Day 16, Welcome to Wisconsin

It was an early start this morning trail at 5:30. Luckily the hotel was situated almost contiguous with a long trail that brought me all the way from Grand Rapids to Muskegon. This was my first early morning ride of the trip. Animals were out in force with lots of deer along the way, rabbits, birds, and even a spotted turtle. The sunrise was gorgeous behind me with strangely beautiful clouds in front, which made fascinating viewing along the trail.

Look at those clouds!

Excellent espresso in Muskegon in old industrial building.

Time to ride without pedaling on the fast ferry. Crossing Lake Michigan. Less like a lake, more like an inland sea.

Guess what I spy right off the boat? A big bike race! I like it here already. Brings me back to my racing days..although I never raced criterium. They are too dangerous. I saw a crash wherein 2 minutes. Summer fest is also going on. It is apparently the worlds biggest music festival.

what is my first thought of something to do in Milwaukee? Go to a brewery, go directly to a brewery do not pass go. It was not hard to find…there were about 30 to choose from.

I had the Woo Brew (for those who don’t know, the Woo is a nickname for WORCESTER)

Sign me up!

Thanks, Hank. Groundbreaking baseball player and great urban bike trail.

They like their beer so much they named their baseball team for it.

Rack attack. Noticed that my rack was feeling spongy… turns out that one of the bolts holding in the rack snapped in half. Zip ties to the rescue.

So how great is Barb (and her family) my host tonight? I already spent all of superlatives on previous hosts…. have I used divine yet? She is so cool. She even built her own boat, paddled down the Mississippi, did community service along the way AND wrote a book about it. (Which you can read about here: https://paddleforapurpose.net/

She is a great cook and she drives a convertible, which she used to drove me to Friday Night Live, a community event in Waukesha with live music on every corner of one of the cutest down towns you will ever see. I had never been in a convertible before now it is twice in a week. I think it is a sign…The incomparable Les Paul was from this town. If you do not know who that is, remove the rock that is covering and hit Wikipedia. Guitar god.

Good night, Waukesha. You rock!