Another toll.....

By the time we move on Thursday we will have spent 5 days in the La Crosse-Sparta area hoping to do some riding, and Tuesday was to be the day, finally, that there would be no rain in the forecast.  Around mid morning I got the bikes out, discovering the front tire on my bike was flat, so I had to pull out a new tube.....got it changed in about 5 minutes, and we were on our way.

We were here in this area a number of years ago visiting TLE's sister and brother-in-law who lived in Onalaska at the time.  We had shipped our bikes to their home via FedEx and did a lot of riding on these "Rails to Trails" bike paths, but had forgotten you have to purchase either a day of use permit, or an annual permit to ride your bike on them.  As we merged on to the trail from our campground I saw the sign advising the requirement for a permit, so we rode about 1.5 miles into West Salem to Valley Lumber to purchase our "day of" permits for $4 each.  I can't recall any other time in all the thousands of miles we have ridden that we have had to pay, in effect, a toll to ride.  All that being said, these trails are very well maintained, so it is obvious the money collected is being plowed back into trail maintenance.  All of these trails have a road bed of crushed limestone, which makes for a good, firm riding surface, even if it is a little damp from a few days of rain.

When we started our 22 mile ride (11 out and 11 back) the sun was out, but within a few minutes the cloud cover blotted out the sun.  Well, as long as it doesn't rain we really prefer a little cloud cover when riding, especially when it is humid like it was Tuesday.  Once we had made ourselves legal we continued our trek east toward Sparta.  We weren't really intent on making it to Sparta, but set a goal of at least 11-12 miles each direction.  

The great thing about "Rails to Trails" bike paths is that they use old railroad right of ways which means the grade up, or down will never be more than 3%.....usually way less.

As we pulled into Rockland, WI I noticed my odometer reading 11.38 miles, and it was right at noon time, so we exited the bike path and began riding down the main drag looking for a good stopping place for either a liquid refreshment, or lunch.  I was just going to suggest we turn around and go back to the gas station mini market when I saw the sign for "The Vault", a local bar/restaurant.  We made an immediate decision to stop there for lunch, and we were not disappointed.  Just as we got off our bikes it began to sprinkle a little.....wait, what?  There is not supposed to be rain today, and here we are 11 miles from "home".  Well, can't worry about that now.....let's just eat lunch and see what happens.

As we rode the 11 miles back to West Salem we did get sprinkled on occasionally, but never got a downpour.....whew!  The ride back was pleasant, but we both became quite aware that we had not done enough riding in the past few months, because our posteriors were starting to bark at us.  It really doesn't matter how comfortable a saddle you have, and we have very comfortable saddles, you must put in the seat time, or you will get sore quickly, which is what happened to us.

Before we left on our ride I turned on the rear A/C unit so we would return to a cool, dry interior, and I am so glad we did.  I was quite humid, and as we arrived back at the coach the sun came back out again magnifying the humidity, so the cool interior was so refreshing.

We both had wanted to go back into Old Town La Crosse to finish going through the La Crosse Antique Center that we had barely had time to check out a few days ago.  Then, of course, after that we wanted to go back to the Bodega Brew Pub for dinner.  We arrived around 4 pm, and spent another hour going through all 3 floors this time.  I found four more license plates for my collection.......Illinois, Nevada, Missouri and Pennsylvania.  I've got 14 of the 33 states we have been in so far, so I've got a long way to go, but this store provided me with 7 of those 14!  TLE didn't find any earrings, or books, so I was the only one again who came away with something I couldn't live without.

As we walked over to "Bodega" I saw this sign on the local True Value Hardware store......nothing else need be said.

For dinner TLE and I both had the Bodawg Hot Dogs and Oatmeal Stouts....both were yummy!  Tuesday is 2 for 1 night, meaning order one meal, and get the second one free.  We had three brews, and 2 hot dogs for $19.....not bad.

Internet picture of Woodmans

On our way home we stopped off at Woodman's to do some shopping.  What an amazing store.....this is like the Costco of supermarkets.....25 isles with massive selection.  There were like 30 different mustards.  The cheese isle was about 75 yards long.

Tuesday was a very nice day....the kind of day we have come to expect on our journey.

Thanks for stopping by!