Day 24: Thursday, 05/31/18, LaCrosse, WI to Red Wing. MN

Map of today's ride:



Distance of Today's Ride: 102.3 miles

Trip Total Distance: 1681.6 miles

Elevation Gain:  2556 feet

Riding Time: 7:01 hrs:mins

Today we had pleasant weather again with no rain and a high temperature of 85 degrees.  However, there was a negative in that for the first day in the 24 days since we left New Orleans, we had a wind out of the WNW which was exactly the direction we bicycled all day. Fortunately, the wind was not too strong which made the ride tolerable.

We rode all day in Wisconsin on the Mississippi River Road which allowed us to view the river many times throughout the day.

At the start of our ride today there were scattered clouds and some high fog. Fortunately, as the day progressed the skies cleared up and it was another beautiful day!

This is a picture of a Dairyland Power Cooperative along the Mississippi River. Dairyland Power Cooperative, an electric generation and transmission cooperative, provide wholesale electrical and related services for electric distribution cooperatives and municipal utilities in the Upper Midwest.  It owns and operates various power plants; and generates electricity through coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas, biomass, animal waste, and solar resources.  It serves various counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.  The company was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

A late morning view of the Mississippi River to the west looking toward Minnesota.

With the exception of the last 20 miles or so of today's ride, the road was relatively flat.  However, we did end up climbing around 2500 feet of elevation over the 102 mile ride.. There are a lot of scenic cliffs above the river road, an example can be seen in the above photo.

This picture was taken from Wisconsin toward the end of the ride today as we were getting close to Red Wing Minnesota. A very pretty territorial view.

Today at one of our SAG stops, we were able to sample a non US food product.  We have four British bikers on our trip.  Tim, from Britain, has a Marmite jersey which required explaining to many of the US bike riders.  Marmite is a British food spread.  It's made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing.  Marmite is a sticky, dark brown food paste with a distinctive, powerful flavor, which is extremely salty!  This distinctive taste is reflected in the marketing slogan: "Love it or hate it."  Dad was in the later of the slogan while Mindy didn't think it was too bad... although she doesn't need her own jar!