Sleep felt wonderful. Being the only person for at least 100 yards in any direction allowed me to finally have some quiet, of which I was in great need after the previous two nights. I awoke at 7 AM with the intention of packing up and leaving the campground by 8. I would then stop for a bite of breakfast, and be on the road heading home by 9.
I broke camp, which took a little longer than normal mostly because I was completely unpacked. In previous years, I would stay at a different camp site each night which would necessitate packing up and moving each morning. When you do this, you tend to only pull the stuff out of your luggage that you need for that particular night. In my case, my pack was pretty much empty and strewn about the tent.
Once my bag was packed and mounted on the bike, I proceeded to fold up the tent. I had given it a good cleaning before I left, but the heavy rain from Saturday along with the heavy dew in the morning meant that it was pretty dirty again.
When I put up the tent, I had laid down a few tarps to form somewhat of a moisture barrier between the ground and the tent. Once I removed and packed the tent, I could see that these tarps were very muddy and dirty. The idea of folding up these muddy things and putting them on my bike wasn't that appealing. I decided to leave them behind. I think I only paid about a dollar per tarp at a sale years before, and they'd been sitting in my garage ever since. I figured I wouldn't miss them.
Rather than just throwing them in the trash, I folded them up and carefully placed them on the picnic table. They would most likely dry out by the time the next camper came to use the site, and I figured there might be someone else who would find them useful.
Once the bike was packed the last thing I had left was the firewood basket. I had received the basket full of firewood from the guys staying in the cabin next door. The basket was now empty and the guys had left, so I decided to bring the empty basket back to the campground office on my way out. I placed it upside down over my tail pack on the bike.
Saying a final farewell to my home for the previous three nights, I slowly putted through the campground. At the office I parked and went inside to return the empty firewood basket. To my surprise, the lady behind the counter handed me $2, which was the deposit on the basket. So not only did I get free firewood, I also got $2.
I wanted to see if by chance that rock shop was open this morning to pick up something for my son. I rode through downtown, but unfortunately the shop was still closed. So I guess my son doesn't get a souvenir from my trip. I decided to take him out for supper when I got home that night instead.
Next on my list was to find some breakfast. IHOP was open, but I had eaten there on Saturday morning. I also was looking for a something a little cheaper and faster. I road down highway 23 into Lake Delton hoping to see something open and interesting, but came across nothing. Finally on the edge of town next to the Wal-Mart was a McDonalds. I'd had McDucks the previous morning, but at this point my interest in getting something to fill my tummy was greater than my interest in finding something unique or exotic.
I had a fairly leisurely breakfast, starting a new book. I had brought a second book in case I finished the first, which I did the previous night by the glow of the campfire. I drank a couple of cups of coffee, then made sure I took a final pit stop before I hit the road.
The ultimate goal of the day was to get home to Sioux Falls, preferably by supper time. If I were to get on the interstate right from the Dells, I could be home in six hours. Rather than just barreling down the super slab, my plan was to take back roads and explore a little bit on the way to LaCrosse. From there I would catch the interstate for the remaining five hour trek.
As I pulled out of McDonalds, I was planning on turning left and taking 23 into Reedsburg. I noticed a sign pointing straight ahead to Reedsburg down county road H. I had ridden 23 a couple of times now, and I was planning on taking the long way to LaCrosse anyway so I thought, "why not?" Instead of turning left I went straight.
County road H wasn't a much longer route to Reedsburg than 23, but it was nice to see a little different scenery. I pulled into Reedsburg from the north, then caught highway 33 heading west.
My plan was to mostly follow 33 all the way to LaCrosse, with a few little side trips on the way. The day was turning out to be a nice one, sunny and warm but not hot. As I rode, I could tell the rigors from the miles I had already logged were starting to take their toll on my body. My left arm was hurting already, I had a slight headache and felt like I could use a nap even though I had been awake less than three hours.
At Wonewoc I was going to make my first little side trip. The Wisconsin Motorcycling listed a circular route in the area that looked very interesting. Here is what that route looked like:
Unfortunately, as I had encountered several other times on my trip, the lack of detail on my map caused me to make a wrong turn, which caused me to get lost, which caused me to ride around for quite a while not really sure where I was. I kept stopping and looking at my map to try and figure out where I was and where I should be going, but never really did get my bearings. A few times, most notably in the towns of Cazenovia and Yuba I would "reset" my head, only to take another wrong turn only a few miles later.
I really wasn't in a panic about being lost. I was planning on burning about an hour riding around this loop anyway. I knew eventually I would come across a major highway and from there find my way back up to highway 33. So I just rode and explored and had a great time not knowing where I was, which is an experience that is seldom encountered these days.
At one point I found myself on a very, very small road that wound through some hills. I kept expecting it to turn into someone's driveway. I swear I could hear banjo music in the distance.
I finally found my way back to highway 33, riding up county road G in the same way I had come. Later at home, with the convenience of mapping software I was able to retrace the route I had actually ridden for comparison:
This little jaunt was fun, but wound up taking more time than I had allotted in my schedule. It's not that I necessarily had to be anywhere by a specific time. I just wanted to be home early enough to go out to eat with my family (school night) and have some time to relax before I had to return to work in the morning. I have to admit that I started looking at the clock a bit more than I had wanted, which unintentionally added to my stress level.
Highway 33 runs right through Wildcat Mountain state park, which had been recommended to me as a pretty place to visit. Rather than just taking the direct route, I snaked through some back roads. Once again I wound up taking a wrong turn due to the lack of definition on my map. If nothing else, I learned on this trip that if you're venturing off the main highways in southern Wisconsin you need to bring a more detailed map than what I had brought.
The Wildcat Mountain area was pretty, although it's somewhat of a misnomer to call it a mountain. Perhaps in the perspective of the state it was a mountain, but not when you compare it to the real thing. A very big hill would be a better description. The county road on which I was riding went right over the top.
West of Wildcat Mountain, the terrain started to flatten out somewhat and become a bit thinner with trees. Rather than taking the direct route to LaCrosse on 33, I branched north up highway 131 to Norwalk, then headed back south-west to Cashton. This little jog took a lot longer to ride than what it looked on the map.
By the time I was back on highway 33, I was getting tired of riding. My body was aching and I was feeling the mental effects of long days of riding. This is a common occurrence on my trips toward the end. I seem to "have my fill" of riding after a while, and start to look forward to getting off the bike. I don't necessarily want for my vacation to be over, but a break from the rigors of a long ride begins to sound very good.
The remaining way into LaCrosse I just focused on making good time without grossly breaking the speed limit. The road was still curvy, but the scenery was lessening which meant the curves weren't so much as interesting as they were frustrating because they would slow me down.
The day was starting to get warm. The sky remained cloud-free and the temps were in the 70s. I still was dressed for the chill of earlier that morning, and was feeling a bit overheated.
I knew that once I reached LaCrosse there would be very little photograph-worthy subjects the rest of the way home, so I stopped and snapped one last picture.
With this photo it felt like my vacation was officially over. I still wasn't home yet, but I knew the dull five-hour ride from LaCrosse to Sioux Falls laid in front of me and offered no visual entertainment along its flat straight path. My last chance at a mental refresh would be a lunch stop in LaCrosse.
Remembering the cake doughnuts I had enjoyed the previous days, I decided to stop at a Kwik Trip for gas when I reached LaCrosse. Then I could purchase a bag of doughnuts to share with my family. They too could experience how good they were.
My mind was also focusing on lunch plans, as my stomach was really rumbling. As I rode and thought about what I wanted to eat, I got a large craving for a strawberry shake. I knew there was a Burger King on the north side of LaCrosse right by interstate 90, so I made plans to stop there for lunch.
As I entered LaCrosse, I rode by several Kwik-Trips advertising their cake doughnut specials. I passed by them, figuring I would find a Kwik Trip on the other side of town, closer to my lunch stop.
Sure enough, once I made it through town I came across the very same Kwik Trip at which I had purchased gas three days earlier. I pulled in and filled up my tank. After the bike was topped off, I went inside and used the restroom. I noticed that I had managed to become even more sunburned that morning and my face was looking quite swollen, especially in the lip area. I made a mental note to apply some sunscreen after lunch to try and keep my face from getting worse.
I searched the store for the doughnuts, and found none. Not even a space on a shelf where they would have been. I had to laugh at my luck. I probably had passed 50 Kwik-Trips over the last few days each advertising the same special, and I managed to stop at the one not offering the deal. Well, it wasn't a life-or-death matter and I had nobody but myself to blame for not stopping earlier, so I resolved myself to the fact that I wouldn't be bringing doughnuts home and hit the road.
About a mile up the street I stopped at the Burger King, my mouth watering with anticipation in how good the strawberry shake was going to taste. I pulled in to the restaurant and went into the bathroom to clean up a bit. I then went to the counter and ordered my lunch, crowned with a medium strawberry shake. At this point the guy behind the counter informed me that their shake machine was down.
I now interject a small aside rant: We have the technology to place astronauts in the vastness of space for months at a time. We can communicate via text, voice and video to nearly every point on the globe. We can view insignificant objects and trace their movements from satellites high above our globe. Why can't we build a milkshake machine that doesn't constantly break down?
I say this because it is no exaggeration that 50% of the time when I order a shake at a fast food restaurant I am told that it is out of order. A quick Google search returns over 200,000 hits on people asking the same question, so I know it's not just me. What is there to break in a shake machine? Are these machines so complex that Rube Goldberg himself would be impressed? I think we need to divert just a skosh of resources currently dedicated to nano technology and fix the shake machine issue first. With that problem rectified, the nano researchers would probably be more happy and productive quickly making up for any lost time.
Being that this wasn't the first time in my life I've been told the shake machine was down, it didn't even faze me. I must admit my countenance displayed my disappointment. I ordered a burger and some fries and a cup of water.
Looking at my watch, it was now a little after 1 PM. I needed to hurry if I was going to be home in time for supper. I ate quickly, and headed out to the bike. I took a few minutes to slather on some sunscreen and lip balm before I hit the road.
The foothills on the west side of the Mississippi are pretty, but once you reach the top the dullness of Minnesota takes over. The wind picked up, as it always does on the prairie. I sat in silence as the miles slowly ticked by.
After what seemed an eternity, I stopped in Blue Earth for gas. I took a few minutes to rest and give my head a break from the helmet and earplugs which both had started to hurt after so many hours of wearing them. I downed some painkillers to try and take the edge off my throbbing left shoulder.
I decided that even though I was in a time crunch, I needed a few minutes off the bike. I purchased a root beer and an ice cream bar (to make up for the shake I'd missed at lunch) and stood outside and ate. I chose to stand in an attempt to wake myself up. Fatigue was really becoming an issue at this point in the journey.
Back on the bike, I was in the home stretch (both literally and figuratively.) Only two and a half more hours of riding and I would be home. The miles ticked by slowly and the scenery remained unchanging. My memory of this portion of the trip is sketchy, which I suspect is due to the lack of anything memorable happening. Just riding the super-slab with nothing interesting to see and the constant drone of wind and engine in your ears.
After what seemed an eternity, I reached Sioux Falls. I stopped for gas and to log my final mileage numbers, and then rode the half mile home.
It was good to be home. The next day I had the absolute worst sunburned face I've ever experienced. Gotta keep that memory fresh if I ever hope to learn to not repeat it.
View the summary of the trip...
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This page last updated on 06/28/2018