Dy 40: Eat Hearty.... For Tonight... We Dine in....

OK…. This entry is a bit rushed…. But I am behind in my blogging and desperately wanting to catch up so I can get back on the road… I am so close to Minneapolis!

Wow… Pavilion camping is the way to go. I wake up without the annoying thin layer of dew covering myself and all of my things… It’s not the most comfortable night’s sleep, but it’s definitely not the worst. It’s cold so I put on some of winter clothing; I pack up and leave. Bryan was supposed to come back at 7:00am, but he probably slept in, and I really can’t blame him. The ride along the remainder of the 400 trail was amazing… I listened to the Velvet Underground’s self titled album, and feel like I finally understand what they were going for with that 2^nd to the last track…

I get to Elroy and they have a cool shelter set up with showers, a store and a pavilion. The day is s gorgeous that I pull into the center of the shelter, dismount from my bike, breathe in the fresh air and out loud say… “Wow… what a gorgeous day...” Except… I follow up that sentence with a vocal… “Sheeeeeeeeeeeeiiit” (imitating Clay Davis from HBO’s The Wire) not realizing that a frail 80 year old woman was standing about 2 feet behind me. I turn around and hope that maybe with the extended “e” sound, maybe she didn’t understand that I was casually using profanity….

I buy a trail pass and set off along the Elroy-Sparta trail. Let me tell you… it was an incredible day of riding. The weather was cool…. Animals were running about the trail... I passed through a series of tunnels. The 1^st tunnel was exciting…. The 2^nd was a bit unnerving because some guy was in the middle of the tunnel, and when I greeted him with a “hey”, he responded with a “watch out for the bats”. How does one watch out for bats? What terrible advice, right? The 3^rd tunnel was ¾ of a mile long and was pouring water from the ceiling and all sides… it was a little freaky. But I gotta say that the experience was fantastic. I listened to the 3 most recent Radiohead albums today… and Kid A works great when going downhill, but terrible for uphill. Who knew?

At the end of this trail I find myself in… Sparta!!!!

THIS IS SPARTA!!!!

I ended up wandering through the town with my laptop open trying to find a wireless signal, and eventually tracked one down on a bench outside of the Dog Grooming Shop. I know what you’re thinking…. “This is Madness…” Well…. This is Sparta!

I hang out in town for a while, but end up not doing anything really productive… and then I leave…. Forgetting my gloves, Tupperware and silverware at a picnic table outside of the Chamber of Commerce… I remember this about 3 miles outside town and have to go back and get them…. This is annoying…. But then….. THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!

This is not Sparta:

I call ED (from warmshowers) from the trail and he meets me at the end of the trail in La Crosse, WI. He is riding a recumbent bicycle and I follow him back to his place on the south side of town. I am officially ON the Mississippi... which is exciting. Thats an important milestone, right? Well... I'll cross it tomorrow... and that's important, right?

Super nice guy with a really cool house. We talk for a few, then hit up a Chinese buffet. That night we go over the Adventure Cycling maps and build a fire in the backyard…. I sleep indoors tonight and it is amazing! Ed will be joining me for the first few hours of the ride tomorrow.

Oh yeah…. I almost forgot…. After the buffet, Ed drives me up to the top of the bluffs that line this portion of the Mississippi River and the view is fantastic. It’s really unbelievable. I’m still kicking myself for not having my camera on me. One of the cooler moments of this entire trip. Thanks Ed.