Northern Tier Day #27 La Crosse, WI to Frontenac State Park, MN
Northern Tier Day #27
June 16, 2019
La Crosse, WI to Frontenac State Park, MN 100 Miles
Ride Time 7:51
Tour Total 2179 Miles
I slept great last night in my king-sized bed at the hotel. It had rained heavily throughout the night, and I had made a good call to go into La Crosse. The hotel had been busy last evening. There was a lot of activity outside my ground-level window with several wedding parties and at least one Little League team. This morning the rain had ended, there were no chirping birds, and my laundered clothes were dry.
The pavement was still wet when I started cycling. It was in the mid 50’s, the air was cold, and it was cloudy. I was wearing my cycling shorts, my short sleeve jersey, and my Bouré sweater. I had washed my gloves last night and they were less stinky than usual. Back over on the Minnesota side, in La Crescent, I stopped at the Kwik Trip. I had an egg sandwich, a Starbucks Frappuccino, and an orange juice. I put on my down vest and leg warmers.
Highway 16 out of La Crescent had 4-lanes of traffic combined with an interchange with I-90 alongside several pairs of freight train tracks. Thank goodness for the Mississippi River Trail. It made negotiating all that like threading a needle. I saw some nice graffiti on some of the train cars. I’m unfamiliar with freight train tagging. I wonder if the artists ever see their work again.
The MRT was really nice. Up above and to the left was I-90, which I hadn’t seen since New York and Ohio. The trail was 10 feet wide rolling asphalt alongside the train tracks and river, and away from the interstate. I had it completely to myself.
I passed the I-90 Welcome to Minnesota sign. Minnesota makes impressive state welcome signs. Other states should really take notice. The sign was in the shape of the state and was so large that I could study my route, which is basically a diagonal from the south-east corner to the upper third on the west side of the state.
I was passed by a southbound freight train with the clackety-clack-clack roar of the train. I prefer the sound of trains to the interstate. I saw a bunny on my way into Dresbach. My reptile expert on Crazy Guy identified yesterday’s find as a Fox Snake.
A cyclist salmoned my lane in Dresbach, which startled me. Don’t go the wrong way people! Aside from the cars up on the interstate and the trains down below on the track, I had the road to myself. Everybody was either still in bed, or at church.
All of a sudden, I found myself on divided 4-lane highways 14 and 61. The fun was over. I missed my private MRT. I had a 12 foot wide asphalt shoulder on the highway, but it was littered with rocks, gravel and detritus. The potholes were serious. The train tracks have been busy today. There’s essentially only one track along the river, and the trains alternate between running north and south.
The Mississippi River, like Lake Ontario and Lake Erie before it, was to my right. Just like the aforementioned bodies of water, I’ll be following the Mississippi for several days. I passed a jogger running on the shoulder of the highway. I also passed several runners in La Crosse this morning.
All of a sudden orange traffic barrels appeared, and there was road construction ahead. The traffic barrels went on for miles which was actually awesome because it gave me a lane of separation from the traffic. The roadwork involved guard rail repair along with new drainage and culverts. The actual construction was spaced out and infrequent. It being Sunday, there was no work today.
After Homer the construction zone ended, and I had a 4-lane divided highway to my left. The shoulder was wide and the rumble strip was over near the white line. I had plenty of space. I encountered a deer that had just been hit. Usually the roadkill’s been there for a while and is being consumed by flies. It was a recent kill and it was too cold out for flies.
I heard a roar and rumble, and saw a freight train heading south on the other side of the river. I know that flooding has affected barge traffic, but these trains keep running. It was chilly out and I was cutting it close with the clothing calculus. My legs were toasty fine, but my core was chilly. I thought about pulling over to put on my long-sleeve jersey but that would involve a lengthy stop.
Coming into Winona I noticed large billboards for Dairy Days, A&W, Days Inn, and Menards garden center. There was a large prominent rock outcropping sprouting out of a hill on the left overlooking the sprawl. I saw my first Perkins. During my Minneapolis years I spent many late nights at Perkins. Minnesota has the same license plate as 32 years ago, when I lived here.
I stopped at a BP station in Winona where I changed into my long-sleeve jersey and purchased a Starbucks Frappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin. The clerk wished me luck with the rain but I assured her that rain wasn’t in the forecast. She managed to sew a little doubt. Rain and cold would be a problem. I don’t mind the cold. It’s easier to control than heat.
I was on a horrible 4-lane busy highway surrounded by sprawl, and then took a left and found myself in a nice park alongside Lake Winona. I was in a bike lane, which I really appreciated. Minnesota is known as the state of 10,000 lakes. I lived here for three years in the 80s and can verify the claim.
I traveled north out of town on local streets and not on the highway. The clothing calculus was much better with my long sleeve jersey. Soon I found myself back on Highway 61, also known as the Disabled American Veterans Highway.
I caught up with the northbound freight train that had passed me earlier. It was parked on the right side of a set of two tracks, ostensibly a passing spur. I got to photograph a graffiti tag that I’d seen earlier but couldn’t capture while I was riding. The trains must stop at these designated spurs to be passed.
I got to witness a southbound train arrive and pass the stopped train. I believe I recognized the southbound train engines from yesterday. These freight trains are my only company out here. After the passing, the stopped northbound train cranked up its engines and blasted its horn. It was able to get going and pass me in a matter of minutes.
I passed the Mississippi Lock and Dam Number 5. I stopped to take a photo and three prop planes flew over me in formation. I entered Minneiska, population 111, which is the heart of the Old Man River. There were people gathered at the cemetery outside of Weaver. There had either been a recent death or people were celebrating Father’s Day.
North of Weaver, the route left State Highway 61. I crossed over the railroad tracks and veered towards the river. The route would be a longer than staying on 61, but without the traffic. Once again I had the panorama back to myself. I cycled through the flood plain, which was still soggy. I rode through the Kellogg-Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area.
I entered the small town of Kellogg and thought about stopping at a café but declined. I stopped at Kwik Trip instead, and ordered a egg and sausage sandwich with a Kwikade. They didn’t have Gatorade which I found shocking. Kwikade was chalky and not very good.
After Kellogg I found myself back on 4- lane divided Highway 61. As I was coming into Wabasha the sun peaked out for a just a moment. There was construction at junction with highway 60, which I needed to take. It was a total clusterfuck. There were traffic barrels, lane changes, no shoulders and gravel. Everyone was confused.
In addition there was a Road Closed 14 Miles Ahead sign on Highway 60. I was only going 12 miles before my turn-off. This stuff makes me nervous. It was headed up a big climb and I’d hate to make a mistake. The road was closed to through traffic. There would be construction the next 25 miles.
I knew from looking at my elevation profiles that I would have two big climbs today. I got hot during the first climb and took off my vest. I wanted to take off more but knew the uphill wasn’t going to last forever. At the top I encountered Skyline Drive, Minnesota’s version.
Up on the ridge I was reminded that this is farm country. I’ve got a lot more farm country to ride through on this tour. The first downhill was thrilling, dodging all the potholes. I got cold, and all my sweat made it worse. I knew I had another uphill ahead. I passed another Road Closed Ahead sign but was confident that I would be turning off the highway before the road ended.
I’ve passed a number of ‘barn quilts’. They’re not the real thing compared to Kentucky. A lot of them aren’t even true quilt patterns. Kentucky’s got the real thing going on but it’s still nice seeing other States give it a go.
I climbed another hill. Every time I stopped to take a picture I was enveloped by gnats. I was drenched with sweat at the top of the hill and kept my fingers crossed that my turn-off would be before the closed road. There were corn fields to either side of the road, 4” stalks on the right hand side and 10” stalks to the left.
Whenever my map showed a straight line it basically indicated a flat. Whenever there were a bunch of curves there were bound to be hills. Finally I took a right on the County Road 4 heading back to the river and avoiding the closed road. My cell phone service returned. Highway 4 had a new smooth surface. Highway 60 had some of the worst potholes I’d seen on the tour.
I passed many pick-up trucks with dirt bikes in the bed. At last I came to the truck on the triangle ramp warning sign. It would be an 8% grade downhill. The river and Lake City came into view and the next thing I knew I was back on busy highway 61 along the train tracks and river. I’m a little confused as to why a town along the Mississippi River would call itself Lake City.
Highway 61 was 2-lane and it had recently been paved. I cycled on the wide still-to-be-paved ghetto shoulder. I was all the way over to the right of the wide shoulder and some dude in a black SUV honked at me. I thought Minnesotans were cool. I gave him the finger until he was over the horizon. I hope he crashes into a telephone pole.
Lake City is the birthplace of water skiing. There were a lot of sailboats in the marina and also out in the river. The river is really wide here, and is very much like a lake. In towns when I encounter motorized traffic, it’s always awkward second-guessing one another. Usually it’s just better to take the initiative, rather than be submissive. The key is to avoid traffic.
I thought I was being smart by locating a gas station close to the campground, but when I got there they didn’t sell beer and chips, so I had to go back to town. The local street through the neighborhoods was much calmer than Highway 61, but I didn’t get the fantastic waterfront views. Highway 61 here was called Lake Shore Drive.
I met a guy riding a recumbent tricycle. We stopped and talked, and he offered me dinner. I really wanted to get to the park, set up my camp, and get cracking on my report. I’m an introvert, and entertaining others is exhausting.
The campground was right down on the river surrounded by water, and it was probably going to be buggy. I had assumed that it was going to be free camping in the city park. The registration office wanted $22 plus extra money for a shower. I complained that it was too expensive and the clerk told me there was another campground down the road. She mentioned that another cyclist had made the same complaint about an hour earlier. It was going to be a century day.
The town of Frontenac seemed completely abandoned. There were 'No Trespassing' signs on many of the properties. I made a large loop and finally came to Frontenac State Park. The park office was closed and I wasn’t going to self register. I’d gone 98 miles and my last mile was a steep uphill. My core was boiling and I was working a sweat. Fortunately I was carrying six pack of Blue Moon Belgian White Ale. I chose a walk-in camp site, but was a little nervous because I didn’t pay or register. At a neighboring site, I could hear a couple who had built a fire and had a guitar.
Comments
Post a Comment