I left the Montrose marina early with the intention to reach LaCrosse, Wisconsin, a ride of 300 miles. But the bike would not start, the battery being completely empty. I noticed the controls had been moved and the radio was on (an unexplainable error of BMW, the radio can be turned on when the power is off).
Luckily Dieter, a German who lives on his boat there, offered to get his jumper cables and soon I was on my way. Careful not to stall the engine I departed for Galena, where I would start a ride north along the Mississippi to Lacrosse.
Murphys Law hit again: When I stopped after 100 miles I was not in Galena but in Milwaukee, the gremlins also got to my GPS. And when I finally headed for Madison, it started raining.
I rode in the rain for close to a 100 miles and by now there was no hope to reach LaCrosse via Galena, so I diverted to Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi.
On the way, I had a small town mechanic in Dodgeville improve the GPS setup.
I rested in Fennimore and photographed the narrow gauge railroad, which had been the last 3 foot track in Wisconsin.
I reached my destination without further problems and stopped at the Sawmill Saloon for directions and an Old Milwaukee. Then I checked into the America Inn, a cozy hotel in downtown. The bed was very comfortable.
A historic rendez-vous was being prepared in the park. History buffs stay there in tents, dress up in Civil War era clothes, shoot black power long rifles, trade items like the old trappers and generally behave like mountain men. I was sorry I could not wait for the festival to start.
Prairie is a vacation town where many people own a second home in trailer parks or a houseboat on the Mississippi.
It is well worthwhile to visit, the river is big and beautiful.
The Wenneshiek saloon is a historic landmark and I had a Leinenkugel and Spotted Cow on the terrace overlooking the river.
While I was enjoying the sunset I found a wounded robin on the terrace. There was nothing I could do to help.
I hope it survived.
It got late and and before I realized it the restaurants were closed, so for dinner I had a big Mac with chipotle sauce, which was quite good.
Riding in the pouring rain had been quite demanding. I was so tired Icould not update my blog completely and went to bed.
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