XC Day 1 - Madison to Milwaukee
Today was my first day biking with the group. Because some members ride faster and some slower, we depart at staggered times in the morning with the fastest group starting an hour after the first group. I rode with the middle group.
We left the hotel in Madison at 8:30 in the morning. The ride today was about 86 miles which is on the easier side for this trip.
Here is my friends Jesse and Paula. Paula rode with me on the 2019 cross country trip which went from Santa Barbara CA to Myrtle Beach SC.
About every 20 miles, the support guides set up a rest stop where we can fill our bottles, have something to eat and drink.
After leaving the first rest area, we past a nice church. The sky was somewhat dramatic today at times, but it never threatened to rain.
As usual, we past many planted fields which looked lovely.
Much of the day was spent riding on bike paths which were generally fairly empty. Here we are riding side by side.
We arrived at our hotel in Milwaukee before 3pm giving us plenty of time before dinner.
After cleaning up, Jesse, Ruth and I wandered around to explore our neighborhood which is near the Historic 3rd Ward. Here is a view of the Milwaukee River.
This was a fun sculpture above a resturant not far from the hotel.
And this is a stained glass sculpture on the roof of a building across from our hotel. Apparently, at night, there is a light inside that illuminates the glass. I will have to go have a look after posting this blog entry.
Tomorrow, we take the ferry across Lake Michigan entering both a new state, Michigan, and entering Eastern Time. For the other riders, this is a big deal since it is the last time zone on their trip.