Day 85 Wausau to Shawano 108km

Today was a day to ride with your mouth closed, the sun was out, the humidity was in the extreme zone and the bugs were all out enjoying it. I lost count of the number of bug to face impacts, but the most uncomfortable feelings were caused by the hundreds of grasshoppers who, when disturbed by the bike, landed somewhere on my person, gripped on and then propelled themselves off again, ugh, ugh, ugh! But this was the price paid to ride on the mountain to bay state trail rather than the road. A minor price when you consider we were protected from traffic, and most of the wind. Who must have heard we were again traveling east and so swung around to blow from that direction. Our appreciation of the trail was only increased by the manner in which we found our way too it. For our Sydney readers just imagine 10 miles on Parramatta road, 10 miles of heavy, impatient traffic, really poor road surface, car yards and pollution. The trailhead was only found by teaming up and resource pooling with a couple of other cyclists who were also looking for it. And without the excellent instructions of a recumbent cyclist met on the trail we would have struggled longer and in worse conditions to find our way into downtown Shawano. The trail exposed us again to the beauty of Wisconsin, as well as the squirrels, deer and turkeys who call it home.


But 40+ miles on gravel is slow and filthy work, and we rolled into town at 4:30pm tired and dirty, our map suggested that the campground was only 4 miles on the other side of town, but it wasn't to be. Roadwork and deceptive distances, usually calculated by drivers, meant we didn't arrive at the campground until 6pm, even more tired and dirty, but proud of ourselves for not throwing a tantrum! Dinner in the dark, eating and being eaten by mosquitos was a matter of necessity rather than enjoyment and a bug free tent to crash in felt like a palace. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad