Distance of Today's Ride: 72.8 miles
Trip Total Distance: 1513.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 4169 feet
Riding Time: 5:09 hrs:minsRain showers were predicted on our ride route today starting late morning and into the afternoon. Fortunately, we are now at our motel in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and as of yet the rain has not arrived although the sky has darkened. It was a little cooler today with the high observed at 88 degrees.
Ten miles after leaving Galena this morning we rode out of Illinois and into Wisconsin. Preliminary riding observations for Wisconsin are good smooth roads, but today's ride had a lot of steep hills, with the day's climb total a little over 4000 feet.
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| Within the first three miles after leaving last night's motel, while still in Illinois, we climbed two hills that the Garmin indicated had 16% grades. The hills in Wisconsin were many, but the highest grade observed was 12%, still a challenge to climb! |
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| The Dickeyville Grotto is a series of grottos and shrines in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. It is located at the intersection of US Highway 151 and Highway 35. The work is dedicated to the unity of two great American ideals - love of God and love of Country. The creation in stone, mortar and bright colored objects were collected from all over the world. These include colored glass, gems, antique heirlooms of pottery or porcelain, stalagmites and stalactites, seas shells, starfish, petrified sea urchins and fossils, and a variety of corals, amber glass, agate, quartz, ores, such as iron, copper, and lead, fool's gold, rock crystals, onyx, amethyst and coal, petrified wood and moss. This site is visited by 40,000 to 60,000 visitors per year. |
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| A typical farm site along one of the roads we rode today in Wisconsin . |
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| Although we did not see a lot of cattle on today's ride, the odors in the air from livestock operations was almost continuous and very strong! Wisconsin is the nation's leading milk-producing state. The dairy industry has been important to Wisconsin's economy and heritage. Each dairy cow produces about 6.5 gallons of milk per day. Less than half of this milk is consumed as a beverage, the rest is used for butter, cheese, ice cream, milk powder and other processed products. The diary cow was designated the state domesticated animal of Wisconsin in 1971. (The state mammal is the badger). A dairy cow is featured on the US Mint's Wisconsin quarter, and milk is the official state beverage of Wisconsin. |
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| Today we encountered a new sign on our travels. Many communities in central and northern Wisconsin have designated public roadways for off-road vehicle use. In addition to bicyclists, motorists are sharing the road with all-terrain and utility-terrain vehicles (ATV/UTV). |
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| The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. At approximately 430 miles long, it is the state's longest river. |
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