To see the day's Map and Elevation Graph look here: Cycling map and data link (hover on 'Map' button in the upper left corner and click on Terrain).
We started riding at 9:00am after the rain stops. The forecast is indicating more rain is possible. There are some crosswinds this morning and later there is a mix of crosswinds, tailwinds, headwinds, and no wind. Although the roads are wet, the shoulder on US 61 is very smooth. We see some great views of Lake Pepin.
Lake Pepin in the morning
We arrive in Wabasha and see a number of sites with a Halloween theme. They are big into Halloween.
Wabasha - can you find Jim?
We get on the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River and head to Wisconsin. Here we see the first of several National Wildlife and Fish Refuges. A couple of Blue Herons fly overhead to greet us.
National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
Note the very still water on this day of crazy wind patterns. The first picture (above) of Lake Pepin shows considerable waves.
We entered an area where there is not much wind. This seems unusual to us. The image below shows the wind patterns around 3:00pm. You can see that we are in the eye of a storm with the wind (little white arrows) circling around us at 13-17mph.
Eye of the Storm
We entered Nelson, WI and then headed toward Alma on WI 35. After a great lunch in Alma we ride through Buffalo City mostly riding a road along the river. This is several miles of back roads riding. Eventually we get back on WI 35 and ride to Fountain City, where we drink from The Fountain.
Main Street in Fountain City with a bluff in the background
After Fountain City we encounter a few traffic lights where only one side of traffic can pass at a time - a bit exciting while on a bike.
Near Trempeleau we get off WI 35 and do some more back road riding (more fun) and eventually return to WI 35. We head east on WI 35 until we reach County Road XX that heads toward New Amsterdam and then back to WI 35 and Onalaska. Here we see Sunny the Sunfish of Onalaska.
Sunny of Onalaska with Lake Onalaska in the background.
Then we head to our hotel and we are thankful the forecast for so much rain was wrong. We arrive at our hotel at 6:30pm.