Madison-Albany-Blanchardville
April 30-May 2, 1999
Scott Ellington
The weather forecast is
absolutely spectacular as seven of us begin our first overnight tour of the
season. The start is slightly
delayed Friday evening as we’re packing up when Judy’s back tire
explodes. No matter, we’re
soon on our way on a warm, sunny evening.
There’s not much traffic on the familiar route south out of
Madison, and comfortably before dark we’ve covered the 30 miles to the
small town of Albany. After we set
up camp in the park we have dinner at one of the town’s two cafes. The night is quiet, with those
clear skies one usually sees only out
west.
There’s frost on the
ground Saturday morning, but we’re up early anyway when the construction
crew arrives to work on the softball field. Over breakfast in the other cafe, we plan the day
ahead. Blanchardville is just 26
miles west, so we take various devious routes. Some of us loop south of Monroe, nearly to the Illinois
state line, then north through Argyle, for a total of 62 miles. Others take more direct routes. It’s fairly challenging cycling
in this hilly country where the roads tend to follow the section lines over the
hills. No one is complaining,
though, as it’s a perfect day for cycling. Jane suggests that if you can’t enjoy cycling today,
you ought to sell your bike. Lots
of sunscreen is required. During
one hour on the road, four cars pass.
Miraculously, we all converge on the grocery store in Blanchardville at
the same time. Roger has a serious
problem, though: He can’t
get one shoe out of the pedal.
Eventually we free him so he can join us in the restaurant for
dinner. We camp in the park along
the Pecatonica River. Less than
two weeks ago the water was some 7 feet higher, flooding the whole campground,
but things are dry enough now.
It’s another peaceful night, with more frost in the morning.
There’s only one
restaurant in Blanchardville, so we’re back there for breakfast. With bright sunshine again, it warms up
quickly. The wind has picked up from
the southeast, though, so we’ll have a bit of a headwind. Four of us detour to the northwest
through Hollandale, while the others take the direct route. After a lunch break at the park in
Hollandale, we turn into the wind towards Madison. It’s not a long trip, though, and there’s even a
tailwind near the end when we turn north.
Closer to home, we start to see dozens of other cyclists on day
trips. There’s just no
excuse for not riding your bike on a day like this!