August 5: Boscobel, Wisconsin to Decorah, Iowa
My brother Dirk and I rode together today. We haven’t ridden together since the time we did a ride in the Hackensack, Minnesota area back in 1988. Wow!
I’m not sure, but I think the bike he was riding today was the same one he was riding back in 1988 too. It was very interesting to see downtube friction shifters and a six-speed rear freewheel again!
We started out the day as a foursome. Dirk’s kids, Sarah and William, joined us for the first 5 miles. It was quite the family outing.
From Boscobel to Prairie du Chien, we rode highway 60 along the north side of the Wisconsin River. It was mostly flat with a couple gentle grades to make it interesting. We made such good time that our plans for meeting everybody in Prairie du Chien for lunch had to be scrapped — we arrived there at 10 AM! So, we rescheduled a lunchtime picnic for a rest area that was about 17 miles past Prairie du Chien.
After we crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa (the thirty-fifth state for The Dream Tour!), we started out on this fabulous road headed north along the Mississippi. It had very light traffic, it had a nice shoulder and it was flat. As soon as it turned west away from the river, we started a long, sometimes steep (up to 8% grade) climb.
About lunchtime, Dirk decided he was about done for the day. He called Tomoko and she promptly arrived in the minivan. The 45 miles that he did included that big climb up from the Mississippi River and it was also the longest ride of the year for him by about a factor of four. I really appreciated Dirk and his family coming down to ride and visit with us, and I also appreciate Dirk knowing his limits and deciding to stop for the day when he did.
After lunch, I made my way on the gently rolling hills to Waukon. When I arrived there, I saw the BayerMobile parked outside one of the hotels. As it turned out, it was the ONLY hotel in town (the other two were no longer in business). And, as luck would have it, they didn’t have any rooms available tonight. So, we had a brief team meeting and decided to continue on to Decorah, Iowa. It was 18 miles further to the west.
So, I replenished my water bottles and got going. I was hoping to get to Decorah before it rained. I took County Road A52 to Decorah over rolling hills and slowly increasing rainfall. It was one of those concrete roads which are very nice when they’re in good condition, but they’re rarely in good condition. This one had regularly-spaced cracks — large cracks — that upset the rhythm of my pedaling because I’d have to get up off the saddle as I passed over each crack. About half way to Decorah, the rain slowed, the concrete turned to regular pavement and I started a very nice 400-foot descent into a river valley. After climbing back out of the valley, I rounded the corner and saw Decorah, Iowa.
The motel situation in Decorah was only slightly better. The place Pat and I are staying only had one room available, so we had to call around to find another place. The innkeeper was very helpful and called places as far away as Cresco, Iowa (20 miles further west). We finally found one room downtown Decorah.
Here’s a link to the remainder of the pictures from today: