"Hate" Is Such A Strong Word For Wind

May 9, 2022

Stoddard, Wisconsin

This southwest Wisconsin tour has been a dream of mine for more than three weeks, and FINALLY it's underway. It's the culmination of several hours of planning, map reading, and decision making. SWEET!

One of the decisions I had to make was whether to begin the tour from my garage door, as I've done several times before, or to begin with some form of mass transit.

That was an easy one. Since I only have two weeks to work with between a host of family obligations, I decided the quickest way to get to the southern half of Wisconsin was to let Amtrak take me there. It would take me two 60-mile days to ride my bike there. The train got me to the city of La Crosse in 2.5 hours. Again, SWEET!

Normally, all of the highlights of my bike tours happen while actually riding a bike. Today, I have to include some scenes from the train ride.

It began in the beautifully refurbished Union Station in St.Paul. Lots of famous people, and a few U.S. presidents have walked these halls. I walked them too, waiting for the train to arrive.

For me, the coolest thing was to see MY Town--Hastings, Minnesota--from an entirely new perpective. There it is from the railroad bridge over the Mississippi River.

For the rest of the ride, I worked on yesterday's New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle. That kept me occupied until we arrived in La Crosse. (And yes, I solved it without cheating.)

I was pretty excited about retrieving my bike from the baggage car and loading it up for a 29-mile ride to a U.S. Corp of Engineers campground. But the second I stepped off the train, I knew I was in trouble.

No, the trouble wasn't that they dumped my bike and gear 100 yards from the depot. I was able to carry all that stuff back there.

And there it is: Son of Bing Bong, ready to go.

The real trouble I felt while disembarking from the train was the wind. It blew sand in my eyes. It was coming from the direction I had to go. My phone said it was blowing at 25-30 miles per hour. When I started loading my bike, the wind blew my rain jacket across the railroad tracks. After chasing it down, I had to put something heavy on top of it and all of the other lightweight stuff I had.

As you already know, I'm a tough guy and I usually rise to whatever challenge confronts me. I looked forward to riding into the wind. After all, it was only 29 miles to my destination. SWEET!

I rode through pretty much the entirety of La Crosse (population 62,000). The wind sucked, but not as bad as I feared. I went out of my way to see The World's Largest Six-Pack at the City Brewery.

Years ago, I made the same joke on my MN to MA tour, but I'll tell it again: "I'll just have one, please."

I am a big fan of the world's largest anything. I've visited many, many of them. But the World's Largest Six-Pack is my favorite. (From this angle you can't see the three gigantic cans of beer behind the ones in front.)

I moved on, and the wind got worse as soon as I escaped the shelter of the city buildings. Sometimes the gusts put me at a standstill. Plus, it got up to 82-degrees today. That temperature is something I haven't experienced since last October.

When I said it was "pretty nice," I was referring to the scenery. I guess I downplayed the wind, heat and humidity. Those things can spell trouble here in the upper Midwest during this part of the year. Things like hail, floodwaters and tornadoes can happen.

I pedaled on past a tempting motel and a tempting campground, determined to get where I wanted to go.

At first, I thought this Amish buggy had broken down and a couple of cars stopped to help.

After riding by, I wasn't so sure. I have no idea why this Amish guy and his son tied their horse to a tree and seemed to be scooping up swamp water into buckets

When it took more than an hour-and-a-half to pedal the seven miles from where the four-lane highway ends outside of La Crosse to the small town of Stoddard, I was ready to call it a day. That call was reinforced when I looked at the weather report on my phone and saw a prediction of "strong storms."

I like experiencing storms inside my tent. I love lightning, thunder, rain, and all the other things nature can throw out there. But not today. A roadside motel was most welcoming. I'll try to make up the mileage tomorrow.

Today's ride: 15 miles (24 km)
Total: 15 miles (24 km)

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George HallEnjoyed the video - I thought I recognized the road/river view and double-checked to be certain, and of course we rode it in the opposite direction last year - I remember the variety of green shades of the river and a few bald eagles. Looking forward to more
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1 year ago

Gregory GarceauTo George HallOne of the things I love most about the upper Mississippi River corridor is the abundance of bald eagles. I'm glad you got to see some.
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1 year ago

Rich HarrellHey Greg
Wind down here too! Hate is an appropriate term.
Looking forward to more and more of your tour.

In dog beers --- I've only had one. :)
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1 year ago

Bill StoneWhen facing adversity in Wisconsin, eat more cheese.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonSorry you had to start out with such strong winds! Hopefully it will get better.
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1 year ago

Bob DistelbergI’m totally convinced the world is windier than it used to be. I feel like I’ve been fighting the wind on every ride this spring.
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1 year ago

Gregory GarceauTo Rich HarrellHi Rich, and thanks for approving of my use of the word "hate."
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1 year ago

Gregory GarceauTo Bill StoneExcellent advice, Bill. I'm going to go out and buy some fine Wisconsin cheese just for that purpose.
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1 year ago

Lorenzo JaryI love a good train! Good being the operative word. British trains aren't great, most European ones are better, and American ones have a pretty bad reputation, don't they? I've never used one. Happy it worked out well for you. Sucks about the wind, good idea to duck out in my opinion!
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1 year ago

Gregory GarceauTo Lorenzo JaryYou're right about the reputation of American trains. They seem to have no concept of keeping on-schedule. They're always late. ALWAYS. Still, they're fun to ride--at least for a couple of hours.
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1 year ago

Karen PoretTo Gregory GarceauAs long as that “Wisconsin cheese” is NOT Velvetta!
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6 months ago