Last night after finishing the blog I set to messaging a few hosts in the hopes of a nice place indoors to spend the night. very quickly I received replies from two hosts, one offering to pay our camping fees which struck us as very kind and generous for a stranger, and another from Terri and Tom in Beloit who offered us up a floor for the night. Fantastic! We took up the offer and even had a cooked dinner and breakfast to look ahead to!
We blitzed through the continental breakfast buffet and were out for 8. Some gear issues on Jakes' bike delayed us a little but we were well on our way by half past. Initially we took a road alongside a railway line winding through the valleys and hills. This road took us up to the Wisconsin Heights, which lived up to their name presenting us with two substantial hills at Mt Horeb and New Glarus. After grinding over these, fighting a stiff headwind all the way, we stopped at a pub in New Glarus for lunch. We made it just short of half way to our hosts by lunch, and not as far as we would usually have come.
The final 46 miles initially took us along a sheltered state trail, providing precious relief from the wind, and letting us make up the miles. We were very conscious of making it to our hosts in time for dinner. At Brodhead we left the trail and onto the county roads. Along the Beloit - Newark road the trail became hilly again, but the wind was behind us and dinner was calling. I sent our hosts an ETA and what route we were heading in on. About half way down the road a tall man on a road bike in a yellow jersey approached shouting to us. We wondered if there was some trouble ahead. It turned out to be Tom! He had cycled out to meet us and very kindly escorted us back, avoiding the hills we were currently grinding through. His knowledge of the local area was fantastic also, telling us of the crops, birds, industry and even when we temporarily crossed into Illinois. He had a union flag outside his house heralding our arrival.
Inside we were greeted by their four cats, the most memorable of which was Gizmo who was by far the most friendly cat I have met (and quite possibly the fluffiest). A macaroni cheese bake with home made sourdough bread went down exceptionally well, before we set out for the local supermarket to pick up the New Glarus Spotted Cow beer. An enjoyable evening chatting with Tom and later his wife Terri and daughter Airn. Tom works as an orthopaedic surgeons assistant, helping with casts and in surgery, which I am all too familiar with! Terri works with children who have been excluded from school. We spoke about current affairs and local traditions at home and here over a dessert of brownies and ice cream which set us up for bed with full stomachs.
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