Since our plans to hit the Merrimac Ferry last Sunday were thwarted, we intended on getting there today. Although they predicted pop-up storms later in the afternoon, it seemed as though they would pop-up between the Baraboo area and Fond du Lac while we were west of there. So that wasn’t concern enough for us to cancel, but at least pay attention to the radar and skies later on.
On my way to Fondy to meet Kevin, I got detoured as I did not know Cty T from Dotyville to Fondy is in the process of being resurfaced and I ended up taking 23 east for a bit to Seven Hills Road and then west to 151 south.
I planned out the route the night before for Kevin to program into his Garmon, and I did not post or invite anyone else since it was going to be an almost all day ride and we wanted to make good time to get back at a decent time as well.
We still intended to take the Ferry north as last weekend when traffic would have mostly be going south, and ended up going through Waupun, Cambria, Randolph, Pardeeville, Wyocena and Harmony to get there. When we were somewhat close to Lake Wisconsin, Part of Cty V was closed and we were rerouted, but got back on track and took some cool roads in place of it.
We were second in line in our lane when we arrived at the Ferry and from there we took some back roads I’ve never been on before to Hwy 113 north and then Cty DL around the east and north side of Devils Lake to get to Tumblerock in Baraboo for lunch. Just love that place! We shared some cheese curds and Ham Guyere sandwich. Yum, yum!
From there we took some back roads to avoid going into the heart of Baraboo as it was getting pretty hot and sticky. We did see some showers popping up east of Baraboo while at the restaurant, but weren’t too concerned. We eventually connected on Cty W east to Hwy 33 east into Portage and ended up working our way around some construction there before hitting Military Road heading northeast, but by this time Kevin was spotting some showers on the radar in the exact direction we planned on going or near by. So we slowed it down a bit and then eventually decided to skip the planned route at that point to take Hwy 44 north to Ripon to avoid it, with a stop at The Sweet N Saulty downtown for ice cream and a much needed seat and heat break. While we were there I noticed my step-cousin, Barb, walking by with her husband and another couple. So, I opened the door to say “hi”. Turns out they are camping in Berlin and came into Ripon for the Brewery across the street. Funny because she lives so close to me near Elkhart and I go by their place a lot on the bike, but ended up running into them in Ripon!
From there we took Hwy 23 back to Fondy because it was getting late in the afternoon. When we broke off in Fondy I decided to connect back onto Hwy 23 on the east side of town and took that back all the way until Cty S north into Glen since it is canopied by trees, which was very refreshing, and oh, also part of the Kettles with super cool (literally) windy roads. Then I took Cty J to Cty E, right by Barb’s, and then Garton back to Grove.
After I got home and moved my new vehicle out of the garage to put the bike away, as I did so because I didn’t want my new vehicle to get dinged by any possible hail, it then started to rain while I was in the garage. So much for a non-spotty new car!
Kevin’s map indicates 190 miles, but I had around 60 more from there and back to Fondy. So, roughly around 250 miles for me today, and I am a bit pooped!
Another glorious day and it felt so good since I wasn’t able to ride at all last weekend. Hurray!
