In a short span of time (only three riding days) we passed through the great state of Wisconsin. The most noticeable difference compared to Iowa was the quality of roads as well as the coffee, not to mention the wonderful people who hosted us in Madison. They treated us like royalty all weekend long - from shuttles to do laundry, to movies and great food, we were very well taken care of.
My dad came up Saturday night to retrieve his wife, and they found a campsite not far from where we were staying. They kindly lent me their vehicle that night so that a number of us youngen could go out and enjoy all that the downtown had to offer. We went to the university district which is set on the beautiful lake Mendota, and tasted a variety of local micro-brews at an open air patio. On Sunday after the celebration service and lunch - where I gleefully consumed 4 brats in addition to several salads and handfuls of cookies - Amanda came to visit for the second weekend in a row. After sending both my mother and Amanda for a ride on Billy's Harley, we set out in search of a coffee joint to relax for a bit. We drove for a while but couldn't even find a starbucks, so we ended up going to the arboretum for a walk. The rest of the evening was very relaxing, and i sent my mother to bed early since she had a long day ahead of her on Monday...
This was to be my mother's last hoorah on the trip. For several weeks she had been planning on cycling for a day, and that day finally arrived as we left Madison and headed for Woodstock, IL. She was very excited, although slightly anxious as well, but before I even had a chance to say good-bye to dad and Amanda she was already a mile down the road - i had to work pretty hard just to catch her! She kept a faster pace than I had anticipated, especially since her bike weighs twice as much as mine and she doesn't have clipless pedals either! The day was very enjoyable, it was good to spend some quality mother-son time together - we both were amazed that during the two weeks she was on tour we hardly saw one another, so this was very special for both of us. We passed several groups of riders, and were in the first third of those arriving in camp that afternoon - which is pretty good since we didn't leave any earlier than i normally do myself! Maybe it was her fast pace, or maybe it was the excitement of the weekend's events, but i needed two naps in order to recover after this eventful day...
pics to come later, sorry - it's supper time!
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