There was a long hill out of Bagley that took about an hour of alternating low gear and walking, but then I was heading north on Hwy 35 with a tailwind.
I don’t really know how it happened, but I thought why not go all the way to La Crosse, for about 75 miles, particularly if road is level and speed gets 12 – 15 mph.
The road was actually rolling hills and the wind and road did not always match up, but I found nice snack stops every 2 hours or so to refuel from my pannier, and the temperature was comfortable, and my body was working, and I fixated on the goal, and I got to La Crosse in 7:22 biking hours. Total of 79 miles / 131 km. I’m pleased and surprised, since in Calgary I never would have believed it possible. Five weeks of conditioning, I guess.
Found the campground and lucked onto a potluck in the bar, by seasonal regular guests who were here for the first weekend of the season and who invited me to eat.
Pics show typical scenes along the road, which was next to the river most of the way, and nicely flat for the last half of the distance. You see the weather changing to sunny and hot, and the typical bluffs to the east of the highway. Pretty ride all day. Nice country.
Also typical dam and lock for the barge traffic on the river, and small highway town.
