Day 16: Reflections from a Touring Novice

A guest post from Andrew Gisselquist:

As a novice bicyclist on my first multi-day ride I didn’t know what to expect. However, I quickly found out that one or two days riding is not enough to comprehend biking across America. Even my four days through western Wisconsin and into Minneapolis, MN are probably not enough, but it gave me some perspective.

Most surprising, the hard part of a bike tour does not seem to be the physical effort on any given day, notwithstanding 90 degree 100-mile rides through Appalachia. I was rarely breathing hard, rarely feeling my muscles work. Besides, there’s nothing to do except bike, eat, and sleep. So slow down an mph or two and take an extra hour to do the bike part, there’ll still be plenty of time for eating and sleeping.

No, the hard part for anyone embarking on a trip across America is that, perhaps without realizing it, you’ve traded the daily grind you get paid to go through for one of your own creation. There’s a definite pattern to the days. Early morning restlessness broken by a 7am alarm. Bike shorts on. Breakfast with small-town America. The loud clip-clop of bicycle cleats wherever you walk. Hit the bike seat. Go 20 miles. Pace set as much by headwinds as hills. Mooooo at the livestock along country roads. Hit a Kwik Trip at 10:30 for a restroom and Gatorade. Another 20 miles to lunch. The restaurant(s) will be on Main Street; not hard to find in a town of 600. Hopefully there's something green or otherwise vegetable colored with the meal, but food quality matters less when you're burning an extra couple thousand calories a day. Another couple 20 mile pieces and another day's checked off. Knees a little worse for the wear. A shower, dinner and an early night sets up the next day.

It's a couple months vacation that becomes a sort of job.

Luckily, there are moments amidst the day-to-day. And there were enough great moments to make my four days more than worthwhile. Endless farmland views from ridgelines. Attacking rolling hills just right to maintain speed. Finding a newborn kitten in the middle of the road. Getting insights on the route ahead from a cyclist headed the other way. Saying hi to passing Amish kids. Barreling down a mile-long hill in the rain. Conversations with locals, sharing their own story with a stranger on a strange trip.

Anyone thinking about a long bicycle trip must love such moments. It was great to see that Neil does, and to experience some of the road for myself.

STAGE SUMMARY:

Starting Point - La Crosse, WI

Ending Point - Pepin, WI
Distance - 76.8 miles
Cumulative Distance - 1320.5 miles
Vertical Elevation - 1761 feet

Counties - La Crosse, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin, WI

Wind - light headwind