Trip Log 25: GRABAAWR 2019: Day 7

Day 7: Musocda to Prairie du Chien
2019/06/15

The journey ends. Today was the last day of the trip. I am my fellow wayfarers rode from Muscoda to Prairie du Chien. A ride of just 44 miles. The route was mostly flat with a few long, gradual climbs, finishing with a long descent into Prairie du Chien. It was a bit warmer today so I worked up a little bit of a sweat. The only downside to the ride really were the gnats. Anytime I stopped for any reasons they swarmed around me. They got in my nose, my mouth and my ears. When I slowed down to go up a hill they caught up to me. With almost every gasp I took in another gnat. I don’t know what they were after. They didn’t bite or sting. They just bothered. Perhaps they were looking for a place to lay their eggs.

I left as early as I could manage from Muscoda with the thought that I would finish off the ride by crossing the Mississippi River just a mile or two away so I could brag that I road from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan all the way to Iowa. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn and added another 6 miles to journey and fell behind most everyone. Since I had arranged for a ride to Elkhorn I didn’t want to keep the gentleman waiting another 30 minutes or more while I indulged myself.

There were quite a few others who left after me including Dennis and Nanette, my companions of the road during the rainy and windy days. I fully expected others to pass me up as I stopped for pictures and videos. As I rode along I wondered where everyone was. They should have passed me by now. I got to the top of fairly big hill and looked back over the ground I had covered and there was no one following me. This was definitely not right. I checked my map for the first time today. I was quite a bit off course and the only way to get back on course was to backtrack 3 miles. It was an easy ride back as it was mostly downhill.

On the last leg of the trip 3 ladies caught up to. They were moving at a good pace and chatting most of the time. I wasn’t sure I could match their pace the remaining 8 or 9 miles to Prairie du Chien. One of them told me she had ridden GRABAAWR about 20 times. Very impressive. I did pull ahead of them only because they stopped to adjust something on one of their bikes. They did eventually catch up to me on top to the long descent into town. By then, we all slowed our pace. For my part, I wanted to delay the end just a little bit and finish with someone instead of alone.

When I passed the Prairie du Chien sign I thought, “So this is the end. I could keep going.” and “I am not ready for this to end.” I was anxious for it to end so that I could tell other people about how much fun I had and the really great people I met but I didn’t want the experience to be over yet. I wanted the adventure to continue.

Thoughts on Supported Rides and Groups

There are significant differences between supported rides and unsupported rides other than the obvious differences of paying someone to all haul your gear. Because it is unsupported you are riding with and adjacent to other people. You still have the option of riding alone by leaving earlier or later than everyone else but you can also find someone who matches your pace. The downside of riding with a group is that it is harder to stop and start when you want to because you are participating in the group dynamic. On days when I was riding with others I didn’t take as many photos and videos. The upside is that you have companionship and support from your fellow riders. Good companions make the miles fly by and the hills smaller. It is a proven fact that a shared hardship is less hard for the sparing.

Differences

This entire tour was different from my tours up until. Besides the obvious differences of riding in a group vs. riding alone and riding in the U.S. and riding in Japan, there were some significant differences. One big difference being the distances. On my own I would probably limit my daily distance to between 20 to 40 miles. Compared to the century of the first day these are really short distances. In this ride I proved to myself that I can do longer distances even over consecutive days. The key is to rest when you need to. There is no need to be macho and try to tough it out. As I often ride during spring and fall when the days are shorter, shorter distances are practical. Plus, I like to stop to take photos and videos. Another big difference is that we were really riding in the countryside (Inaka). There wasn’t a convenience store or gasoline station every few hundred meters. Doing this same route would take more carefully planning in terms of water. In Japan, every school and nearly every park will have water available. Even in the outskirts and suburbs of Tokyo water can be obtained fairly easily. Further out in the countryside it is probably a different situation. The road conditions varied from freshly paved to in desperate need of re-paving. This is probably similar to Japan. Perhaps, pavement conditions are bit better in Japan. Traffic got heavier and heavier the further southwest we went with the last day being the worst (yet still tolerable). When I was traveling in Chiba (particularly in Chiba) and around Mt. Fuji even the country roads had more traffic. This is due, in part, to the terrain. The land is mountainous and the only place to build a road is in the valleys and over the passes. Despite the countryside in Japan being sparsely populated the population is concentrated in the valleys. Alternate routes are far and few between. Perhaps traffic conditions are better farther away from Tokyo. One final word on the topic of roads, roads in Wisconsin are wider. For the most part, even on heavily trafficked roads there is an abundance of space both on the shoulder and in the driving lane. Most of the time, drivers have little excuse for not giving pedestrians and bicycle riders a wide berth when they pass.

Lessons Learned

I mostly packed with traveling by train and plane in mind and only carried what I could easily carry in my hands without a bulky suitcase and I also packed as it I was going on an unsupported tour. Since I don’t have to haul my own gear and food was provided for me I could have left the trail mix at home. Sleeping indoors in the school gym or church was available I could have left the tent at home as well. (I preferred the privacy of my on tent.) Instead, I could have brought more clothes. Regardless, of whether the tour was supported or unsupported I should have brought some rope or parachord to use as a clothesline. Also, I need to get a new air mattress. My mattress sprung some more leaks despite patching it. By morning it was completely flat. I threw it out the morning I left Muscoda.

Recommendations and Advice

1. Whatever bike you are riding, make sure you are comfortable riding it and it is tuned up professionally before the event.

2. Make sure you have plenty of water. (Good advice no matter how you roll.)

3. Have a bike bag of some kind either on your handlebars or on a rack to carry essential items like sunscreen, a small toolkit, camera, batteries, snacks, rain gear, etc.

4. Pack better. Since this was a completely supported trip I shouldn’t have bothered trying to pack like I was on my own. There was no reason to pack everything in my panniers since I wasn’t going to be mounting them on a rack. A big suitcase would have been a better choice.

5. I can do long distances if I want to/have to. Even a hundred miles a day is not out of reach. But I also learned, or maybe relearned is more accurate, that I would rather spend more time in the towns that I stayed in. There is a lot of local color that I missed out on because I didn’t spend enough time in the places that I passed through.

6. Have fun. I had plenty of fun. Type I and Type II.

The Final Word

Would I do this ride or one like it again? If the opportunity presents itself and time and budget allow, definitely, yes. I would recommend it even to season unsupported bicycle tourists. It is encouraging to meet like-minded people and share an experience with them. On surface it may seem expensive, especially to younger people. But what you get in return for the money is well worth the price of participation.