Monday, September 7, 2009

great river trail

In the past, I had ridden my bicycle extensively around the cities in which I lived, but never taken a ride toward a destination more than 8 miles away. I shattered that mileage today.

Sam and I decided to finally do something we had wanted to do for awhile - take a long bike ride on one of the wonderful trails branching out from La Crosse. We packed our lunch and headed out on the Great River Trail toward Trempealeau. Our goal was not to reach Trempealeau necessarily, but just to ride until we felt like it. We approximated that we'd go about 10 miles, eat lunch, and then head back.

22 miles and a little over three hours later, we arrived in Trempealeau. The trails had been so flat and easy to ride on that our legs did not seem to tire, and we just kept casually riding along enjoying the scenery. Getting back on our bikes after lunch and a beer at the Trempealeau Inn, however, our muscles started to complain. Like true bikers we pushed on, pedaled hard, and returned home in a remarkable two hours. (We had to make sure there was enough time for dinner and ice cream on this lovely Labor Day holiday.)

My quads are pretty sore tonight, but I'm sure I'll be feeling the full 44 miles tomorrow and the rest of the week.

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