August 7 Day 37 Trempealeau WI to Kendall Wi 65miles 1134 climbing

Last night there was quite a storm. Lightening, thunder, hail and lots of rain. There was not a place for breakfast, so peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were just right

We embarked on the Great River Road Park Trail. We road on this trail and connected later to the Elroy Sparta trail. It is a part of a huge network that covers one third of Wisconsin In the west and central region. We will ride the bike trail system all day. The weather is overcast and little misty for about an hour.

Much of the trail is tree covered with a hard packed surface,

We finally get to Sparta which is at one end of the Elroy Sparta Trail. This is a 32 mile trail. It was the first trail developed in the country from an old abandoned rail bed. It opened in 1967.

The parking lot at the Sparta trail head is where we found Sam for the lunch stop. 

Sparta celebrates it's cycling heritage 

Here is Sam working part time as Ben Biken'

This bridge crosses over the highway. 

This is one of 3 tunnels we went through. Even with good lights it was difficult to walk through. It is wet and drippy. When they dug out this tunnel they stuck an overhead spring and to this day it still seeps into the tunnel. To keep the walls from collapsing because of the changing temperatures these doors were built to keep the warmth in during the winter. 

It was real  dark half way through. The end of the tunnel was a little dot.

We got to Kendall and later a bunch of us went to the Hidden Inn for possibly the worst dinner and service we have had on our entire trip. The fellow added a $4.00 charge to each ticket. When we questioned it, the waitress went to get The owner. He came out and told us it was a " carrying charge for bringing all this shit out here." We sat outside because of the smoke smell inside. We were all totally shocked. Anyway it eventually got all worked out and we strolled back to the hotel. Tip for anyone going to Kendall, there are other places to eat in Kendall

Below is the old abandon turntable for the railroad. Tomorrow we ride to Portage.