Richland Center to Madison – Thursday 2 September

Distance: 65 miles

Today began with a stunning breakfast prepared by Margaret at Littledale farm, and we departed hoping for plenty of downhills to go easy on our full bellies.

Onwards along Highway 14 we travelled through quaint towns such as Spring Grove and Black Earth. As we approached Madison, a town of 75,0oo people, the traffic got noticably heavier. As we continued along Hwy14, the mysterious red line we saw that morning on google maps became clear – we were about to be kicked off another road by another State trooper. Luckily we were right beside an exit and a Trek bike shop, so we took the opportunity to get some route advice for tomorrow.

Today was also made exciting and a bit rushed because we had arranged to meet the Mayor of Madison, Dave Cieslewicz, at 2pm. We made the appointment and had a nice brief chat Mayor Dave. We were presented with some lapel pins and a picture book of Madison. After our meeting, Rob provided one of the funniest moments of the week in his confrontation with a jaywalker. The exact words of the conversation will remain privy to those in the car at the time!

We were glad to get to the Super 8 Motel in time to enjoy the big spacy rooms kindly provided for us. That night we investigated Madison’s reputation as a “university town” and the results of that survey confirmed the rumours. Ever the professionals though, the Team retired to bed before the night turned to morning.