Time to ride. Finally.

I'm not one of those fair weather riders - I grew up in the midwest, with our cold and [sometimes] miserable winters - so I dress appropriately, and go hit the roads. This year was a bit different though. Wisconsin was hit with a record snow year. Madison got 100 inches. We got near that here on the Mrs. Hippy. What this means is that roads that would normally be relatively well taken care of and mostly snow free, well, weren't. Lots of ice. Lots of snow, and no where to put it made for very narrow roads this past winter. Narrow enough that my self preservation instinct kicked in and kept me off the bike nearly all winter. Had fun skiing and snowshoeing though...

On to the ride!

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For Wooglin. One of WI's oldest cemetaries. Not as old as the stuff you've hunted down out east - but up there.

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Heading up that cleft in the hills there.

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Gotta let commerce take its course first though.

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Steeper than it looks of course - and then it gets steeper around the corner, adding insult to injury(or raised heartrates).

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Not an earthship. The rest is just...missing.

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I'm headed for that road over there, left of center. You can actually kind of see how steep it is in this shot. Climbs up coulees here are really mellow for about 90% of the way. Then you start getting near the end where they go UP. HARD.

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Neat barn - in better light, it'll make a good subject.

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Self portrait!

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Down in the valley's here, you look up and see all kinds of really cool rock shelves. Its not often that you can see them though. Summer brings heavy foliage in these parts. I've got a few mountain bike rides that take you right up to the edge of a few. Kinda cool.

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Going down this cleft.

20 mile ride, Close to 1200' of climbing.

Sure looks like all that snow is gone. Of course it is flooding downstream.......

Sure do like country riding-we will have to get ourselves some of that tomorrow.