Happy Independence Day

Today’s ride got off to a great start thanks to directions from my Warm Showers host to get me to the bridge that would take me to Wisconsin … State #6 of this tour. Great directions can never be overlooked especially considering the route that Google wanted me to take. In fact, Google was so insistent on its route that I couldn’t even force it to go the way that I had been recommended by, you know, a human. A human that actually rides a bike.

Three days ago my ride ended shortly after I crossed into Iowa from Illinois. Today my ride would begin with a short ride before I would find myself crossing over another state line. This one to Wisconsin. It’s amazing how the days and states are going by so much faster than I expected. I really should know better as I frequently remind my nieces that time goes really fast. And it seems to be going faster all the time (even with a headwind).

Despite Wisconsin being the sixth state on my trek, it was the first one that offered a welcome sign. I was practically giddy when I saw it. Ok, no I wasn’t. But I suspected there wouldn’t be a lot of photo stops on today’s ride so I was happy that this one presented itself.

Other than getting into Wisconsin, I really didn’t know how far I would be riding for the day. I certainly didn’t have any accommodation arrangements made. It was definitely going to be one of those “make it up as you go along” sort of days.

As for the “going along” part, in reviewing today’s general route it appeared that this would be my first day of real climbs. And there were to be more than a couple. As it turns out, there were certainly some long climbs but nothing I would describe as big. I don’t know what the grades of the climbs were but they were certainly manageable and I never had to even considering using my granny gear. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the hills … maybe that’s because of all the flatness of earlier in the tour. Or maybe because for each climb there was an equal descent. And those were certainly fun.

I arrived in Cassville, WI (just under 70 km from where I started) in about three hours. Considering the aforementioned climbs, I was more than happy with that. At that point I somewhat decided to make Bagley, WI my destination for the day. It was only another 30 km away which I figured would give me plenty of time to find accommodation. Worst case scenario, there was a city park which I figured would be a potential wild camping opportunity.

The remaining 30 km included one more longish climb and one more longish descent – with pretty much a level plateau in between. With the wind being somewhat favourable, it was a very easy 30 km.

As I coasted into town it became apparent very quickly that my plan to wild camp at the city park was not going to happen. Why? Well, it would seem they have a small rodeo in said park on the fourth of July. And today was the fourth of July. I needed a new plan.

In addition to being a small town, Bagley seemed to be in somewhat of a void when it came to cell service. Well, at least for my phone anyway. As such tracking down accommodation was made a bit more challenging. I actually suspected that might happen so prior to leaving Cassville I contacted a campground on the other side of Bagley to see if they had any tent sites available. Unfortunately, my phone didn’t want to connect with them so I had to send an e-mail and hope for service down the road. As mentioned, that service wasn’t there.

I briefly went against my “No backtracking” policy and headed back 1 km to the River of Lakes campground which I had passed on my way into town. Upon speaking with the girl at the front desk it was revealed that a site would be $26.20 – if there were any left. She said I was free to go take a look. I felt it was a bit odd that she didn’t know if they had any vacant tent sites but I just went with the flow and went to see for myself.

Given it was the holiday weekend, the campground was pretty full. And given that I was offered no information as to which sites were deemed tent sites and which ones weren’t, it was bit unclear as to where I might be permitted to setup my home.

I eventually ended up chatting with a group of campers that were more than a little curious about my bike and tour. I didn’t get any of their names because, well … there were a lot of them and I likely wouldn’t have remembered. But they were all very nice and were able to direct me to a site I would eventually call home for the night. And yes, there was a picnic table.

It was still pretty early in the afternoon by the time my tent was setup but I opted to make supper anyway. The hills of the day were far from excruciating but I still was more than a little hungry. I didn’t see the need to postpone pulling out my alcohol stove for another not-great-but-not-terrible bowl of pasta. And that would definitely be a good description of the resulting meal.

Funnily enough, the toughest part of the day came after my ride was over. The toughest part of my day actually came after supper (i.e. late lunch) was consumed, dishes washed, and stove once again packed away. The toughest part of the day was actually boredom.

It was probably around 4:30 PM when the food portion of my day ended. In an ideal scenario I would’ve sat at the picnic table and worked on my blog until the battery of my laptop expired. The problem was the bugs. There were a lot of them. And they really seemed to enjoy my company. It was not a mutual feeling. I thought my bug spray might’ve given them the hint that their presence wasn’t welcome but apparently they were immune to such a fragrance. Now you may be thinking, “Why not work on your blog in the safety of your tent?” Well, that would’ve been great except that it was still a very hot day and, even in the shade, my tent had essentially become a sauna. So there were my options, sit a picnic being hounded by bugs. Or sit in my tent and melt into a pool of goo. With neither of those options seeming pleasant, I spent much of the next multiple hours wandering around the campground until the sun went down. It was a lot of walking.

Oh, and did I mention the train tracks that were right next to my tent (i.e. 30 m/100′)? Strangely, I wasn’t too concerned about the trains. Yes, they passed somewhat frequently. And yes, they were loud – sometimes ground-shakingly loud. But in my experience, I’ve learned that I can sleep through such things. At this point, the trains really weren’t a concern. Just an inconvenience.

As is always the case, the sun eventually dropped near and then below the horizon and some of the heat dissipated shortly thereafter. My tent was once again habitable. And inhabit it I did. And much to my surprise I actually drifted off for a bit. In fact, it was the fourth of July fireworks that woke me. Although, only long enough for me to roll over and go back to sleep. Despite the early hour, it was clear that my day/night was over.

Today’s totals:
Distance: 108.09 km
Ride time: 5:00:00
Average speed: 21.61 km/h
Maximum speed: 58.85 km/h