Day 32, August 26: down in the valleys and up in the hollows

New Richland, WI to Madison, WI http://cyclemeter.com/85ef50859d8f1e5c/Cycle-20150826-0800

Trip distance: 74.4 miles 

Total trip distance: 1834.9 miles 

Average speed: 12.7 mph

Maximum speed: 36.2 mph

Riding time: 5:49

Weather: at 8:00 the temperature was 49° and the dew point was 49°. Later in the day the dew point rose to the high 50s. Temperatures remained in the 60s for most of the cloudy day getting to 70° or above during a few periods of sunshine. Winds were zero during the early morning and later they were 3–6 mph. The wind direction was northerly so I mostly had crosswinds as I proceeded eastward.

Terrain: uphill 2860 feet, downhill 2516 feet. Richland Center and the other towns I passed through for the first 30 miles were in relatively flat valleys. The route profile shows elevations for this stretch staying at about 750 feet. Then I climbed several big steep hills and made a steady ascent toward Madison. The final big hill is Old Sauk Pass.

Today's route resumed in the Driftless Area. I had the advantage of using the detailed route maps that Tom produced 8 years ago. The two Cyclemeter maps show the ruggedness of the uplands contrasting with the smoothness of the Pine River valley running southeast from Richland Center on the map directly below and of the much larger Wisconsin River valley seen in both maps below. Toward the end of my ride, around the 65-mile marker on the second map, the Driftless Area gives way to smoother glaciated terrain in the western suburban areas of Madison.





 

The dew point of 49° was the same as the temperature when I started, so it was not surprising to see the fields covered with dew and to see mist in the nearby hills.

Corn in the foreground, hills and early morning mist in back.

Early morning mist with corn in the middle ground.

Three sand hill cranes in a pasture. They were part of a group of about a dozen.

I rode in the flat Wisconsin River valley for about 18 miles and then crossed the wide and sandy Wisconsin River just south of Spring Green. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin studio is near this bridge. He was born in Richland Center.

Wisconsin River, tributary to the Mississippi River. The river has many sandbars, and people like to camp on them.

After crossing the river, I climbed some ridiculously steep hills that took forever and did some descents that tended to end very quickly. The two named hollows I went through were Amacher and Knight. The former was wide enough for large cornfields while the latter was tight with a few narrow fields.



Part of beautiful Amacher Hollow.

I got back down in a valley along Black Earth and Cross Plains where I biked through long tunnels of corn along County KP (all of Wisconsin's county roads are designated by single or double letters). I saw quite a few bicycle "share the road" signs.



The corn dwarfs my bike near Cross Plains.

Sharing the road with bicycles is not a sentiment shared by all.

The route profile above shows a really big hill at the end of the route. I believe this hill is the eastern edge of the Driftless Area. I climbed a few more hills and made my way through Madison's western suburbs and get to my motel. Fortunately one of Madison's best Thai restaurants is near my motel and I had a delicious meal.