Biking, Day 24: August 9, 2009

Day 24: Owatonna, MN to La Crosse, WI
Distance: 130 Miles
Route: 14East, then cut over on County Road 25, to County Road 12, to County Road 11, to County Road 8, to County Road 5, to County Road 6, back onto 14E into La Crosse.
Lodging: Welch Motel, $40, clean

Today I said hello to tailwind and goodbye to Minnesota. Clouds were menacing today and storms were promised throughout the area I was riding.

I got on the road around 7:45 am. After a few wrong turns, I got going and found Route 14. The headphones I got at Walmart solved my iPod issue, which was a step in the right direction to get me out of the Dark Period.

I have to admit, I was rocking out today. Finally, a little tailwind. Not a ton, about 6MPH according to the weather channel, but it felt so drastically different than the headwind. And going fast makes me push harder. I was knocking out 15-20MPH. So I kept going. Right through Rochester without a break. Finally, I rolled through St. Charles, MN, the 'Gateway to Whitewater'. I was going to go through St. Charles until I saw in a distance a coffee shop. Not a gas station, not an A&W Rootbeer stand, but a real coffee shop. It looked like Caribou Coffee. I stopped. I got real coffee. I sat on the faux front porch and I watched as a storm started rolling in.


After about a half hour, I realized that storm wasn't going away. I decided to leave and try to outrun it. I made small talk with an older guy who was polishing his bike (an older bicycle, but VERY shiny) and then hit the road again.

I went on 14E for a while and then I decided to venture off my main route and take some back roads. I'm glad I did. There was nominal traffic on County Routes 25/12/11/8/5 and 6 and I got to see some beautiful parts of Minnesota.

I finally got to La Crescent, MN, the last city in MN and known for their apples. I had an apple. I rested before venturing into La Crosse, the first city in Wisconsin. I have been to La Crosse before, when i lived in Madison for my first job after college. A friend had a friend who went to University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and we came down for a night. I don't remember anything about La Crosse. Probably because it was 8 years ago. Probably because it was dark. Probably because I was intoxicated. I certainly didn't remember that La Crosse is actually quite lovely, on a river. Nor did I remember the statue of the King of Beer. Nor do I remember the Largest Six Pack in the World.

I got to my motel and checked in. Then I was told that the internet didn't work. It was the router - it blew when there was a big storm last night. He said he would run to Walmart to get a new router and set it up. Instead of leaving this to chance, I offered to go to Walmart for him to get the router. He was thrilled. I went to Walmart, got the router, and got my dinner.

I had a great ride today. I'm hoping I'm through the Dark Period. This ride has left me with a lot of time with my thoughts - life, goals, future, love. It reminds me of the last time in my life when I was so solitary - when I lived in Madison, WI.

I moved to Madison for my first job after college with Epic Systems doing Healthcare IT and Consulting. I didn't know a soul in Madison. I started my job September 4, 2001. Exactly one week into my career, September 11 happened and I knew I wanted to move back east. Unfortunately, companies weren't jumping at hiring new college grads in Wisconsin. I spent nine more months in Madison in what was the coldest, most solitary, and most self-reflecting period in my life.

I moved from Madison, but I left one day before I had intended. My uncle died, so I had to rush back to Ohio. I packed up my things in haste, left the day before my last day at work, and didn't say a lot of goodbyes. I haven't been back to Madison since.