Day 21 - July 12 - Belgium WI to De Pere WI - enjoying the quiet of central Wisconsin

 Weather: 72degF (22C) at 7am with high humidity.  The wind had shifted a bit overnight from the NE to the NW and later in the day, became more south-westerly.  The temperature rose quickly as I moved inland away from Lake Michigan and was in the upper 80s (30C+) by mid afternoon.  By the time I reached De Pere, it was at 90F (22C).   Luckily the wind was mostly a cross-wind as it picked up in the afternoon bringing warmer temperatures to the Upper Midwest.

Distance: 92.4 miles (149kms)

Elevation gained: 2186 feet (666 meters)

Averaging moving speed: 13.0mph (21kph).   

Calories expended: 2939 (a giant blizzard at Dairy Queen recovered more than 1/3 of that total since it was 1036 calories)

Estimated sweat loss: 6.8 liters (230 fluid oz)

Shvitz index: 6/10 - it was hot and sticky out in the farms but the trails offered shade.  I now feel like 85F (30C) and humid is relatively comfortable.  The forecast for the next week is for temperatures in the 90s (35C) so the brief respite from the hot weather is over.

I started relatively early (7:30am) since I knew it would be a long day and would also be hot. The route took me generally in a NW direction away from Lake Michigan into the farmlands (dairy/corn/soybeans/wheat) of central Wisconsin. It was the longest daily ride so far.

The route was over flat terrain on the bike trails but quite lumpy in the middle of the day

Not coincidentally, one of the rural roads that I traversed was called Humpty-Dumpty, presumably because of its hilly profile.

The route was along bike trails for the first one-third of the ride, then about 40 miles of hills, farms, very strong barnyard smells, and open fields (mostly corn), and the final 30 miles was on  a flat crushed gravel trail.  I passed through a few small towns, that seemed to have retained much more of their character and retail activity than those in Illinois or further south,

The old train station in Oostburg is well- preserved and repurposed now.

An example of the preservation of older buildings is this Firehouse Pizza restaurant in Sheboygan Falls; the new fire station can be (partially) seen in the background.

Most of the rural county roads have well-maintained pavement but some have tarred asphalt that was bubbling and cracking under my wheels as the sun rose in the sky.  Luckily, such stretches were relatively few.

I almost missed the war memorial in the unincorporated community of Rhine.  It was erected shortly after the Civil War to commemorate those who fought and died from this small area.  I noticed that many (maybe even a majority) of the names of the dead on the memorial were of German origin.

Though I had two breakfasts (including 2 giant donuts, a liter of chocolate milk, a large iced coffee, 2 hard boiled eggs - and later about 6 liters of water and 2 liters of Powerade), I was running low on energy by the time I got to Brillion, seemingly  a thriving community.  The Dairy Queen was the busiest place in town - and I drank cup after cup of iced water to accompany my giant Blizzard.   It came in at 1036 calories but was very tasty and exactly what I needed for the last 25 miles of the day.

The last couple of hours were spent at a good speed of about 15mph on crushed gravel bike trails, mostly the Fox River trail that goes south from Green Bay.  It is very smooth and as I neared De Pere, I met many out riding their bicycles or walking.  Like other bike trails through rural areas, the birdsong is plentiful and the farm smells are intense.  The riding was very relaxing and fast so I made good time to the hotel.

The trail passes by the small community of Askeaton, which presumably takes its name from the small town in Co. Limerick in Ireland.  The sign by the trail recognizes the connection.

Tomorrow I plan to head through Green Bay along the northern shore of Lake Michigan. The forecast does not look good from a temperature standpoint (highs in the 90s) but there is no rain in the foreseeable future for this area