To Wausau

June 8, 2021

There’s no breakfast at our motel and we have some time to spare before heading off to Wausau, so I decide to walk down to Abby Cafe to test out their breakfast. It’s a family cafe open all day, and we had considered it as an option for dinner last night. Based on my breakfast, we definitely chose right last night by going to Fat Boy’s. It’s sort of a sad place this morning - only one other couple besides myself, and the small staff all seem tired and at least as old as me. It doesn’t seem like there’s much life left in it. For that matter, neither does Abbotsford.

We’re still in Alphabet Alley today, and today’s ride was brought to you by the letters U, S, and A, with an assist by Highway 13. We started the day riding 13 for three and a half miles north. It’s the wrong direction for our destination but we rode it to reach County Road A, the nearest east-west paved route other than the four lane divided highway we arrived on yesterday.

You can do the research yourself, but I’m confident you won’t find County Road A listed as one of the scenic roads of Wisconsin. We followed it for 15 miles through fairly featureless farmland. Efficient enough if your goal is just to get from point A to point B; but not the most interesting. At one point a member of the team was heard to comment “I’m never biking all the way across the country. I’m tired of farms already.” But of course this was said in jest.

Holstein Hill, one of the many high points of County Road A.

This looks like just your typical horse shot, but it’s more than that. It’s a two horse shot (look again).

OK, so there are a few genuine points of interest on the A road.

Things picked up once we moved on from A to U. A was almost perfectly straight for its entire fifteen miles and had very little contour. U is generally eastbound but wanders around considerably because the terrain is more complex. And much hillier. Nearly all of our elevation gain came in the last ten miles, in a series of ten or fifteen rises and drops. By the end when we finally started dropping for the last time before reaching Wausau we were feeling nostalgic about good old boring, undemanding A.

Crossing the Big Rib River, the only significant waterway we crossed before reaching Wausau. It flows down from Rib Mountain, a monadnock (our word of the day). Rib Mountain is the highest point in the region, visible from a distance. It gets its name because of its slender, curved shape, and is known as Paul Bunyan’s burial site.

Riding conditions ares suddenly more challenging. It doesn’t help that by this time the temperature is approaching 90.

Finally we top the last rise. We begin the drop to the Wisconsin River and Wausau.

Video sound track: Morning Has Broken, by Cat Stevens

We’re both completely fried when we pull up to our hotel. When the door opens, a blast of cold air rushes out of the entryway and slaps me in the face like a cold fish. It’s a delicious feeling.

As we had been forewarned, our room will not be available until 3. We don’t mind at all though. We’re just happy to be inside. We each down several glasses of ice water, change our clothes, and then walk across the hall to the adjoining restaurant where we have lunch and hang out for the next two hours. Afterwards we check in to our room and spend the next few hours doing pretty much nothing. Well, Rachael does manage to make quick foray into the heat for some ice cream and a carrot cupcake.

Shortly before 6 we walk over to a nearby grocery to pick up victuals for tonight and tomorrow morning; and then Rachael returns to the room while I take a short walk along the waterfront and down to the Isle of Ferns, a nature refuge on a tiny island in the Wisconsin River. It’s very quiet and pleasant on the island. Once I cross the bridge onto it I don’t see anyone else until I cross back again a half hour later. I’ve got company though - woodpeckers hammer away at snags, bullfrogs rumble at the far side of a small pool.

Wausau is quite a pretty small town, and feels very livable with its attractive and accessible waterfront on the Wisconsin River. At the end of the day people are walking in the woods, fishing from the rocks and kayaking just a half mile from downtown. If you could deal with the climate, it’s easy to imagine living here in one of their downtown condos or apartments and being able to walk to everything you need.

The Catholic Church of the Resurrection, Wausau.

Whitewater Park, a fishing and whitewater kayaking channel, is just a few blocks from downtown.

It’s startling to get a closeup look of the common grackle in good lighting and see how colorful and iridescent it is.

The bridge to the Isle of Ferns. On this side is a recreational park with play areas and a ball field.

It’s a small island, but there’s about a half mile loop walk around it with three bridges like this crossing narrow channels.

Image not found :( — Some of the ferns that give the island its name.

By far the most prevalent roadside wildflower in bloom now.

Looking down the Wisconsin River from the south end of the island.

But then there is the climate to consider before we decide to put down roots in cozy Wausau. It cooled down some on by the end of my walk, but was very humid. When I returned to the hotel an hour later my shirt was soaked, almost like I’d been out in a rainstorm.

And I nearly was. Just a few minutes after I return from the walk I’m in the bathroom stripping down and toweling off when Rachael calls out that it’s raining! And it’s a serious rain, together with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. We look out the window in amazement as rain hammers on the window and flows in the street below.

I bring up the weather channel, and it claims that it’s dry and sunny. Five minutes later though it’s been updated to indicate that an intense storm front has suddenly developed and people should run for shelter. the temperature dropped from over 90 to about 65 in fifteen minutes. I felt lucky to have had my little adventure and now be on the inside looking out.

Yes, this looks serious alright. We’re at the southern extreme of it. It must be really dramatic just a few miles north of here.

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Ride stats today: 42 miles, 1,700’; for the tour: 345 miles, 9,900’

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 344 miles (554 km)

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Gregory GarceauThe Feeshko and I stopped and ate at the Abbey Cafe about ten years ago while on our way to Michigan. It was just as lackluster then as it appears to be now.

I too have always thought Wisconsin's use of letters for their highways was kind of strange. F, M, E, and FF are some of the roads I ride when I'm on that side of the St. Croix River. I've also ridden on Q and QQ. I like all letters of the alphabet, but for some reason I've recently become less of a "Q" fan.
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2 years ago

Jen RahnIf I lived there I would recommend a road called Y 1/2.
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauI'm on your frontispiece, if only temporarily,
Rocky and I on the bridge goofing off quite merrily,
She's Smarter, I'm Dumber,
And that's a real bummer,
We could have been in a film by the Brothers Ferrelly.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Gregory GarceauVery nice. It probably is temporary - I like to change photos from time to time to trick readers into thinking it’s a new blog so they’ll check it out. I suspect it will last awhile though. Great photo, great day.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Gregory GarceauThat’s amazing that Bill Shaneyfelt reported that he’s stopped in Fat Boy’s where we ate the night before, and now we hear you ate at the unimpressive Abby’s Cafe too. I don’t remember anyone ever commenting that they’d eaten in the same spot that we posted about, and now there are two in the same town and overnight stop. Eerie!
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2 years ago