Today was short and sweet. We rode a lighter mileage through the rolling countryside of Wisconsin, which allowed us to take an especially scenic rest stop at Devil’s Lake State Park. The terrain echoed the recurring climbs of the East coast, and these ones wound through the understated greenery of the state’s rural roads. We faced light showers of rain toward the end of the ride, but arrived at the stayover generally dry and under the cover of some relatively cooler weather. 

ride overview

Mileage: 58.5

Elevation: 2,569’

Points of Interest: Devil’s Lake State Park, Spirit Lake, Wisconsin River, St. John Lutheran Church, Culver’s Headquarters

quote of the day

tales of the trail

The day began much like any other. Tommy’s morning activity had us do some questionable stretches, Claudia blasted hype music from the van during our final checks, and we rolled out into the crisp morning air. Some rain threatened the dryness of the riders early on but lasted for a fortunately short amount of time. We also had the pleasure of seeing a bougie-looking Culver’s, which was later revealed to be the chain’s headquarters — historic monuments like these are part of why we bike across the country. 

After a brief first rest stop, the next stretch of the ride brought us to the highly-anticipated Devil’s Lake. The ride up to the forest-encrusted clearing was refreshingly peaceful, closed off from the noise of the main roads by lush trees and rocky slopes. Climbing isn’t so bad when you have beautiful scenery to look at. 

The road revealed the lake’s gently rippling waters and we rushed to cool off in its depths. We often try to make rest stops as efficient as possible for the sake of making time and sustaining energy, so this one was a nice change of pace. Some of us rented paddleboards, which quickly turned a relaxing activity chaotic — we of course took their existence as a challenge to pile on as many people on one paddleboard as possible. Taking a dip in the lake was chilly but reviving, especially after the heat of the days before. Once we’d had enough of that game of human Jenga, a few of us headed to the concessions stand for a classic Wisconsin meal of cheese curds and ice cream. 

The last stretch of the ride featured the biggest climb of the day’s route, but this was ultimately nothing compared to the steep Appalachian mountains we’d traversed back on the East coast. So, we pedaled with patience and consistency (and the company of a light bit of rain) all the way to our lovely stayover at St. John Lutheran Church. Fun fact: Reedsburg, our destination for the night, is big on butter — they even host an annual Butterfest! The dairy-related delights of Wisconsin just keep on coming. 

Given the shorter distance, we’ve had a lot of downtime today. Some of us are watching “Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel” (here at I4K we only view cinematic masterpieces), a few are playing an intense and loud game of Carpet Ball (Neal was the victor of this one), and others are getting some well-earned rest. 

A massive thank you to our hosts for providing us dinner — we can’t say this enough, but a warm meal at the end of each day means a lot to us. Following dinner, we headed to Culver’s (we believe this is our fourth encounter with the restaurant in under two days) for cups of generously donated custard. As I finish this entry off, Maaike is gleefully kicking around a mini soccer ball and our new friend Tabitha (a stuffed gorilla sock puppet found on the church premises) is by my side :) 

Cyclist’s Corner

Today’s Rider: Claudia Madsen

How are you feeling today?

I’m doing okay. I’m back in the van, driving. I had a pretty good day today! It rained a little, nothing major, nothing I can’t handle. Yeah, today was chill, pretty easy day.

You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had?

I mean, I was amazed by how many people donated to my pot specifically. You know, because I got to see who donated, and all these names popping up — not that I wouldn’t have expected it, but I’m so appreciative, and it’s really nice to see all those people out there cheering for me in that way.  The most memorable would probably be a fundraiser at Kev’s house that I worked at to help fundraise, that was definitely super memorable. 

You’re currently acting as the van driver for the team. Does it ever get overwhelming or challenging to be the go-to person whenever a rider needs help?

I don’t find it stressful. On a day when everyone is having no problems, it’s like, you drive for 20 minutes and then you sit for a while and wait for your friends to show up. But on days when people do have problems, it makes me feel important, honestly. You get a phone call and you’re like, “how can I help?” You whip it to wherever they are, and it’s kind of fun… It feels important, it feels helpful, you definitely feel like you’re on a mission, because the group that needs help is out there baking, or getting soaked or whatever. It makes it fun. And then you get to pick someone up and be like, “how’s it going? What can I do?” Obviously I want everyone to have a great day every day and not need me, but it is kind of exciting when people need help. You know, I’m hoping nobody’s hurt, but when it’s  just a flat tire, it’s kind of fun.

What’s your dream van organization set-up?

Okay. So I know that the people who have been packing the van — all love, you guys are doing a great job — there’s been some sort of competition to stack things as high as we can. Which means not only can I not see out the back, but also, if I don’t brake gentle enough, everything falls over. So I would say my dream van-pack involves things not stacked that high… But it does make me giggle. It’s super impressive, it makes me giggle, it also makes me pray that my bag isn’t put on top. I bring with me a pack of gum, a water bottle, a book. I have a trucker hat that says “silly boys, trucks are for girls.” Haven’t worn it yet, I’m waiting for the day. Lucas bought a book of crosswords that I’ve been working through in the van.

What does a day in the van look like?

Wait for all the groups to roll out. This morning I played hype music, I think that was a hit, so I’ll keep that up. Yeah, wait for all the groups to roll out, and then find the first rest stop. I usually pull up the Ride with GPS route and see where about 20 miles is gonna be, give or take. Then, pull that spot up on Google Maps and see if there’s like a gas station, or a restaurant — Culver’s, in recent days — or sometimes, like today, just a safe spot to pull off that isn’t someone’s driveway. It can be hard to find. So I look for that, then I go there, and if someone calls me, I go to get them. Today I went grocery shopping on my way to the first rest stop, we got cheese and bread for lunch. So grocery shopping, then rest stop, pull out the coolers of water. We snack, we sunscreen. I don’t know, it’s pretty chill. A lot of people have needed stuff from bike shops, I’m always looking for a bike shop, that’s kind of fun. Barring any extreme circumstances, I just roll to the next stop after that. I find another one and I roll there, I drop it in the Slack, tell everyone where it is and what to look for. People call me and they go “help!” They send a location, and I go get them. At the end of the day, we get to the stayover, and unpack the van, and then I’m off the hook! And I get to my job of posting the Instagram and Facebook posts. 

Do you have a favorite item that you brought on the trip with you?

I didn’t bring anything super sentimental. I mean, I sleep with earplugs every night, so if anyone’s reading this for tips, ear plugs. Lots of ‘em. We’ve got some snorers. I have a little moose keychain on my backpack, he makes me smile. But I brought the essentials pretty much.

In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?

You know, I’ll take this opportunity to address the elephant in the room. My last interview was day two, the day that I crashed, in Philadelphia… I ended up going home a few days after that, I went home in Pittsburgh. I found out that I fractured my pelvis and my sacrum, so I have multiple fractures.* Some people have been asking about the crutches that are in some of the pictures, those are mine. I’m okay! I’m glad I was wearing a helmet, you should always wear yours. I was told six weeks off the bike minimum. So I think it’s not so much a place that I’m looking forward to, but a moment, and that moment is when I get to get back on my bike. I’m not gonna push it — don’t worry, no one here would let me push it. It might be somewhere in Wyoming, it might be somewhere after that. Right now, I have my eyes set on San Francisco, because I’m gonna ride across the bridge. 

*Claudia wants us to note that she is on the road to making a full recovery!

Anything else you want to talk about?

I guess just thank you for all the positivity and support from everyone. I got to meet a lot of people’s parents at Logan’s house over the weekend, and everyone on the team is so supportive, but it’s also so nice to know that everyone’s families are so supportive and everyone’s friends are so supportive. It really feels like this big, huge, beautiful thing. Everyone’s just all in, you know? I know in Michael’s interview, he talked about this being his “invincible summer,” and I love that. Unfortunately for me, I just recently learned that I am not invincible. But I have this amazing support system, and I feel like we all have that right now, and it’s awesome. So just a big thank you.

(A reminder that any unfamiliar terms can be found in our handy I4K dictionary.)