My Bicycle Ride Across Wisconsin
East to West
From Port Washington to LaCrosse - 226 Miles
August 5th through 8th, 2007

Day 1
Port Washington, Wisconsin to Grafton, Wisconsin

My goal was to ride across the state, starting from Port Washington.  The planned route took me within 1 mile of where I live outside of Grafton.  Instead of riding east to Pt. Washington then riding back west past my house, I decided on a short first day.

9.5 Miles from the Port Washington Marina to my place near Grafton.
The route was primarily on the Interurban Trail with a stretch on Cedar Creek Rd.  I've taken this route dozens of times before mostly for breakfast at the Dockside Deli next to the Port Washington Marina.

My Family was excited about my trip.

Pt. Washington Marina

Day 2
Grafton, Wisconsin  to Fox Lake, Wisconsin

63.9 Miles
 Some fog and haze early with the sun coming out in the afternoon.  Stopped in Slinger, WI and had a late breakfast at Jackie's Cafe.  Good service and affordable food.  My route took me through Iron Ridge and Horicon.  I went through about an 8 mile stretch on the town roads between Horicon and Fox Lake seeing only 1 car.  I saw numerous hawks soaring over the farms fields. 
I stopped at Mullin's Drive In in Fox Lake to eat.  Owned by the same family for 73 years.  One heck of a chili dog.

Day 3
Fox Lake, Wisconsin to Reedsburg, Wisconsin

67.6 Miles
Morning rain ended at 8:30a.m. and turned out to a sunny hot and humid day.  Rode through Randolph, Cambria, Pardeeville, Portage and Baraboo.  Stopped in Cambria for breakfast at Leystra Venture.  Nice place everything done to perfection with homemade bread.  I crossed the Wisconsin River at Portage.  My route from Fox Lake to Portage was on County P.  I changed my planned course to go through Baraboo.  Originally it was to go a more northerly course on Levee and North Reedburg Roads.  The new route added a few miles but took me over Cascade Mountain and past the Circus World Museum in Baraboo.  Cascade mountain was tough climb.  I also had a good climb on Terrytown Rd. between Baraboo and Reedsburg.

Day 4
Reedsburg, Wisconsin to La Crosse, Wisconsin

85.0 Miles
Except for the last 5 miles in the city of LaCrosse the entire day was on trails. 

Reedsburg to Elroy on the 400 State Trail, 21 miles.  Stopped for breakfast in Wonewoc.  The breakfast stops were a highlight of my ride.  I paid on average between and $4.50 - $6 for a big breakfast and coffee.  2/3 of what I normally would pay in suburbia.  The food seemed to taste better.  Hunger probably had something to do with it.  The 400 State is very similar to the Elroy Sparta.  Maybe slightly less hilly and of course no tunnels.

Elroy to Sparta on the Elroy-Sparta State trail, 34 miles.  There are 3 tunnels on this trail.  One tunnel is almost a mile long.  All had water dripping from their ceilings.   A bike light or flashlight is necessary for the tunnels.  There are plenty of places to stop at in the small towns along the trail.  This trail and to a lesser degree the 400 was full of bicyclists many from out of state.  The towns are very bicycle friendly along all 3 trails.  There are trail head shops in both Elroy and Sparta.  I met my family in Sparta for a break and photos of Ben Biken. 
 

Sparta to LaCrosse on the LaCrosse River trail, 21 miles.  The terrain flattens out a little east of Sparta.  This is a nice trail, flat and mostly in the open.  It parallels a railroad track for most of its distance.  The bicycle volume was light compared to the Elroy Sparta.  The LaCrosse ended about 5 miles east of my hotel.  I crossed the Mississipi to French Island and met my family at our hotel.  French Island turned out to be a good location as the route avoided the higher traffic roads in LaCrosse.