Fox River Trail - July 24, 2010

When we met the Waupaca Bike Chicks while participating in Jamie's 2nd annual " Training Wheels Not Included" ride that we did in Sun Prairie, we talked about getting together for some other rides.

So today Donna, Cheri and Kathy joined Alan and Mary Jeanne and us for a social ride along part of the Fox River Trail.

We got on the trail at Greenleaf and rode to De Pere. Mary Jeanne and Alan have the stretch, limo version of a bicycle.

Four miles of black top have been added since Larry and I rode this last.

We took time for a lunch break at Indulge Cafe on Broadway in De Pere - delicious lunch!

We rode on from De Pere to enjoy the stately houses along the river front, then began our return journey.

We stopped in to the Ledge Stone Vineyards in Greenleaf - about a mile from our starting point, to have a wine tasting - fun! Some good sampling and a few purchases later we completed the tour.

La Crosse River Trail - July 17, 2010

Day 2 - The La Crosse River Trail - round trip about 52 miles.
A nice hot sunny day - we took Deb's bike to Speed's Bike Shop in Sparta as Deb noticed a spoke was broken - got it repaired and got another spare tube then began the ride.


The trail runs beside the functioning train track. There is an abundance of wildflowers all the way along.

Purple monarda

Joe-pye weed


Morning Glory


Wasn't too long before a very long west bound train went streaming by.




Later we caught up to it when it was 'waiting' near East Bangor. The east bound Amtrak went speeding by later, so we guess this freight train had to wait for the Amtrak to go through before it could continue on.

The wildflowers and trail as we were nearing the last miles of the La Crosse River Trail and then would pick up the Three Rivers Trail into La Crosse it self.

After about 5 miles on the Three River Trail we made it to Riverside Park in La Crosse, on the banks of the Black River. La Crosse is at the convergence of the Black River, La Crosse River and the Mississippi Rivers.

The Cass Street Bridge from Riverside Park

We got lunch at the People's Food Coop on 5th Ave- a great grocery store where we could build our own healthy salad. But just as we hitched our bikes Larry found he had left his gloves sitting on his pack and one was missing so we had to retrace our steps to Riverside Park to locate it.

When paying for lunch he found his credit card was missing! Hmmm, where could that be? We were hoping it was at the Bike Shop in Sparta - that was where he used it last. We also hoped we could get back there before they closed.

After a rest it was back on the trail again to get back to Sparta.

Each way we took a break at a nice park in West Salem - there was a stream of Hogs pouring into town, some type of social event we think.

Could see a storm building as we rode back and we managed to load our bikes into the truck as the first drops of rain fell.

Made it to the bike shop and happily they did have Larry's credit card. A good days biking - we did 55 miles today - a total of 125 for the two days - a new distance record for us!

Elroy Sparta Trail - July 16, 2010

This will be our first try at a two day ride. Today the Elroy Sparta Trail, down and back, and tomorrow the La Crosse River Trail. Today's ride should be about 70 miles.

We began from Sparta at about 9:30am - a nice warm, sunny day.

Tunnel number 1 - it is the longest tunnel of three. About 3/4 of a mile long and there is a lot of water dripping from the roof. You can see the fog near the entrance, as it is warm outside and cool inside. It gets pitch black not far in, so you need a flashlight to walk your bike through with some degree of comfort.

One of the other shorter tunnels where you can see the light at the other end.

A corn field near Wilton. Larry is 6ft 2 inches tall. Remember the old saying about how tall the corn should be "knee high by the fourth of July"? This is July 16 and the corn must be almost 12 feet high!

This has been such a wet summer that there is a waterfall on the side of the trail, outside of the third tunnel - we were able to stand behind it without getting too wet.

There are many beautiful wildflowers along side the trail.

Although many of the streams and rivers had high water levels, the grasses along side those streams showed visible evidence that water levels had been much higher.

Picturesque trail scenery

Had lunch in Elroy and then headed back. Not too far out of Elroy we saw these Sandhill Cranes that did not want to leave the trail. Neat to see them up close.
Plenty of neat farm vistas along the trail.

We were cruising along at about 16mph for a long time on a decline when Deb got a flat tire. Larry to the rescue.

Coming out of the last tunnel of the trip - the long one - we were the only ones left on this part of the trail in this area - it was almost spooky.

Today we saw a snake, lots of cranes, a Rose Breasted Grossbeak and on the last 5 miles we saw a fox up close - he didn't want to get out of our way even when we rang our bicycle bells - he didn't look real healthy.

Got rained on for the last couple of miles - who cares? Larry was a few tenths of a mile short of a 70 mile day so he did a few circles in the parking lot to get it clocked exactly. Our longest one day ride yet!

We stayed overnight in Sparta and ate at a good Italian restaurant called Angelini's.

Wild Rose Area

July 9, 2010

A beautiful summer's day so we decided to bike a circuit on country roads beginning at Saxville and circling around, through Wild Rose and then completing the circuit back to Saxville.

The route had some hills and was very scenic. We did miss a turn and went to Mt Morris, but then were able to double back - not a very long detour. We stopped in Wild Rose for a break and some ice cream.

The ride from Wild Rose north was very pretty. Nice woods, a pretty barn, old house and class A trout fishing stream.

As we were getting close to Saxville we went on Covered Bridge Rd and yes, it does have a covered bridge. The people living in the property along the river next to the covered bridge have made their backyard a park like setting and invite the public to enjoy it. We met Kermit, the owner and enjoyed visiting with him.

After the 30 mile loop we were hot and sweaty so took a dip in the lake at Kusel County Park and changed into clean clothes.

Then we drove back to Wild Rose and had supper at the Pioneer Pub, sitting on the outdoor deck and watching the sun set. What a nice day!

2nd Annual Training Wheels Not Included Ride

July 10, 2010
Sun Prairie

We drove to Sun Prairie to meet at Jamie & Liz's house for the 9am start of the 40 mile route. Four of us did this route on quiet country roads around Sun Prairie - Grant, Deb, Larry & Randy.

Another group began riding at about 10am and they did a loop of about 26 miles. Jamie, Donna, Joan, Cheri, Lee, ?, Brody & Deb.

The corn fields were amazingly high - see Grant's measuring device. Way over knee high by the 4th of July!

It was a hot sunny day - but we did find a tree to shade us as we took a short break.

The next break was at a gas station in Columbus. Randy decided to pedal on and not take a break. We never saw him for the rest of the trip - he took a wrong turn, so pedalled further than the rest of us.

The thought of the ice cream waiting for us as the Sassy Cow Creamery kept us going. Larry and Grant race to get there first.

Here we are at the highlight of the tour, ice cream at the "Sassy Cow Creamery" in Bristol. The ice cream was delicious!

The riders doing the 26 mile loop were at the Sassy Cow when we arrived. We took a well deserved break and socialized. From there we tackled the last 5 or 6 miles back to Jamie's place for a cook out.

It was a very hot day - around 90 degrees and not a lot of shade on the roads. I think we were all pleased to complete the ride and enjoy some camaraderie and food. This was a good opportunity to meet other cyclists from Waupaca, Green Bay and beyond.