SAGBRAW Day 5 Waupun to Green Lake.....

I made the two-mile ride to catch up with the actual route, and when I turned right, I faced a wall of black clouds. Uh. Oh. Might have been a good day for the jacket.

(Last night might have also been a good night to charge the blinkie light for the back of my bike, but whatever.)

It rained for about 10 miles, and there was a fierce headwind. At one point I was going downhill, pedaling hard, and losing speed. It didn't help matters that I could see on the GPS we were headed south, and our destination for the day was north. Ugh. There was a fleeting moment when I almost texted Hubby, but I knew he would offer to come get me, and I was afraid I would take him up on it. So I soldiered on.

I turned on my MP3 player (only one earbud in, the right one, so I could hear traffic), and I must have zoned out. Because at a rest stop at a high school, when someone said we had about 14 miles left to go, I said to myself, "What?" I couldn't remember anything much since the last rest stop. Maybe that's a good thing, though... It started raining again about 7 miles from the finish, but at that point I knew I could do it. At the last water stop we were warned about a "dangerous, screaming downhill" of about a mile, and because it was raining it made me a little nervous. They apparently aren't acquainted with the hills around where I live. The downhill was nice, but nothing to make me nervous, and I didn't even come close to setting a personal best for speed.

I made a tough decision last night, but I think it's the right one. I'm not going to ride the last leg back to Appleton tomorrow. It would mean four hours on the bike, perhaps five hours total, and going NORTH. Then we would face a 16-hour drive SOUTH to get home. If I don't ride, we can leave in the morning and get a 6-hour jump on that drive. I know how I feel after riding 60 miles on a bike, and how I feel is NOT like starting a two-day drive. Hubby was ecstatic when I suggested it. (You know, we ALWAYS cut our trips short by a day. Except when we go on cruises and he has no control over it.) I told him it was his gift for being so accommodating all week. It makes me feel better that we will start out fresh in the morning and I won't have to ride hard knowing he's waiting for me to finish.

The downside is that my cousin was going to come see us off, and I have just broken the news to her. I hated to disappoint her, but she said she understands. She was so kind to come see us both Saturday and Sunday, and it felt like we saw each other yesterday instead of five years ago.

These will be my last photos from Wisconsin. I hope I've done the state justice.

I thought I had taken a terribly wrong turn when I saw I had landed in Juneau. Ha ha ha ha.

It's nice when local businesses are glad we have come to their towns.

We had a rest stop at this establishment. I didn't realize it was a drive-in and couldn't understand why the girl came to me to get my order.

It may be the same in other states, but why are so many roads named with letters? There was one place where we were on County M, it dead-ended into County MM, and somewhere there was an intersection with County MMM. Maybe our state road numbers and names confuse out-of-towners too.

The sun was pretty far up when I left this morning, but I liked the way it looked peeking out from behind the clouds. If I'd known what those clouds contained, I might not have been smiling.

Sigh. Another farm.

Hubby and I were interested in these wind turbines. (Is that what they're called?) I posted on Facebook that Don Quixote would have had a field day, but my aunt corrected me and said, "Not THAT kind." No, really?

I was snapping pictures from my bike (not falling off, as the angle of the photo might suggest).

I couldn't tell on the camera screen if the turbine thingies were showing up. That has to be the explanation for why I took so many photos of them, right?

These are the directional signs that show us the way. There is usually a sign right before a turn and a confirmation sign immediately after. I also had the additional security of the pre-loaded GPS routes.

Uh oh. Those clouds don't look friendly.

These ... sculptures? ... were at our last water stop, and I couldn't believe it when I saw them. They reminded me of the book I just finished reading, The Night Circus. Review coming as soon as I get home and get settled.

They do look like they have something to do with a circus, don't they? Don't they?

A view of Green Lake from my bike. There was heavy traffic, it was raining, and the lake was choppy, so I can't be sure if it is green or not.

The whole purpose of this photo was the birds. You know, the ones you can barely see?

This part of the lake was definitely green.

The ... "lake" ... at our campground. Hubby wanted to correct the proprietor and tell him it was a pond, but he restrained himself.

I wish I had done a better job of photographing all our campsites. They were quite varied.

When we made the reservation for tonight's campsite, the nice lady on the phone said it included golf. Hubby got all excited. When he got here, he texted me that it was a "par-3 course carved out of a cow pasture." Still, he went and played several holes while I read/took a nap.

I'm very glad I came on this trip, but I'm also excited to get home. Depending on where we stop tomorrow night, I may get to add another state to my cycling stats. If I feel like unloading the bike and getting on it. Which means probably not.

Thanks for sticking with me this week.