Day 37-Eau Claire to Marshfield, WI

Whew! Not my favorite riding day. Made great progress across Wisconsin, but at a tough price. These east winds are getting the best of me! They were blowing strong from the time I left at 7 am until I finished around 5 pm. The hills didn’t seem as bad, but it was still just under 3,000 feet of climbing!

I think my days distance goal should have been shorter. Without wind however, it would have been fine. At least I’m half way across the state. Also, with a high probability of rain tomorrow, I’ll be able to rest and recuperate.

May try for a very short 40 or so miles tomorrow if the weather breaks at all. That would get me to the ferry on Thursday evening.

I did take the opportunity early in the morning to shed some stuff. Stopped at the Augusta post office and mailed home some gear which I won’t need to finish the trip. Certainly a gain in the physical demand with less to pull, but probably more psychologically motivating than anything after the hills of yesterday!

Overall so far, Wisconsin has not been an ideal state for cycling, for me anyway. Maybe I just expected an easy last few days before hitting Michigan. I’m learning to respect the process and remember to take it one day at a time!

Also, while it’s lovely scenery, and very much reminds me of my Michigan home, I’ve grown accustomed to new and different views during this trip, so around here, I’m finding it difficult to photograph sights that I feel are unique. If you live, or have driven through Michigan farm country, you’d be right at home here. Hence the lack of photos these past few days. I’ll keep my eyes open for something of particular interest as I finish my Wisconsin portion of the trip!

(Cure for hills and wind!)

Stats

Time: 7:12:29 hours

Distance: 87.8 miles

Average Speed: 12.18 mph

Max Speed: 24.78 mph