Day 33: Madison, WI to Ingleside, IL

Oh it was hard to get up this morning! We had such a luxurious bed at Patricia's. It was one of the better night's sleep that I have gotten on this trip. (Most motel beds leave a lot to be desired.)

We were on the road early (well 8:15 - early for us!) as we had a 100+ mile ride ahead of us. Neither Marc nor I were thrilled about the distance. After two weeks without a rest day, we were both getting a bit testy.

To add to our aggravations, getting out of Madison was a bit challenging. Even though we had received directions from the local bike shop, we still ended up off course. The guy at the bike shop warned us to avoid the "Beltline". Well somehow we ended up on the dreaded "Beltline". It's the main highway running through Madison and consists of about 10 highways in one. It wasn't too busy as it was a Sunday morning but the shoulder debris was awful. We were dodging glass and other sharp objects on the road for the first 10 miles or so. The road improved 100% once the other highways merged away and we were left on Route 12.


We were actually making fairly good time, that is up until Marc found a broken spoke on his wheel. I guess one broken spoke isn't the end of the world, but it can lead to others breaking as well and then permanent damage. Marc was prepared with extra spokes in case something like this happened, but given he was now using a new wheel the spokes were different and he couldn't replace them without a tool to remove the cassette.

Marc threatened that I was going to have to pull the trailer if another spoke broke. Yikes! I never tried pulling the trailer before and I didn't want to take a stab at today. We still had 70 miles to go, so I prayed that his spokes would all hold up.

Other than the burning heat, killer winds and long distance, I enjoyed today's ride. It was exciting to roll through Lake Geneva where I lived and worked for a few summers in college. Riding into Fox Lake was also a neat milestone. Wow, to think of the distance that we've traveled over the past month and now here we are in my hometown. Its funny how the terrain has changed in my eyes. The hills that used to challenge me on my old ten-speed, now don't even seem like hills at all.

I don't think Marc enjoyed today as much as I did. He did end of breaking another spoke in the last 10 miles of our ride. He rode on slowly as to not do anymore damage to the wheel. We finally made it at my parent's house at 6:45 PM. We were greeted warmly in the driveway with hugs and cold beers! The best part of the night was a slice of the long awaited strawberry pie!

We have a few days off to let our bodies and bikes recuperate. Our next ride will be Muskegon to Saugatuck, MI after a cruise on the ferry across Lake Michigan. Check back this week as I will be posting a few fun additions.