Sitting in a hotel room in Superior, Wisconsin, getting the last prep done for my 7th “ride across Wisconsin”. Some of our early rides did go entirely across the state, but this one is focusing on the northwest counties near the Minnesota border. The first ride was about seeing if I could do it.  3 consecutive 100ish mile days and traversing the state via bike.  It then grew into crossing in different directions and finally morphed into riding in every county in the state before I’m done.

So this year we are riding from Superior to Danbury, to St Croix Falls, to Chetek and ending in Eau Claire.  The plan is to ride 4 days with a mix of road and trails.  Should be about 225 miles when all is said and done.

Weather looks like it might start rainy and then get nice. The wildcard is the air quality as there is a lot of air pollution from the Canadian wildfires. Hoping that doesn’t become a problem!

The riding crew includes my wife, my friend, Josh, and his wife, Kelly, providing SAG.  In the cycling world the term “SAG” means “Support And Gear”.  It’s a person/vehicle that helps carry equipment, provides food when needed, and any other support to help the ride be successful.  Having SAG on this trip allows us to keep our bike weights lower which is a huge help.

I have the blessing of serving as the Executive Pastor at Park Hills Church in Freeport, IL. One of my responsibilities this year is to complete two building projects as we remodel part of one campus and do an addition at the other. So, instead of early morning bike rides getting the legs and lungs strong… I have been at the office doing what I can to support these projects. Not having to haul all the normal gear on my bike is going to be super helpful with all the missed training days this year.

And now, off to bed to get some rest before an early start tomorrow.