Rose and I went to southwestern Wisconsin for Father’s Day weekend.  We wanted to meet my folks for lunch on Sunday and decided to make it a mini-vacation, rather than a day trip.  We stayed in Mineral Point, which is one of the oldest communities in WI.  It was a hub during the lead mining days of the early 1800s. Now, it’s a very nice arts and antiques town in the rolling hills of this part of the state.

Yep, “rolling” hills.  We brought our bikes along to do a local fun ride on Sunday in nearby Montfort.  I decided to get in a longer 50 mile ride on Saturday, since I’ve been taking it easy while sick.  I knew the hills around here would be tough, but I also forgot that summer was finally here.  Duh! Temps were in the mid-80s with heat indexes in the 90s.  I’m glad I grew up in this climate, otherwise this would have killed me.  It was still a shock considering the horrible spring weather we’ve had in Chicago. I drank a good deal of water over 3 hours, but I didn’t dehydrate!

Here’s map of my ride and the elevation profile.  Over 5,000 feet of climbing. Yikes! I didn’t feel too tired at the end and was pleasantly surprised by my power values when I got back.  I’m still a little sick, but starting to get better.  the route was awesome and I based it on a route from the Cycle Southwest Wisconsin organization.  If I had the time, I would definitely bike up here more.