photogravity

Bump. Anyone?

bibliobob

You considering this, Alan? I'm pretty tempted. But, it would probably mean two nights away from home?

gomango

Mission control, we have lift off.

I've been cleared by the chief procurer.

I'm in, but you can't make me do more than the 150!

Anyone have a spare Campy triple crank on a workbench?

Are they Record or what?

Rear dr. and fr. dr. as well if needed.

Running 9 speed Chorus Ergos.

If any of you Campy geniuses could point out the path, I'll start spending to get ready!

Oh yeah, is anyone going to bring some oxygen tanks along?

RobbieTunes

Ride with me on a double. Misery loves company.

I mean, after all, you have to be able to enjoy the scenery, too.
My sis is making Cornish tea biscuits, and I'm looking for some Cornish pasty for the night before.

Since Yuengling is not sold anywhere near the area, I'll probably have to make do with local ale, after.
OK, maybe during, but that's simply tradition, anyway.

RobbieTunes

I once pushed a bed up High Street on a 4th of July, with four others and one "driver" in a 1-mile event.
2 of us were NCAA wrestlers, and the others were dairy farmers, and it was, uh, memorable, not a bit funny.

You won't be alone in walking some hills, and you'll be surprised how many you actually do climb, since they're not all that tall and steep.

RobbieTunes

You have no idea...., but Thanks.... It was an ideal place to grow up. It was a blast, but could only support so many village idiots, so I had to enlist. When the local chief of police asked my mom where I'd been, she said Marine boot camp, and he about spit out his coffee.....

One kid who visited from Chicago ran away from home and ended up in my basement.....at the time, we thought we were so smart. His parents simply called my parents, and showed up to collect the kid. Still, it was fun as hell. Much shaking of heads at class reunions (which I'll have to skip because of this.)

gomango

Works for me.

This sounds awful, but the more I think of it, I may have a box of Campy Triple bits on the shelf anyway.

This is a little crazy around here with our building projects atm.

Chicago Al 

I am considering it but the college dropoff in Ohio may knock it out. I would do the 50K I think as I am in no kind of shape.

iab

Technically, the first 50k are the "easiest". But by no means easy.

Here is an elevation profile of the 200k.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1339576

RobbieTunes

I just convinced my kid that he "can't afford" the early dropoff that would interfere with this. If you do the 50K, you can simply wait for us to finish, or maybe I'll try to plan something the night before. If I can get the church to cooperate, we may have a pre-ride dinner. They like me and those old ladies need any excuse to cook....and make a little money.

I'm thinking photo op. I sincerely wish I could get the group from NAHBS 2011. bigbossman and Marko Polo would surely enjoy this area. The women would scoop up Scooper.

I guarantee if your wife comes, she'll spend more than you in Mineral Point. On one part of the route, we'll be going within a couple miles of the home of the late Svetlana Stalin Peters. Yes, his daughter. She married one of Frank Lloyd Wright's students.

Remember, climbing is for conversation, descents are for whooping.

I'm going to check with Tony and see if we can have a dinner at his place the night before. We have to get up early the next day, though, and I'm going to remain ale-less until at least the 100K mark.

For me, 200K means "lunch" at 11 am or earlier, and then another 100k in the afternoon, leisurely. You kind of want to get off the road before the mosquitos come out. 150K means I don't break for lunch as long, and then ride rest stop-to-rest stop until we're done.

I also know an awesome redhead named Patty who knows these roads blindfolded....

bibliobob

Post ride beer is essential....

RobbieTunes

A true Chicagoan, and not a FIB.
One of my old friends from Chicago... his dad came up with "goodoldBlatzisbest"
My kinda guy.

bibliobob

Ha!

iab

When I lived in Bucktown, before it became hip, the corner bar sported a Blatz sign in front. Most patrons typically were missing teeth.

just sayin'

iab

And I thought meeting at Tony's after the ride was a given.

RobbieTunes

Even the men? Tony's sounds good.

JohnDThompson 

Blatz = "Milwaukee gatorade"

RobbieTunes

I've notified Tony (well, his very intelligent wife, anyway. I'm not sure Tony uses a computer)
We'll see what shakes out. I've asked about a Cornish dish called pasty, which is a good night-before meal.
I don't know if any restaurants serve it much, and the last time I was home, the Methodist Church's was still the best.

RobbieTunes

Back before dinosaurs, there were explorers trying to find the source of the Mississippi River. They came across the Great Lakes, turned Left onto Lake Michigan, and ended up in a small inlet, so they came ashore. It was very pretty, and very lush, so they called it Green Bay, and left some folks there. It became the Wisconsin territory's oldest city, and those left behind were bored, so they invented football.

As the explorers meandered their way across Wisconsin on rivers they thought would lead them to the source of the Big Muddy, they came to a dead end of sorts. Sending out patrols, they found an even bigger river about a mile away. "Must be the Mississippi," they thought, and they left some folks there, too. This became the 2nd oldest city in the territory, aptly named Portage.

To their dismay, they'd taken a wrong turn again, and ended up on a little stream called the Pecatonica. While they were sitting around wondering what to do, one of them looked at the very interesting rock formations (being in the driftless area) and spied lead ore shining from an outcropping. They knew "money," when they saw it, and left a group there, which grew into Mineral Point, the 3rd oldest city. Eventually, they made their way to the Wisconsin River, and to the 4th oldest town, Prairie du Chien, where the Wisconsin meets the Mississippi. They even found the source of the Mississippi, way up near gomango's stomping grounds....

Mineral Point became a mining town, and was soon invaded by Cornish miners, excellent stonemasons in their own right. While they waited for their families to arrive, they staked their claims in mines they dug out of the local hills. They lived in these mines, and ferociously defended their claims during the lawlessness time. They came out of their holes only to eat and fight for their claim. This earned them the nickname "Badgers."

When their families arrived, these same miners cut stones from the local hills and put them together, without mortar, because they were cut so precisely. They built homes of this stone and lined them up along a street below and along the valley, across from the mines. At lunchtime, the women would wave colored cloths to get the miners' attention and get them to come and eat. Shakerag Street is still one of the finest examples of hand-cut, mortarless stone homes you can find. The state flag bears a "Cousin Jack and Cousin Jill" which are meant to represent the miners and their wives. One of the churches they built, with flying buttresses and all, is still there, and the German organ they installed in 1835 is still played in it, having just undergone a 10-year restoration, including polishing of every single intricately engraved pipe.

I imagine the dairy stuff started when the Swiss and Germans showed up, with the beer.
As the Cornish were Methodists, this was just fine with them.

I'm working on something the night before....haven't been in the Brew Pub since it was the Walker House, soaking up money from every investor, but sounds good.

iab

My mom has a 19th century stone farmhouse between Mineral Point and Hollendale. Closer to Hollendale. Tiny, but neat.



I really like the idea of dinner before the ride. I'm not a huge fan of pasties, but I won't say no.

I'm not opposed to the Brew Pub, we don't need to impose on Tony twice. Other than the onion rings at the Red Rooster, I don't know much of the greater Mineral Point/Dodgeville cuisine. So I am definitely open to suggestions.

Madison is another matter. Lots of good food there. I know of a place that has the best homemade pita you have ever eaten. The falafel isn't bad either.

iab

The good news:

About a month go I caught bronchitis. It got bad enough that last week when I'd cough, it constricted the airway to the point where I couldn't breathe for about 10 seconds. That seems to be subsiding.

The bad news:

My fresh lungs were put to the test riding to work. I don't have a speedometer on the commuter, but judging by the gear and cadence, I'd say I was doing about 22 mph when turning into the parking lot. Put my knee into it and the tires slipped out from underneath me. Lots of road rash on most of my side. Sore shoulder and ribs. Quite difficult to raise my arm.

I'll bounce back but this ride will be a bit more difficult.

Pars 

Sorry to hear about your mishap... heal up quickly!

Sixty Fiver

This sounds like a really fun ride... I will be in Oregon chasing my wife and daughters all over the place but will look for pictures and reports.

But one day... an old French girl and I would like to try this ride and more than this, meet up with some of the equally crazy folks.

gomango

Ouch!

So painful, no doubt.

Hang in there.

bibliobob

How are you feeling today? Better, or worse?

Dr. Bibliobob prescribes an afternoon of sipping margaritas for the pain.