La Crosse, WI -- Rest Day

Sunday, September 14, 2003
Distance Cycled: 17 miles
Total elevation gain: 260 feet
Our Total Flat Tires on trip to date: 1

We got up and ate breakfast at the motel with Barbara and Scott. Their train was scheduled to leave La Crosse at approximately 10:30 AM. Gary and Ann joined us a few minutes later. At 8:50 AM we all got on our bicycles and headed for the train station. Except for the main highways, there was no direct route to the train station so we jogged back and forth on the back streets until we were within four or five blocks of the train station and then we turned onto Hwy 53 for a couple of blocks. Gary and Ann had turned around after about 1 mile because Ann had not brought her train tickets. At the train station we found out that the train was not going to be into the station until after 11:15 AM. Scott partially disassembled their bicycles and put them into bicycle boxes.

Just about the time he was finished Gary and Ann arrived and Gary put his bicycle into a bicycle box. He is going to use Ann's bicycle for the rest of the trip. We all then walked to a restaurant that was about 5 blocks from the train depot. By the time we got seated, we had less than thirty minutes to get back to the train depot. The waitress took our order and rushed it through the kitchen and we were out of the restaurant in 20 minutes and back to the train depot by 11:15 AM. Everyone marveled at how Scott could eat 2 eggs scrambled plus French toast in less than 10 minutes. The train arrived and we said goodbye to Barbara and Scott. Ann is leaving on a train at 7:10 PM tonight going in the opposite direction.

Last time all 6 of us together before Barb and Scott left.

After the train left we headed south to downtown La Crosse on Hwy 53. We kept going south looking for a clinic. Mary Kay has a rash on her bottom that does not seem to be getting any better and I wanted a doctor to look at her bottom. We found a clinic at a Lutheran Hospital that was south of downtown. We went in, saw the doctor, got medication and were on our way in less than an hour. It was now 1:00 PM and we headed north to the bicycle shop that opened at noon. When we arrived, they only had one customer so we got waited upon at once. I told them that I had a broken spoke and then told me to bring the bicycle into the shop. We removed the wheel and they fixed the spoke and the shifting problem and we were on our way in less than an hour. They told us of a better route to get back to the motel without traveling on any main highways. We took their advice and except for a few detours we reached the motel where I cleaned and lubed the chains, patched the tube with a hole in it, ate supper and packed to continue our bicycle ride tomorrow. It was an unusual rest day as we rode for over 17 miles.