MADBIRD’25, Day 1: Chippewa Falls to Durand, WI (46 miles)
Great day for biking! Spirits were high in our first day of the Madison Bike Ride, fueled by a great pancake breakfast at Arneberg Acres.
I was hoping to sleep until 7:00 am, due to my 11-day bout of bronchitis (diagnosed by a doctor yesterday). But because if that nagging cough, I was awake at 4:17 am and decided to just get up when I heard the birds. Starting a trip with only four hours of sleep (according to my smartwatch) was not in my plan, but I still had packing to do and pancake batter to make.
We had at least 20 people over for pancakes and sausage and eggs, between riders and parents. After packing up and taking the group photo in front of the garage, we hit the road at 9:10 am.
Dave Daniels joined us in north Eau Claire. That guy is amazing— he’ll be 76 years old in a month, yet he had no trouble keeping up on bikes with the fastest Scouts! This means we had 14 guys riding with us, our largest group in years.
Our first stop was the farmers’ market at Phoenix Park in Eau Claire. We bought snacks to eat on the trail later and got some great drone footage of biking on the footbridge across the Chippewa River.
We crossed the Chippewa River for the third and final l time today and then followed the Chippewa River Trail south. After another short break okay the Highway 85 rest stop, we took a lunch break in Caryville.
Some of the younger Scouts were starting to fall behind, but the older boys were setting a pretty good pace. For this first day, SPL Micah required each Scout to carry all his camping gear in his panniers, despite having a troop trailer for these first four days. We want to make sure everyone knows what they are getting into if they choose to go in past Day 4 when we lose the trailer.
We got a bit of unexpected rain while standing in the old railroad bridge along the Red Cedar River. The rain followed us all the way to Tarant Park in Durand.
When it stopped, we set up our tents and the. Ride downtown to but groceries. Tonight’s meal was tacos. The nearby pool is brand new but not open until next week, so Gary Gilles rigged up a makeshift shower with a bucket of warm water and a tarp around the back of the trailer.
Overall it was a very good day, and we are looking forward to crossing into Minnesota tomorrow.