Blue Skies

Day 40: New Hampton to Fennimore

August 13, 2008 on 7:07 pm | In Injuries / Accidents, On Tour |

The third century day was actually just short, if my sources are correct, at 99.9 miles. I trust that most cyclists managed to pick up an extra tenth of a mile somewhere. Many cyclists were good and tired from the previous two long days, and this time it was Betsy’s and my turn to be the sweep SAG again.

The days route took us through a number of small towns, and then on a fairly busy road that eventually took us down a fun descent toward a bridge over the river that marked the border between Iowa and Wisconsin. Fortunately it wasn’t a toll bridge this time, although this time we didn’t end up crossing it more than once. That was followed by a climb to regain the altitude that was lost, and a few more miles into Wisconsin to get to Fennimore.

We drove down the route and stopped in Marquette at a small, nicely shaded park. We had just sat down and were preparing to have a bite to eat when the phone rang again, and we had to pack up and head back down the road again to help someone.

The busy road ended up being a problem, since it also had recently undergone shoulder work and there were sections of the shoulder that were covered in gravel. Add in a rumble strip, and the options for cyclists weren’t very fun at some points. After helping a cyclist who called in for a loaner tire (which we didn’t end up using on his bike), we got a call that a cyclist had fallen due to the gravel on a downhill section of some rolling hills. I don’t want to get into too many details, but we ended up in the hospital at Prairie du Chien, just across the river, to get things checked out. It was a good thing that we did, because the collarbone ended up being broken and he couldn’t ride anymore. That’s unfortunately the fourth cyclist who has had to pack up and go home due to a bad injury.

That night we stayed in a town park. We had shuttles to the local pool which had showers for us, although in the mens changeroom only two out of the four nozzles were usable. It worked out alright, however… we get used to alot of things on tour, and having to wait a bit longer for showers isn’t a big deal.