Day 40: best game? Apples to Apples, obviously

It’s always great being able to wake up to some fresh coffee to really put some life back into my body before a 94mile day. Coffee - truly miracle juice. 

This morning we were lucky enough to add on two more cyclists on the first part of our journey - Carol and Kirt (our warmshowers hosts)! We were telling them how we never really truly know where we are going until we kinda figure it out with Google Maps. They quickly told us that there are far shorter and better routes to take than anything Google was gonna tell us, so they were generous enough to hop on their bikes and guide us through Madison!

It was just a lovely ride, where they were able to show us different key landmarks throughout the city. We got to see the capital building that is actually a nearly exact replica of the Washington DC one, but a little shorter. 

We only had a couple mishaps…like me falling off my bike. This was my first like true fall, where I was actually moving (unlike the other one where I was going 0mph and more tipped over). We were going along a train track, my tire got right in the groove of the track and down I went. Luckily I was fairly sort of graceful with my fall, where I only scraped my elbow and that was it! So on we went!

You thought that would be the issue we would have going through Madison? Nahhh. We got to meet a guy in a car who definitely was not have a great morning, who decided to nearly hit half of us. We were on the bike trails and were heading to a crossing. This car lets the first 3 in our group cross, but then says screw it to the other 4 of us and tries to start driving, while we are mid crossing. Then there is the awful he starts to go, we stop, he stops, so we start to go back and forth disaster. Ultimately, we stop, he goes, he screams at us, and we continue on our way. 

Carol and Kirt got us all the way to the trailhead of a route that we ended up riding on for pretty much the whole day. This is where we parted ways and we were back down to the 5 of us. The trail riding was pretty uneventful thankfully! We just had to deal with Dustin’s front headlight constantly popping off whenever we went over a significant bump. 

For the last 4 miles, we parted ways with Leo and Pat because they are staying with a friend, while we are staying at a WarmShower. The trail that was going to take us almost all the way to the house had a segment that was closed. However, we looked at this supposedly closed road (that honestly looked fine) and just decided to take our chances and blow past the sign. We thought we were so slick beating the system, but then a 1/4 mile down the road we were faced with an actual fence and construction that we couldn’t go through. I guess “road closed” signs actually do tell the truth sometimes. 

Have no fear we did eventually make our way to our destination with just a few detours, and Dustin falling off his bike…. oh ya, he also fell today. His was just a little tipping over moment where he was coming to a stop, the left foot is un-clipped ready to be stood on, but his body leaned right, where there was no foot to land on. Today has just not been our day when it comes to staying upright on our bikes. 

Tonight we are staying with Chris, Liz, and their 7yo son Toby! Chris a few years back also did the tour across the country, so we got to share some stories and realized we stayed and ate at some of the exact some places. The highlight of the night, though, was definitely the intense Apples to Apples match that took place after dinner. Somehow Brian just kept winning round after round, which meant he got the cheese head (seen below). I think he is apart of some secret Apples to Apples tournament group or something. The real key was figuring out what to put when Toby was judge because you know when he asks “who’s Tom Cruise?” that your card selections become much smaller. 

We are looking forward to spending tomorrow in Milwaukee. Liz was absolutely amazing and took the time to write down a bunch of suggestions on where to go for food, drinks, museums, and more! It sounds like we are gonna have a much needed fun and relaxing day tomorrow!