Day 32 – Rochester, Minnesota to La Crosse, Wisconsin
88 miles, 3379 feet climbed
Pretty much just another day on the saddle. Weather was conducive, not too cold or hot. A nice bike path in the middle and crossing the Mississippi at the end.
Corn, ever present when it is not soybeans. You probably have some ethanol in your gas tank right now.Turkeys at least get to look out the screens. Pigs are kept in tightly controlled environments because we humans spread diseases that are harmful to them.Bucksnort Park was the site of our first SAG stop. This dam looks like it used to have a moveable gate to control the flow of water, long since broken.In Rushford, we jumped on a nicely paved bike trail for quite a few miles.. This is looking back at Rushford from the trail.
The top of the hill in the background is an overlook. In 2004, some of us rode to the top. The last quarter was gravel but it gave quite a view of our route. No mention was made of it this trip. I asked Karen of the staff about it later; she said that Mike Munk, our leader in 2004 had mentioned it to her again this year. Here are some photos from the archives.
Looking west from the overlook.Looking east toward RushfordOur luggage hauler from 2004, nicknamed “box”The bike trail followed the Root RiverOn the trail in 2019At this trail crossing of the Root River, there was a bit of a logjamBefore leaving Minnesota, we had a one-mile climb with sections in the 9% range, a bit of a wake up call.. Then we made our way to La Crosse along a bluff called the “Hat” for reasons that are not clear to me.The Mississippi River is much wider than this both to the north and south of La Crosse. But at La Crosse, there is an island in the middle breaking it up and making it appear smaller. Here the island is on the right and La Crosse is to the left.Another state under our wheelsOn the La Crosse side, a crew was placing the lids on what appeared to be an empty barge.My bike relaxing along the Mississippi near our hotelOur hotel has a dock, outdoor bar, and . . .indoor pool . . .under this skylight. As you can image, it was pretty humid for those whose rooms opened to the pool area.
