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I didn't get a chance to ride this area last year, so I planned to make my first jaunt of the season a trip to this magnificent riding area. The initial plan was to ride up there with my buddy Jim, for a nice Saturday-Sunday over-nighter. Unfortunately, Jim had a bike issue, so he was unable to accompany me for my 3rd trip in the area with him. Luckily, since this was now a solo ride, I was able to change the days of the ride to be Sunday-Monday, as Saturday turned out to be a poor riding day due to the weather. This was my 4th time riding in this area in 5 seasons, and I hope to get back up there for an extended trip later this summer/early fall.
My plan was to ride I-90 up into Janesville, WI, then take route 14 all the way to the Mississippi. While scouting the maps of the area, I made sure to take an alternative route around Madison in an attempt to bi-pass any traffic issues related to larger city riding. I jumped off of 14 in Oregon, WI, and took a county road west to Mt Horeb, WI, taking route 78 north, reconnecting with route 14 in Black Earth, WI. This is the area in which route 14 becomes very hilly, and the rest of the ride west was extremely scenic. Also, my entire ride up until reaching Black Earth was very gloomy; the sky had been grey my whole ride with the temperature in the upper 60s, and I experienced some very windy conditions while filling up in Evansville, WI. I stopped in Spring Green, WI for lunch, and by the time I left the Culvers parking lot, the grey clouds had almost completely disappeared, displaying white fluffy clouds and blue skies the rest of my journey. The temperature hovered in the low 70s, and the wind died down significantly.
(side note: As I sat for lunch, I couldn't help but overhear the conversations of a group of you Canadians who had just crossed the border early that morning, heading south for a vacation. One of the young men in the group asked the rest of the group to promise him that if anything happened to him on this trip, he wanted them to give him "a whole bunch of horse tranquilizers," and to drop him off on the Canadian border. This statement prompted a discussion of the nightmares that these Canadians had heard from family and friends, in which they got sick, or were injured, while visiting "the States," and the massive bills they accrued while receiving treatment.)
This route was all new to me, which was my intent. I wanted to make this a new experience, even though I've ridden this area many times. I've been on 14 into La Crosse, WI, so I took a slight detour by taking route 56 west of Viroqua, riding the winding roads out of the hills down into Genoa, WI. (Sorry Genoa, IL; Genoa, WI is much more beautiful). I was able to shoot some handlebar footage with my point and shoot camera, and have included it below. This is 8 minutes of uncut riding, and if you have the time to watch the entire thing, keep your eyes to the left and right sides of the screen. The video seems blurry, as the initial footage was extremely shaky, and I had to use the stabilization effect in my video editing software. I actually like the way it came out, since the HD video actually looks reminiscent of the old Super8 home camera. I've included a map showing the exact route of the footage, AND I've added a couple of perfect songs to accompany the video. The last shot takes place at the scenic overlook from Bergen Bluff, over 200 feet above the Mississippi!
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You'll notice towards the end of the video, as I'm heading up the road to the overlook, there are 3 people on the left hand side of the screen, as well as one more at the very top. These were area longboarders, who were "bombing" the road to the lookout. You can't really tell in the video, but that road has at least a 45 degree grade to it. Right before I left, I walked over to use the restroom, and one of the guys came up and asked where I was from. He was probably no older than 25, but had a beard that would have made Santa Claus jealous. We talked for a few minutes, and parted ways. He was originally from the Milwaukee area, but had moved out to the driftless area to do more downhill skating. Very friendly kid.
I headed north up Wisconsin 35 (their Great River Road) from Bergen Bluffs into La Crosse, WI, stopping just north of Stoddard, WI, to take this panoramic photo of the area. This is pretty much the entire view on Wisconsin 35, all the way to St. Paul, MN:
I hopped the river on 14/16 into LaCrescent, MN. I then took 61 straight up into Winona, MN, which was where I stayed for the night.
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I checked into my hotel just around 6pm, and went for a little ride into downtown Winona in search of somewhere to get dinner. To my dismay, there wasn't much of a downtown, but I did hop the river on 43 back into Wisconsin, giving me a chance to take this great panoramic shot of the Wisconsin side of the river:
I headed back to Winona, and found a place to eat dinner; directly across the street from my hotel! It was a restaurant called the Green Mill, which was attached to another hotel. The food was actually very good, and I had a couple of New Castle Ales while I watched the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the LA Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Who knew that Minnesotans would be rooting for the Blackhawks?
I nodded to another rider who was unpacking his bike in the opposite parking lot as I rode into my hotel. We met at the rear entrance of the hotel. As I opened the door for him, he asked me, through his full faced helmet, where I was coming from. "The Chicago suburbs," I replied. "Wow, I'm actually coming in from Rockford!" We had a 20 minute conversation about the Wisconsin area I had just ridden through, and he told me of some other routes to ride next time I'm there. He actually grew up in Trempealeau, WI, and was meeting an old classmate in Winona, who had actually been riding all week.... from Alaska! Amazingly, he never took his helmet off, so the next morning's continental breakfast was a little unnerving, as I watched numerous guests stroll through while I ate my complimentary bowl of oatmeal. I'm not sure if he ever came through, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have recognized him if he did!
All in all, the ride was very enjoyable and scenic; just as I had hoped for my maiden trip of the season!
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