A new pill

I had to take a dose of courage just 1.9 miles from the hotel today. I knew the cue sheet said steep descent in bold, capital letters and indeed it was. I tightened up the brakes before leaving and it held me in good stead. I asked Kathleen at the bottom how it compared with the one I skipped yesterday. She thought it was steeper. As Sondra drove the van by a few miles later, I shouted out "I did it!" She heard me and congratulated me at the first SAG.

My friend Ty says that scenic is a Gaelic word for hilly. Today was a scenic day. We had over 4,000 feet climbing during the day. In the first 5 miles, we had done 550 feet of climbing over 4 or 5 rollers. John said he would have walked one of them if other riders had not been behind him to witness it. Funny thing how pride can serve as a motivator. Pixie threw her chain on the hill and had to walk up the rest of it as restarting was out of the question. I am thankful that I have a triple chainring. It makes me appear to be a stronger climber than others but I know that is not the case.

I was flying down some of the hills today. My maximum speed was 38 today, the highest of the trip. I can only do that on an empty road with good pavement. We did have a 2.5 mile downhill after the first SAG that was on an awful road. There was a big perpendicular crack every 10 yards of the 7 miles we were on the road. No shoulder with lots of traffic. Caution was in order on this section.

We are in Prairie du Chien tonight. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers and is said to be the second oldest town in Wisconsin. The first European settlers, Marquette and Joliet, reached here in 1673. It became a passage point between French Canada and the Mississippi River. The town is on a flat prairie between the surrounding hills and takes it name from an Indian chief named Dog. Dog translates to chien in French. The town became a focal point for the fur trade and remained so through the middle 19th century. 3M and Cabelas are the largest private employers in the area today.

Day's statistics: 71.8 miles; 15.4 mph; 4071 feet climbing.

Highlight of the day: Making it down the first big descent without being too scared. Maybe I can just do this. Feeling more confident on downhills the rest of the day.

Pictures: Jordan and Rosy, two great people from Alaska. I ride with or near them much of the day during this trip. I have told Jordan that I know two people named Jordan and they are both great cyclists. Me at the Wisconsin state line.