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During the Labor Day weekend of 2009, I decided to get a couple more capitols/capitals out of the way. The plan was to stop in Madison, WI on the way to St. Paul, MN. While planning the trip, I noticed that it would be a good chance to check out the good ole Great River Road. I gotta say, the discovery of SW Wisconsin was the highlight of this trip!
First off, I left on Saturday afternoon with the intent of stopping in Madison to get a picture. As I pulled into the city center (by the way, Madison is a GORGEOUS city, if you've never been there), there were people EVERYWHERE. I guess I didn't think to check the local events, since not only do they have a Farmers' Market around the capitol on the weekend, but there was also a college football game going on. So after spending an hour or so in traffic, I decided I'd save Madison for the way home. I made my way out of the city, and up to the Dells to stay at my friends camper by Mirror Lake.
The next morning I awoke and headed straight up 94 towards the twin cities. After riding a good 2 hours on 94, I started to notice some serious terrain shifts. Though north of the Dells gets pretty hilly, getting up towards Eau Claire is when the really nice scenery starts to happen. I made my way into St Paul around 3pm on a Sunday, and NO ONE was there! I was able to pull up right in front of the capitol and sat for about an hour taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.
After taking these pictures, I headed back towards the border in search of this road everyone was raving about. I crossed the river and back into Wisconsin at a town called Prescott. It was this point that I realized what I had to look forward to.
Crossing into Prescott is what I imagine driving into any small town while riding to Sturgis. There were bikes EVERYWHERE. I stopped for a moment just to take it all in, as the plan was to make it to La Crosse before sundown. I continued my trek, and took some amazing pics on the way,
Lake Pepin
I was absolutely amazed at what I was witnessing. 95% of the ride down this road has the great Mississippi on your right, with cliffs/bluffs/rolling hills on your left. For hundreds of miles! I made my way to La Crosse, stopping every hour or so just to completely take in the beauty. As I drew closer to my stop for the night, I was worried I wasn't going to make it in time! What do you mean "in time?" Can't you ride a motorcycle at night? Well of course you can. However, the real shitty time to drive is right at dusk, when the nocturnal insects wake up to buzz the night. Here's what happened, since I got stuck riding on the Minnesota side from Winona to La Crosse:
That's my face shield, and I stopped to clean it twice before making it to the hotel!
I stopped for the night in La Crosse, WI. I got back on the road around 9am the next morning. Riding through downtown La Crosse was pretty amazing. It's a very peaceful little city along the river, but seemingly alive with activity due to the University there. As I got out of La Crosse, it was right back to the same gorgeous scenery as the day before. I stopped about half an hour south to take some pictures:
As I made my way towards Prairie Du Chien, I stopped off at a Scenic Overlook. This particular overlook took you atop one of the many bluffs along the way. The road to the top was at least a 45 degree angle, so riding up and down was a bit of an experience. Here's a couple pics from that stop:
As I was taking those pictures, a young couple pulled up beside me. The guy was a farmer from Iowa, and we had a good conversation. They were also flatlanders, impressed with the riding terrain in Wisconsin. We talked for a good half an hour, and I left. I got maybe 20 minutes down the road when I realized I'd left my tripod behind! So I turned around and headed back to the overlook. As I was pulling up the road in the picture, a conversion van pulling a popup camper was heading down. The driver was holding up my tripod! I turned around and pulled up alongside the van. He handed me the tripod, and let me know that some "nice bikers" had waited for me, but I never showed. Luckily, he was nice enough to stick around for a few more minutes to make sure I got my tripod. Nice folks!
I headed down 35 again, my destination Prairie Du Chien. As I pulled into the town, I was surprised by all of the manufactured homes alongside the road. They were everywhere! As I made it through town, I found my next route: WI 60. Here's a pic I took about 10 minutes after leaving Prairie Du Chien:
Route 60 runs along the Wisconsin River, so the whole ride was sweeping curves and plenty of elevation changes. Quite an experience! I also took a wrong turn, but as anyone who has been on long rides, there's really no such thing. I was supposed to take 14 as I arrived in Spring Green, but continued to follow 60. This is where the magic happens, this road is one of the best roads in central Wisconsin!
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So finally around 6pm that Monday, I arrived in Madison. And there was no one there! I was able to set up right in front of the capitol! I took quite a few pictures as the sun was going down.
After Madison, I headed to my sister's in Evansville to spend the night. The next day, Tuesday, I was on my way home after a 900 mile trip. I didn't want it to end!
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