Note: Dan is providing a brief update for Liz
Wednesday, July 26 Elizabeth rode 66 miles towards her next zero day. It’s been a long 11 days of riding between rest days and she was ready for a break. For 30 miles the route ran along the Mississippi to Lansing, IA before crossing over into Wisconsin near DeSoto.
It was another 36 miles north to La Crosse, WI where Elizabeth’s aunt Mary and two cousins (Mary and Maggie) were meeting her. Elizabeth was anxious to get there so she could do laundry and other chores. She wanted everything done so she could enjoy the evening and next day off. That started with a picnic.
Thursday Elizabeth enjoyed her rest day tooling around La Crosse before enjoying a nice dinner out.
Friday, July 28 Elizabeth was back on the road – 56 miles from La Crosse to Alma, WI.
Elizabeth found a lot of bike shops during this trip – but this has to be Dan’s favorite so far. Besides offering bikes and service, it has coffee and ice cream — one stop for life’s basic necessities! Long after passing the bike shop, Elizabeth’s tire found a large screw! One of the decisions in rebuilding the bike was to choose tubeless tires that contain a liquid sealant — designed to automatically seal small punctures. This was NOT a small puncture – but the sealant held and allowed Elizabeth to ride with the screw in her tire for 25 more miles to finish the route and get to the campground where she had a spare tire.
After installing the spare tire and getting her tent all set up for the night, Elizabeth enjoyed dinner and the company of her cousin Patrick and Susie who drove over for a visit.
After an enjoyable dinner, Elizabeth had another visitor – a very large thunderstorm. She was quite accustom to rain by now but this one swamped her tent and all its contents. What a day! And for tomorrow? 83 miles and 4200 feet to climb. Elizabeth definitely needs a good rest tonight.
Elizabeth girl-you’re tough!
Those miles are relentless! Glad you’re getting some visits with family and friends when you’re not pedaling. Xoxo
Cousin Mary here! Thoroughly enjoyed “bike camp” when visiting. Great people, great stories, much laughter. The dedication and perseverance of you, and all the bikers, is amazing!
I’ll be riding with you till the end, Liz, even if only in my imagination, because that’s about as close as I’ll get to me doing one of these cycling adventures! Chuckles!