Trek Bicycle Corp.

I am getting ready to take the ferry to Michigan tomorrow. I was originally going to go along the UP and then down, but decided that was more Michigan than I wanted to bike on this trip and I could also see my brother and sister in law and nieces if I took the ferry. I am staying with friends in Milwaukee tonight, which helps the expense account and allows me to catch up with them.

Today I had a wonderful tailwind and bike paths most of the day. I started out with a bike path from Sun Prairie and then a nice shoulder/bike path all the way to Waterloo: Trek Bicycle Headquarters. I rode to the facility and then changed shirts. I was wearing my only clean jersey, but it was a specialized and I felt wierd going to Trek in a Specialized jersey. I changed to one of my others and then went to take a pic of the sign and building. As I was taking the picture a lady came out and asked if I wanted her to take a pic of me in front of the sign. She then offered to get me set up on a tour of the facility. This was more than I was planning on.

I was waiting in the lobby when two men approached me and asked if "I was the guy?" I said I must be and then we introduced ourselves. One's name was Eric, and I can't remember the other one (you'll have to help if you read this...I'm horrible with names). We talked a bit about my trip and they took some pics and then Eric took me on a tour of the facility. They had a lot of nice bikes on display and then he took me to the development area of the facility. I saw the behind the scenes of development and advertising and then went on a factory tour. It was quite amazing to see. Trek has an on site gym for the employees to work out at during the winter when riding is bad. They also have an on site kitchen to which I was taken to and a chef cooked me up an omelette. We talked some more about the trip as I ate and then went back to the bike and I showed them my map of the country. We then departed. They mentioned one way for me to head to Milwaukee and GPS said another.

I looked at my maps and went with yet a different way for scenery and ease. As I was riding along the highway a car pulled off and talked to me. He was very friendly and informed me I would have less of a hassle with traffic if I took a turn ahead and got onto a bike path I was parralleling. He directed me to my turn and I was off on bike trails for the next 30+ miles. This was a welcome change, though sometimes I enjoy the highway for the people you meet. The path was good and had a small fee for wheeled access. At Wales and was halloed from a couple of bikers on the road who turned to meet me. It was a couple out on a ride on a day off. He works at Trek and mentioned he saw me there earlier and then informed me that I was already on Trek's website. The link is in the articles box on the side.

The day was beautiful out and the tailwind was much appreciated. I was able to keep a nearly 20mph pace today.

My first full day's ride in Wisconsin was a bit more unpleasant. I was riding along the great river road along the MS river and I thought it would be relatively flat or rolling. It was rather hilly with big hills in many places. The shoulder was at least fairly wide. It occassionally looked like it was going to storm; which was in the forecast I had seen. That morning, however, the CG owner said they were predicting hail and tornadoes that afternoon. I figured I'd be far enough away it wouldn't matter; plus I thought he may have gotten exaggerated info. I rode on and decided to keep riding past the first state park, Merrick SP, and continue to Perrot. It would make it easier to cross the state in a shorter time. I got there and the weather was beautiful and I got a site and set up. I was a little nervous because there was no high ground in my site. I ate my meal and finished setting up and then took a brief walk around the CG. I heard the ranger talking to a family about getting to the bath houses for more protection than their tent. This got me wondering what was up. I then got back and heard a weather radio playing at the host site. It was rattling off a rather unfriendly report about tornadoes and golf ball size hail just upriver from where we were. It was also saying severe thunderstorms in our area. The host said I should grab my stuff and wait out the storm in the nature center.

I again thought this was probably a bit of an overreaction since the tornadoes and hail were north. I got back to my tent and was going to look at the radar when the first thunder and lightning started. I grabbed my stuff and headed to the center and met the host there. She was a bit more shaken up than need be and was exaggerating the reports that the weather radio was playing (it was in the room playing and I could hear what they said). The lighting was close for a while and the rain came down hard. Eventually the heart of the storm passed us. I kept an eye on the radar on my phone and could tell when the red and yellow were past. I headed back to my site and my fears were partially realized. As soon as I turned into my site my feet were in a puddle of water that encompassed my whole campsite. I waded back to my tent and thankfully found it dry inside, though with numerous pockets of water underneath from the puddle flowing through. My gear and I were able to stay dry, however. In the morning all was dry, though flood advisories were posted the night before and throughout the following day.

Oh, and I was also informed I made the front page of the Kulm, ND Messenger. It is too small to be online, but I will try and get a copy uploaded sometime.