87 miles ridden – 2881 feet climbed

What a nightmare of a day. The fact that at 6:30am when we left the hotel it was already nearly 27C/80F with 80% humidity was a pretty good indicator that we were in for quite a day. At its peak during the second half of the ride the heat index – air temperature adjusted for humidity and sun strength – was 40C/105F. The heat was relentless and the only slight respite was those sections – not too many overall – where there was shade but the trade-off was that the trees blocked the (relatively) cooling breeze.

Having done back to back centuries our legs were very tired anyway and the heat sapped everyone even further. I made it to the first SAG alright but just 2 miles afterwards I hit the ‘wall’. My legs were empty, I had no energy, and was slowing to a crawl. I thought I was going to have to get in the van but thankfully Darin and Heather were with me and we came upon one of the support vans so I managed to get some electrolytes and energy gels which got me going over the next 13 miles to a town where we could get lunch which boosted me significantly. We then had about 12 miles on a dedicated bike trail at the end of which was second SAG and a place that did fabulous smoothies which gave me enough of a boost to finish although I (and a few others) had to walk up the final climb. I have never felt so helplessly drained as I did today and am still drinking furiously to ensure I am rehydrated before I go to sleep as tomorrow looks like it will be hot again although the weather system that brought the record-breaking temperatures we have had the last 2 days is set to break tomorrow morning. Just as well – we all need a break from the heat even if that does mean rain and thunderstorms.

As you can see above we crossed from Minnesota into Wisconsin today and within minutes of that crossed over the Mississippi River which was a bit iconic.

Not sure yet whether first impressions relate to Wisconsin or the city of La Crosse but the road surfaces are rubbish and in the 3 miles from the bridge to our hotel we had more abuse from drivers than we have seen during the almost 2400 miles to date. Hopefully it’s La Crosse because we leave it tomorrow.

The landscape was more variable today and although the towns and buildings are very American the rolling hills have a touch of UK/Europe about them.

This is Main Street in the town of Chatfield (MN)

We saw a lot of churches today like this

And this picture shows a very different landscape from recent photos I have posted

Here’s hoping tomorrow is better.