville Slough and through the Nelson Dewey State Park. My route then took me uphill and north through farmland.
Nineteen miles of pedaling brought me to Bagley, WI, the only town of the day. I found one open business, The Farmacy, a combination nursery and convenience store. The black flies were less pestilent when I stood near the front door so that’s where I ate lunch. I consulted with the proprietor about whether the black flies might be less irksome if I followed my planned route along the river or deviated north through more farmland. He figured that there might be fewer bugs along the river than in the fields. I figured that it would be prettier. So I stuck with my planned route.
The ride along the river and then along the southern edge of Wyalusing State Park was pretty, indeed. Even better, there was a convenience store at the end of State Park Ln. (the entrance road to the park) and it had a sign advertising ice cream. The day was looking up. But… it was closed. I ate some trail mix, batted black flies away, and started on the last nine miles of the day. At least I was done with all of the big climbs. I had only one little climb of just 102 feet between a hot shower and me.
Crossing the Wisconsin River just outside of town was pretty enough to lift my spirits. From there, it was an easy four miles to my hotel.
I had been pondering what to do with the next segment of my tour while I had been riding. My initial plan was to make a couple of short days of riding from Prairie du Chien to La Crosse and stop somewhere scenic to camp. After La Crosse, I would not have campgrounds in convenient spots so I was planning on hotelling. I figured that in La Crosse, I would be able to ship my camping gear home.
The black flies made that intention seem like a really bad idea. If I did not make an overnight stop, Prairie du Chien to La Crosse would be a 64 mile ride but at least there were no climbs. The steepest grade would be less than 6%. Rather than camp with the bugs again, I decided to get an early start on day 11 and just push on through to La Crosse, another hotel, and a rest day. I showered, napped, and then consolidated my camping gear and two of my panniers. It was just 3/4 of a mile to a computer repair store that was also a FedEx agent. I must have looked like an unhoused person on my bike with three cardboard boxes precariously balanced on the handlebars but I made it to the store without incident. Once there, I put everything, including the panniers, into the boxes and sent them home to Candy.
All that remained for the day was dinner at Huckleberry’s Restaurant climaxing with their fresh sour cream raisin pie. Heaven on earth!
To be continued….
