66 miles ridden – 950 feet climbed – temperature 21C

Weather forecasts are not always right but today it was – it did rain. However it was pretty warm so aside from the spray coming from passing trucks it wasn’t too bad. It didn’t even matter that much that we spent most of the day on a relatively busy road – route 35 – because with low cloud and spray there wasn’t much to see.

Having said that we got about 12 miles in before the proper rain started and luckily found shelter on the porch of an empty cabin.

The rain passed in about 10 minutes which meant we got wet from the road up rather than down from the sky. Either way drinking bottle nozzles get a bit gritty!

Route 35 travels pretty much along the river following a railway line. I’m sure on a sunny day it would be stunning and to be fair even in the rain, with mist and clouds over the hilltops it was still majestic.

We passed through a few small towns – De Soto, Victory, and Stoddart – all of which had posted populations around 120, and a larger town called Genoa which I’m sure looks much better when it’s dry. The vegetation is so lush it’s difficult to imagine that 4 weeks ago the area was under snow and small streams and ponds were frozen.

The village of Perryville caught my eye due to the efficiency of the local authority which has put the village hall, council offices, community centre and fire department all in one building. Three Rivers please take note…..

Our destination of La Crosse offers a trip down memory lane as we stayed here on the cross-country trip in 2016, indeed we are staying the in the same hotel. I felt I needed to give La Crosse a second chance.

My recollections from the first visit were of poor quality roads and rude, inconsiderate drivers, in fact the worst we encountered all the way across the US. Sadly it seems not to be so different now.  Although when we arrived the sun was out it was still wet everywhere so maybe I haven’t seen it in the best light although one redeeming feature was the salted caramel and cherry cheesecake ice cream at Ranison Ice Cream and Candy. Perhaps I’ll delay final judgement until after we have travelled through town to cross the Mississippi into Minnesota tomorrow.

Today’s cycling was business cycling. 66 miles to cover in rain and general wetness, so no hanging about, and no opportunity for chit-chat anyway as we were on the 2 foot wide hard shoulder of route 35. My shoes were filled with water and I squelched when I walked through reception. Everything was covered in a fine layer of grit but I am smiling. Business cycling can be fun too.

Tomorrow we travel over into Minnesota up to Red Wing for our final night. It’s a 100 mile day and it looks like it will still be a bit cooler – fingers crossed.