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.
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.
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. 
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