In June-July, 2002, Jane and I participated in the 17th GRABAAWR - GReat Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River - in Wisconsin. About 1100 riders participate in this week long ride covering about 500 miles. Most camp in tents and have their luggage hauled by the luggage trucks. A few "camp" in the gyms in the schools at the overnight towns (I guess this saves bringing a tent.) A few find motels. As usual for us, Jane drove our van with our gear and usually had the camp set up by the time I rolled in. A nice way to tour!

GRABAAWR follows the Wisconsin River fairly closely from north central Wisconsin to southwest Wisconsin. The prevailing winds are from the south, so that means a headwind. For this year's ride, we had south to southwest winds the first five days - headwinds, and then east winds the last two, tailwinds! The weather was very hot the first 5 days, finally cooling off the sixth day and raining all day on the seventh day.

I had my GPS receiver and recorded the track which includes the position and altitude. The GPS computes the total climb which I recorded at the end of each day. I also recorded the total distance read by my cyclometer at the end of each day. These are slightly different than that computed from the track, due to differences in the algorithm! The table gives the recorded numbers mileage and climb:

We left home early in the morning on Friday, June 28 and made it to West Branch, Michigan by that evening. Saturday morning, we continued and drove over the Mackinac Bridge connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. We've never been there before and thought we should take the opportunity to see it. The whole area of northern Michigan seems to be a water sports area with boating and swimming in the Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, and Huron) and the little lakes that dot the landscape. Also, there are many sandy beaches on the Great Lakes. Saturday afternoon, we arrived in Eagle River, and set up camp in preparation for the beginning of the ride Sunday morning.

When the ride ended, we made it from Prairie du Chien to Hammond, Indiana by Saturday evening and, driving all day Sunday, made it home by 1 am Monday morning. The drive on Sunday was something of an adventure. First of all, from central Pennsylvania on, there was a thick haze over everything. This turned out to be smoke from the forest fires in Quebec! Second, the eastbound traffic on I80 came to a complete standstill. We remembered that when we had come the other direction we had seen the same backup due to construction and it went on for miles and miles. So we decided we should get off. But we didn't know where we were! Eventually, we inched up to an exit sign and it was two miles to Mile Run exit. We studied the map as we inched along and came up with a route that took us along an unnamed grey road on the map, then route 15, then route 61 to I78, where we could follow familar roads to get home. It turns out the unnamed road was a dirt road which had us wondering if we'd done the right thing. Eventually pavement appeared, and we made it to route 15. We drove through the Appalachians for about 100 miles on the local mountain roads before reaching I78. I think it would have been a beautiful drive, except it was after dark, so we couldn't tell!

	Here's the entire route of GRABAAWR as recorded by my GPS receiver, overlaid on a map of Wisconsin from the online map creation site. The route goes from one small road to another and really is that wiggly!		Here are the altitude and total climb profiles for the entire ride. Those spikes are real and are the hills the ride organizers went out of their way to make sure we went over! The total climb calculated here is about 1000 feet greater than that calculated by the GPS receiver.
	The Mackinac Bridge from the Michigan's Upper Peninsula looking toward the Lower Peninsula. Lake Huron is to the left and Lake Michigan to the right. A postcard we bought says that the length of the main span is 8614 feet and it's the world's longest.		After arriving at Eagle River, the first thing to do is get the bike off the rack, so we can lower it and open the back of the van.
	Once we get the camp set up, Jane can relax a bit.		I finished re-assembling my bike.
	And now I can relax, too.		Some of the other tents at the tent city at Eagle River's Northland Pines Middle School.
	More tents. Check out the wind!		Tents are pitched all around the school!
	A chicken dinner was served in the cafeteria. By the way, meals are not part of the registration fee. Local organizations provide meals in order to raise money.		After dinner, there was some musical entertainment.
	The track for Sunday, June 30 overlaid on a USGS topographic map. The track winds its way from Eagle River to Crandon. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		The altitude and total climb profiles for the ride from Eagle River to Crandon on Sunday, June 30.
	Most riders drive to the end (Prairie du Chien) on Saturday and take the bus (covered by the fee) to Eagle River. Their bikes arrive early Sunday morning on the luggage trucks. Here are some of the bikes. Jane noticed that there were a lot of recumbents.		More recumbents.
	Even more recumbents.		Here I am ready to set out on Sunday's ride to Crandon.
	Here are some riders just before 9 am Sunday morning. The ride took us through the Nicolet National Forest. Usually, the forest was quite close to the road and shielded us from the strong head winds. I chose this relatively open spot for taking pictures.		More riders on Sunday morning. Sunday's ride was 49 miles, but there was an option to ride north 25 miles and back for a 100 mile ride. Having not done any serious riding since June 9, I wimped out and did the short ride.
	Riding by Pine Lake on Sunday morning.		More riders near Pine Lake.
	A view of Pine Lake to the Northeast. The ride through the upper part of Wisconsin was mainly forests and lakes. There were almost no farms. The thing that looks like a helicopter in the middle of the sky is actually a dragonfly. There are several more on the road. They were quite thick. They don't bite but occasionally you run into them, so it's a good idea to keep your mouth closed! There were also horse flies that did bite. In the morning when it was cool, you had to ride about 10 mph in order to keep them from finding you. As the day warmed up, it seemed that the minimum "no fly" speed went up as well. One other interesting insect was a butterfly (moth?) that would perch on the roads. It had black wings with a band of white and the roads were gray asphalt. The next day, the roads were still asphalt but some of the gravel in the asphalt was rust colored. The butterflies had black wings with white and rust colored bands. Evolution in action?		Sunday's ride was relatively easy. There were few hills and the close in forest shielded us from the wind and provided lots of shade. After starting about 7, I finished about 10:30 (far and away my earliest finish of the week!). We noticed the heat (high 80's) when we set up the tent in the sun (anticipating shade later in the afternoon), so we took advantage of the snacks being sold at Crandon High School and had a root beer float. We ate lunch in a pub in town and had dinner at the Copper Kettle Bar and Grill, a little out of town.
	Some of the tent city at Crandon High School. Our tent (not visible) is just at the corner of the building in the late afternoon shade.		More tents!
	I found some bleachers to give me a boost to get a wider view of the tent city. Our tent is just behind and above the front window of the semi tractor on the left. The "moving vans" are the luggage carriers - there were two of them. I guess riding for 50 miles doesn't use up enough energy for some of the young people!		And even more tents! For some people it's a long way to the bathrooms!
	The track for Monday, July 1, overlain on a USGS topo map. The track takes us from Crandon to Tomahawk to Merrill. The stub going into Tomahawk is the lunch stop. You can see I got lost in Merrill. I wasn't the only one. I have a suspicion that a kid changed the signs so you kept going in a circle around his lemonade stand! The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		The altitude and total climb profiles for Monday, July 1. Even though the net is downhill, there are some substantial hills along the way and a considerable amount of climbing. I believe the climb at the 40 mile mark is in the neighborhood of Porcupine Mountain. (We didn't go to the top - just through some neighboring hills.) Also, I think this is the day we had a 3.6 mile stretch of gravel road due to construction. A lot of complaints, but it was very similar to the canal towpaths I ride on, and I didn't think it was too bad. Of course, I prefer nice smooth pavement...
	Here I am getting ready to set out on Monday's ride.		The front of the school on Monday morning. Note the upright tandem and the recumbent tandem!
	I took a rest about 28 miles into Monday's ride. Here's a group of riders that went by.		More riders. In the distance is one of the SAG vehicles that patrolled the route. Monday's ride continued through forest and lake country although the forest wasn't so close to the road as on Sunday which meant the wind and sun were more of a challenge!
	There was a lunch stop at the Methodist church in Tomahawk after 50+ miles.		There was shade across the street where I took a short nap after lunch. That's a SAG vehicle on the right. It was a long hot day and a lot of people sagged.
	About 8 or so miles from Tomahawk, a young entrepreneur was selling lemonade and providing free water.		Riders make their way up the hill to the lemonade stand.
	We camped in a park next to the Prairie River Middle School in Merrill on Monday night. We drove across town to have dinner at Diamond Dave's Mexican Restaurant.		I'm uploading the GPS log and the digital camera pics to my laptop at our camp in Merrill on Monday night. Overall, Monday was a pretty tough day: heat, humidity, hills, and headwinds. The four Hs of cycling! I didn't feel fully recovered from Monday until Thursday which was another 80 mile day!
	The GPS track of the ride for Tuesday, July 2 overlain on a USGS top map. As you can see the track goes off the edge of the map, so this is part 1 of the track. I'm too lazy to try to fit the maps together! Tuesday's ride took us from Merrill to Wausau to Stevens Point. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		The track for Tuesday's ride, part 2. Today we are still going through forests and lake/river country although I suspect a lot of the forests are tree farms supplying the pulp and paper mills along the Wisconsin River. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.
	The altitude and total climb profiles for Tuesday's ride from Merrill to Stevens Point. The valley at about 16 miles is the town of Brokaw and the steep hill just after is (surprise!) Brokaw Hill. I think it was today that a rider passed me going uphill and said "When are we going to get to the flat part of Wisconsin we keep hearing about?"		The Prairie River Middle School where we departed Tuesday morning.
	I'm just about ready to go on Tuesday morning.		A rider cycles by about 32 miles into Tuesday's ride. The country is more open, but still not many farms.
	And another goes by.		After 38 miles there was a lunch stop at the Methodist church in Mosinee.
	I stopped for a rest after about 52 miles and shot some pictures.		A recumbent rider goes by. It's a hot day, but you couldn't tell that by the way he's dressed!
	A nice woman provided a water stop at about the 58 mile mark.		More riders coming up the hill to the water stop.
	Some of the tents at Pacelli High School in Stevens Point where we spent Tuesday night.		More tents and some of the luggage that has yet to be picked up.
	Our tent, in the shade!		One of the luggage trailers and some uncollected luggage. There was a tour of the Stevens Point Brewery today, but I skipped that. Instead we had dinner at the Hilltop Pub and Grill and I sampled some Hilltop Hound Ale.
	Here's the first of two maps showing the GPS track overlain on USGS topo maps for Wednesday's ride, July 3. We went from Stevens Point to Adams-Friendship. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		And the little bit of the route that crossed the 44th parallel into the next map south. Even though the last part of the ride is to the East, the wind managed to turn around and be in our face on this leg, too! (At least when I went through!) The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.
	The altitude and total climb profiles for the ride on Wednesday, July 3. It was a long ride - 70 miles, but not much climbing. We still had the heat, humidity, and headwinds!		I'm ready to leave Pacelli High School about 7:15 in the morning on July 3. The doors behind me lead into the gym where the non-tenters spent the night. It was very hot so all the doors were propped open and fans blew out.
	The front of Pacelli High School in Stevens Point where we departed on Wednesday morning.		Riders take a rest along the Wisconsin River about 19 miles into Wednesday's ride.
	The lunch stop at the Church of Christ in Nekoosa, about 33 miles into Wednesday's ride. There was an all you can eat pasta salad and salad bar. It was very good! I rate this as the best lunch stop of the week! Along this part of the Wisconsin River there are a lot of saw mills and paper mills. The nearby mill gave the town an overall sauerkraut smell to my nose. Others described the smell differently, but most agreed it was not a pleasant smell for a town!		A rider headed up a slight grade about 42 miles into Wednesday's ride.
	Adams-Friendship High School where we spent Wednesday night. We spent a lot of time at our camp and got a late start on dinner.		While we were at our camp relaxing in the afternoon, a very nice lady came around and talked to us about where to eat. She recommended Carlson's Rustic Ridge Restaurant. It overlooks Castle Rock Lake (in the background towards the sunset) which is formed by a dam on the Wisconsin River. Apparently she recommended it to a lot of people because in addition to its regular custom, the place was overrun by cyclists. I think all these people are cyclists awaiting tables.
	Well, maybe they all weren't cyclists. We are sitting with the group on the left. We were all introduced, but of course we've forgotten the names.		Here's half the group we were sitting with outside. This restaurant was roughly 10 miles from camp, so you might be wondering why there were so many cyclists here. It turns out all the overnight towns run shuttle buses from the camps to the local restaurants and attractions.
	And the other half of the group. The food here was very good. There was a salad bar and Jane and I had beef stroganoff which was very good. Kind of an elegant form of carbo-loading! We didn't get back from dinner until quite late.		Because we got back to camp after dark, we couldn't get a picture of tent city at Adams-Friendship High School. Instead, we took a few pictures the next morning when those cyclists that were still there were breaking camp.
	More of the tent city at Adams-Friendship being packed up the next morning.		There was only one tent left over by the pond where we'd pitched our tent.
	The track for Thursday, July 4 overlain on a USGS topo map. Thursday's ride took us from Adams-Friendship through Wisconsin Dells and on to Sauk City. Thursday was the longest ride with the most climbing. It was still hot and humid and we still had headwinds! The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		The altitude and total climb profiles for Thursday's ride. The low point at about mile 41 is crossing the river at Wisconsin Dells. The big hill at mile 61 leads to Devil's Lake. The low spot about mile 73 is the Merrimac Ferry Crossing of the Wisconsin River. I didn't get started until about 9:30 and since I knew we had 80 miles to go, I pretty much spent the day "riding to get there." After the hard day on Monday, I'd spent Tuesday and Wednesday riding to get there, but was starting to feel better on Wednesday. I was still feeling OK on Thursday - it was the late start that put me in the ride to get there mode.
	Part of the reason I was late getting off is that we slept later due to the late dinner the previous night. Another part of the reason is that we hung out at breakfast with our new friends Linda and Greg from Madison.		Jane looks pretty spiffy for the fourth of July!
	But the real reason I got off so late was I violated the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule. Since it was the middle of the week I decided it was time to oil my chain and pump up my tires. On inspecting the front tire, I discovered a small rock embedded in the tire and figured I should remove it. I just barely touched the rock and hsss... OK, I put a new (actually a "pre-ridden") tube in but had trouble keeping the tire on the rim as I pumped up the tube. It kept starting to slip off at the valve. Finally I got it to stay on and I thought I was ready to go as shown in this picture. Incidentally, the van shows it rained a little overnight. It cooled down slightly, but only slightly!		I rode for less than a 100 yards and my front tire flatted again!
	It turns out the tube had a tear in it right at the valve. I don't know if I did it trying to get the tire to stay on the rim or if it had that from previous use. In any case, I put another tube in and this time it held. Fortunately, Jane was still with me so I could use the floor pump and replenish my supply of spare tubes; I rode off with two spares. When all was said and done, I left a little after 9:30. It would have been a little after 8 without the flats and my normal start time was 7:30 give or take 15 minutes. I was the second to last person to leave (the last person always left late!). After a while I caught up with two women who must have left just before me since we were riding at almost the same speed. Aside from them, I didn't see any other riders until I got to Wisconsin Dells, about 40 miles into the ride. Usually I saw lots of cyclists on the road and at convenience stores and other stops.		Just before arriving in Wisconsin Dells proper there was a scenic overlook. Here's the view of the Wisconsin River upstream. Apparently what makes the Dells such a touristy area is that there are very interesting rock formations in the river. A boat ride will take you to see the rocks, and in the town proper there were many places selling tickets. I didn't know what was so special about the Dells at the time, and even if I had, I didn't have the time for the boat ride.
	The view downstream. I believe the bridge is a railroad bridge. Behind it, you can just make out a highway bridge from which I shot the next picture. The town proper is just over the hill to the left and the route we're following goes into the town and then out of town on the highway bridge. Many people complained about the Dells being too much of a tourist trap with too much traffic. I found it to be very similar to other tourist type cities I've ridden in such as Lambertville, NJ, New Hope, PA, Cape May and Wildwood, NJ, Niagara Falls, Ontario, towns along the Finger Lakes in NY, and even Aspen, CO. I didn't mind at all!		Here's the shot upstream on the way out of town. There's the railroad bridge (at least that's what I think it is) and two vertical beams to the left of the supporting column you can see the bridge from which I shot the previous picture. I had lunch in the Dells - a brat and two pints of Leinenkugel Honey Weiss (a local microbrew). Only two pints because I had to ride in traffic right after lunch! I also stopped at a fudge shop and bought some fudge and salt water taffy to take back to camp for Jane. After forty more miles in the heat, the first thing we did was put them in the cooler!
	Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Jane arrived at Sauk-Prairie High School in Sauk City and took a sequence of pictures showing how she puts up the tent. She had the tent up everyday when I arrived except Sunday when I got in early and surprised her. Here's what it looks like after most of the gear is out of the van and the ground cloth is spread out. Note that there was always a wind, so some of the gear is on the ground cloth to weight it down.		The tent is spread out and staked down (stakes are put in right away to keep it from blowing).
	One pole.		Two poles.
	Jane has a strange way of putting the third pole on. I think this is so she can reach the top clips.		A close up of the inside - she puts the gear inside before the fly goes on so that she doesn't have to keep ducking under the fly on the way in and out. (This only works if it's not raining!)
	All done (except the fly) with the beds made. One of the things at the far end of the bed on the right is a digital thermometer. You can't read it in this picture, but in the full resolution picture it says 113 F! This was the day we discovered that if you get bag balm hot enough, it turns to liquid. Bag balm is basically vaseline with lanolin and is used for saddle sores. My tin of bag balm had been sitting in the tent and when I opened it after the shower, a bunch slopped out on the floor!		Meanwhile, out on the road... I made it to Devil's Lake after riding over the hill in the background. The lake is quite a bit higher than the start of the hill on the other side, so the climb is even worse than it looks (although we didn't go over the highest part of the hill).
	Looking across Devil's lake.		And the hill we have to climb over to get away from Devil's Lake. It was an easier climb than the one on the way in.
	The Merrimac Ferry. It's actually free and ferries cars, bicycles and pedestrians across the Wisconsin River.		Boarding the ferry. Cars (or things as big as cars) get to go on first and then smaller things go on and act as filler.
	A pleasure boat docked near the ferry landing.		A railroad bridge as seen from the ferry. One of the locals on the ride told me that a referendum had just been held, and a new, larger ferry, to start in the fall, had won out over a bridge. The developers favored the bridge, but the locals wanted to keep the ferry and keep traffic down. He also told me that it was free because it was in lieu of the bridge which would cost more to build and to operate.
	I finally arrived at the camp just before 7. After relaxing for a bit, I took a shower and we got ready to go out to dinner. Here's our tent, with the fly on and my bike shorts and towel hanging out to dry. It's almost sunset as you can tell by the shadows.		More of tent city at Sauk Prairie High School. We went to the Hillcrest Restaurant about five miles north of town. We got lost and went about 12 miles out of our way. We arrived at 9 just as the dining room was closing. However we could still get sandwiches in the bar, so that's what we did. We got back late again but resolved to get up on time the next day!
	Friday, July 5, we went from Sauk City to Richland Center. Here's the first part of the track plotted on a USPS topo map. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.		The second part of Friday's track overlain on a USGS topo map. The loop in the lower right is the bike tour around the Frank Lloyd Wright home. The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.
	The altitude and total climb profiles for Friday's ride. The first big hill is Hoofbeat ridge. The small hills around the 35 mile mark are part of the Frank Lloyd Wright bike tour. The tour added roughly 3 miles to the total for the day.		I study the cue sheet before setting out Friday morning. The cue sheets were pretty accurate except for last minute construction detours. Arrows were posted along the route and they were the main source of directions.
	I'm ready to set out on Friday's ride.		The front of Sauk Prairie High School where we departed Friday morning.
	A rider chugs up Hoofbeat Ridge about 13 miles into Friday's ride.		Another rider goes up Hoofbeat Ridge.
	Another rider on the way up Hoofbeat Ridge. I believe this is Margaret. I rode with her for a few miles on Saturday.		One of the things you're supposed to do on a bike tour is see the sights where you're riding. Since I had been in "ride to get there" mode for the past few days, I hadn't done much sightseeing. But on Friday, I was feeling good, there was a tailwind, it was a little cooler, and I started on time. So I stopped at the Frank Lloyd Wright Center to take the bike tour given for GRABAAWR participants. Here's the visitor's center seen from the upper parking lot where we waited for the bike tour to start.
	I'm not sure what this is called, but it seems to be some kind of Frank Lloyd Wright Icon as it occurs several times throughout the center.		The coffee shop in the visitor's center looks over the Wisconsin River. The bridge is part of the GRABAAWR route. After the bike tour I came back here for lunch.
	After waiting for an hour to get enough cyclists for the next tour, we finally started. This is one end of the Hillside School. If I remember what our guide told us, this started out as a progressive school run by Wright's aunts. Apparently it was an existing building heavily modified by Wright over the years. The aunt's school folded and then Wright took it over for an architecture school and studio. One of the innovations is the exterior columns allowing the inside to be open.		The other end of the Hillside School.
	Here are the Midway Barns. Wright worked on these barns for an uncle? Cascading down the hillside are living quarters and then farm buildings, all under one roof. The idea being that the farmer didn't need to go outside except to go to the fields. Wright believed in natural materials and blending the building into the environment. The tan limestone is quarried locally and the rough finish is supposed to mirror the limestone outcroppings Wright saw on the ridges across the valley. The red color uses a pigment that Wright discovered when one of his buildings burned down. It results from heating the limestone. Apparently the Indians had discovered it long before, so Wright called it Cherokee Red (even though there were never any Cherokees anywhere nearby!). Being rather opinionated, he tried to get everybody in the valley to use this color.		The view across the valley. There are a couple of buldings in Cherokee Red! I don't know if Wright had a hand in any of them. According to our guide, when Wright was growing up in the valley, there were no trees on the ridges and the limestone outcroppings that he saw there inspired his later designs.
	Our first view of Taliesin. According to our guide, "Taliesin" is a Gaelic word meaning "shining brow." Wright didn't want to put buildings at the top of a hill, but a little ways down, so the hill would keep its shape. In other words, the building goes on the brow of the hill.		Taliesin again. According to our guide, Taliesin was a living building with Wright and his students constantly trying out new things or generating samples for clients.
	Taliesin around the other side. The walkway coming from the bedroom was added in response to Wright's wife's desire to walk among the birds in the trees.		Well, I spent a lot of time at the Frank Lloyd Wright Center. 1 hour waiting for the tour, 1 hour on the tour, and a half hour of lunch. So I was back in "ride to get there" mode. Meanwhile, Jane was at the University of Wisconsin Richland Center Campus in plenty of time to see the luggage trucks unloading.
	Here's a shot of the luggage before many riders have come in to pick it up. Some people get up and leave before dawn! Also some people take shortcuts, so there are a few that arrive before the luggage trucks which don't leave the previous town until after 9 am which is the deadline for everyone to have their luggage on board.		Here's some of the tent city at Richland Center. Can you find our tent? It's right up against the truck which is just to the left of the white sun shades. Well, it's pretty hard to see.
	More of the tent city at Richland Center. The building in the background is the gym where the non-tenters spent the night. We had dinner in town at the White House Supper Club. We got back after dark and went straight to bed. There was a band playing (celebrating the last night?) at the far end of campus, but I guess we're party poopers in our old age!		The track from Richland Center to Prairie du Chien overlain on a USGS topo map. Saturday, July 6, the last day of GRABAAWR, 2002. Once again we had some tailwinds. Also, it was much cooler, since it rained the whole ride (at least for me). The map scale is 250 feet per pixel. To see the map at the full resolution of 83.333 feet per pixel, click here and use your browser back button to return. Full resolution is needed to read the map and see the dark blue track clearly.
	The altitude and climb profiles for Saturday's ride from Richland Center to Prairie du Chien. There's a pretty big hill about 20 miles before Prairie du Chien. The little downward blip at about mile 33 is in Boscobel where I noticed my front wheel was making a thumping sound with each revolution. I investigated and found that there was a spot where the tire was almost worn through - surprising since I only put the tire on this spring and probably have somewhere between 1 and 2K miles on it. I booted the tire by putting some duct tape on the inside and then a folded dollar bill between the tire and the tube. This cost about a half hour. Halfway up the big hill at about 45 miles, I had a flat. I found the hole in the inner tube and it could have been punctured through the weak spot in the tire. In any case, I put a new tube in, with the dollar bill still there and continued after about another half hour. Both of these repairs were done in the rain - yuck! I began to worry if I started to get too many flats, I would lose too much time and have to sag. It would be the first time! I had one more spare tube and I had found, but not patched, the hole in the other tube, so I figured I was good for a couple more flats. Luckily, I made it to the end with no further problems!		The University of Wisconsin Richland Center campus - our departure point Saturday morning.
	Just as I started to leave, it started to rain. I put on my rain jacket, not because I didn't want to get wet, but to stay warm. I took it off after the first little hill where I got a little too warm! The fellow behind me was the only person left in camp when I got my late start Thursday. He rides (from Madison?) to the start at Eagle river with all his gear and then rides home from Prairie du Chien.		Since it rained, with thunder and lightning, the whole way, I didn't stop to take many pictures. But I thought I should get a few shots showing the conditions. About 21 miles into the ride, I stopped at the corner of Blue River road and Highway 133 (in the foreground). Notice the clouds below the ridge in the background.
	A closer view of the farm. Many riders sagged because of the rain, or the lightning. I was riding up a hill, when there was a lightning bolt, and someone who had just made it to the top turned around and said as he passed that he was going back! It really wasn't all that close. I don't think there was ever a bolt closer than a mile to me, although there certainly could have been bolts closer to others. As far as riding (not sightseeing), I thought it was the best riding weather of the week! It was cool and there was some tailwind. I drank less than one water bottle for the whole ride. Compare with Monday, when I drank five water bottles, bought several 20 oz cokes and had a lot of water and lemonade at lunch and lemonade stands!		A look up highway 133 in the direction we're headed. The spray from the cars and trucks didn't bother me much. It was much more annoying to ride directly behind a bicycle with no fenders. Notice the irrigation system on the right running full bore in a heavy downpour!
	At the end of the ride, at the Villa Louis Historic Area in Prairie du Chien, riders took shelter from the rain under this pavillion where beer, brats, and other goodies were served.		Some of the Bike Wisconsin folks in their rain gear. I think the person farthest from the camera is Bill, the director of Bike Wisconsin.
	Even with my tire problems, I made reasonable time and arrived at the end in the Villa Louis historic area at Prairie du Chien about 1:45 just as the rain stopped and the sun started to come out. This is where many had parked their cars for the week and they picked up their luggage, had a snack and headed home. The dark red shirt is the ride T-shirt. Jane said I looked like a drowned rat. Had some beer and brats and then we found the showers (in an old prison) and then headed back to NJ.		I put my bike on the rack to get ready to go.
	It was a great ride!		At the end of the ride people are relaxing or making preparations for the journey home.
	About a mile away from the end of the ride was the location of the showers in an old prison recently bought by the city (presumably no longer a prison, at least I didn't see any inmates other than other cyclists when I took my shower!).		It looks like it used to be a serious prison!