If you'll permit, a word or two about Southern Minnesota is in order. After the Pipestone debacle, Minnesota has put on her Sunday best and (apart from the mad weather yesterday, forcing me to hunker down) she can be quite beautiful. She is flat which, when you're cycling, is close to heavenly. She does try to provide the odd hillock now and again for variety. However, they are mere goosebumps and, apart from an entirely unnecessary lump on the outskirts of Mankato, no match for Precious.
For any English people out there, imagine Lincolnshire. The roads are straight and the small hills keep the horizon at a comforting distance. The farmed fields either side lead up to ridges where small copses provide shade for the farmstead whilst happily shielding the less attractive farm buildings from view. Every so often a derelict barn comes into sight, begging to be explored. Those not fearful of bats would have a ball. As the road bisects numerous small lakes (not for nothing is Minnesota the Land of 10,000 lakes), birds twitter as their shadows dance on the road.
Towns and villages are numerous enough to allow a sedentary pace and plenty of stops. Satisfyingly, like small English villages heralding their presence with a church steeple, each small town can be seen from afar as their grain silos jostle with their water towers for pre-eminence. The bulbous water towers win out through sheer otherworldliness.
Tomorrow, if a crossing point can be found, the Mississippi will be crossed and the River Road south will be followed (Good thinking, Alf). Minnesota will become a memory and a very pleasant one.
The only blot on the landscape is when you reach the evening's destination and settle down to rest for the night. You'll turn the television on and be greeted by Chris Martin warbling limp pop at you. Where are all the angry young men?
1 comment:
You'd better do some rethinking of your intentions long about now. The weather has drastically changed the roads and bridges situation in just the last few days.
I do know there are railroad bridges out from flooding along the left bank in Wisconsin. I know that the highway follows right along the railroad and the river bank from LaCrosse as far as Prairie Du Chein.
The Mississippi is at or above, or rising-to, flood stage from at least Lake Pepin on down to St Louis.
Just about every waterway in Iowa, southern Wisconsin, and most of the upper half of Illinois is subject to high water and flash flooding now.
Quite frankly, your original plan of crossing northern Wisconsin or Upper Michigan and then over to the Mack Bridge may make more sense now, based on the weather vagaries.
Then too, there still is the option of the car ferry across Lake Michigan at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. A four-hour crossing that cost $67 ($62 for you and $5 for the bike). It'll take you across to Ludington, Michigan.
Rather than my trying to get a url through the filter, just GOOGLE S.S. Badger That's the name of the boat.
Whatever you do, good luck to you.
alf
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