Unseasonably cool weather and a steady afternoon rain did not unduly hamper our ride from Richland Center to La Crosse, WI bringing us to the banks of the Mississippi River. Two more days before I come to the unofficial halfway mark of my trip in Minneapolis, MN.
Our route through southwest Wisconsin today took us through the Driftless Area - a region of land free from glaciation during the last Ice Age. Drift, which refers to the sediment and gravel left behind by retreating glaciers, filled in the topography of regions affected by glaciation. In the Driftless Area, this process did not occur leaving a landscape that looks more like Appalachia than the rest of the Midwest.
Like my rides through Pennsylvania, cycling through this region required noticeably more climbing than other rides in the last week. An initial climb out of Richland Center on county roads brought us up to ridge line with rolling hills through farmlands and pastures.
On these wonderfully quiet roads, we came across a cat and a kitten sitting in the middle of the road. The mother fled as we approached, but the kitten remained planted in the middle of the road. As I got off my bike to remove the kitten from the middle of the road, it finally decided that it might not be that safe and scurried off into the tall grass. During another climb later in the morning, a corgi monitored our slow ascent and skittered off despite my hopes that it might stay close enough to get a good picture (corgis are awesome). The lunch stop was the aptly named Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, WI - an excellent stop for anyone in the area hoping to sample the local produce.
In the afternoon, we passed through Wisconsin Amish country complete with horse-drawn carriages and children walking home barefoot in hats and bonnets. A dense fog shrouded the hills in mist but deepened the sense of traveling through a foreign and exotic land. The territory should grow more familiar in the coming days as I cycle back home.
Distance - 72.3 miles
Cumulative Distance - 1243.7 miles
Vertical Elevation - 4220 feet
Our route through southwest Wisconsin today took us through the Driftless Area - a region of land free from glaciation during the last Ice Age. Drift, which refers to the sediment and gravel left behind by retreating glaciers, filled in the topography of regions affected by glaciation. In the Driftless Area, this process did not occur leaving a landscape that looks more like Appalachia than the rest of the Midwest.
Like my rides through Pennsylvania, cycling through this region required noticeably more climbing than other rides in the last week. An initial climb out of Richland Center on county roads brought us up to ridge line with rolling hills through farmlands and pastures.
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| Rolling hills in the Driftless Area |
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| Hills shrouded in fog and mist |
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| Horse grazing near an Amish carriage |
Starting Point - Richland Center, WI
Ending Point - La Crosse, WIDistance - 72.3 miles
Cumulative Distance - 1243.7 miles
Vertical Elevation - 4220 feet
Counties - Richland, Vernon, La Crosse, WI
Wind - variable crosswind
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