Northwoods Day. 4 -Mercer,WI to Buckatabon Lodge near Conover WI

Day 4

Sept 27, 2020

Mercer,WI, Loon Lagoon Resort to Buckatabon Lodge near Conover WI
 
52??? miles total
About 48 on route
Ride time: 4:15???
Total time about 5.5 hours

I woke up to a ray of hope shining through the window, after the night many waves of rain.

It did not last, however

Got out into a cool and damp morning, though made good pace at 12+ mph.
After 10 miles, I catch the lovely Heart of the Vilas paved bike path to Boulder Junction.

Lots of other bicyclists on this chilly morning. Have a nice chat with a mature group of bicyclists, asking about my travels and plans. The flag was appreciated and we share our love of our country. Nice

 About noon, the sun start peaking through, and grows bolder as it loses its shyness during the afternoon until it is mostly sunny and warmer. This lights up the trees nicely on the country roads that transport me to my next destination.



I arrive at the Buckatabon Lodge and Lighthouse Pub. The office is in the well attired pub, and it is a lovely setting, right on a spit into the lake,and sure enough, there's a lighthouse just outdoors. The place only had a couple of patrons who are rolling out while I am signing in. I decide to avail myself to a Glarus Spotted Cow inside out of the wind on the cool and increasingly breezy afternoon. (They did have windows open)

The view is nice, the sun is out, the chop is up, and the light is turning. Not a bad end of the ride. Call home and catch up, then head back to get a check to pay up and setup my tent. They are only open til 6.

I head back at 5 :30, chores done, and pay up, after ordering another local beer, a blueberry wheat beer from tribute brewery in Eagle River. There are a few local folks at the bar, apparently all well known to each other,  so I pick a table off aways and open the adjacent window. A breeze is coming in.

6 rolls around and it is clear they are not closing and will watch the Packers gameat 7.
They cook up a bunch of finger food and invite me to share, so I'm off my diet for an evening. Interesting conversations about Covid, possible WI shutdown, infamous murder cases. One lady there works for the local health dept and seems pretty knowledgeable. 

Any ways, good to chat up some locals(10+' away plus incoming window breeze) and be out of the wind.
Off to shower and finish my blog, and research motel options for the next few day (see forecast below).

With this forecast, I am looking to bail on riding on Wednesday, and find indoor accommodation for the next few nights.
Indoors will give me a chance to recover if I have long, cold wet days in the saddle.
Still think I can make it to Wells State Park Friday to meet my brother Bruce



Political sign for the day


Comments

  1. DonSeptember 28, 2020 at 6:20 AM

    Glad you found a nice warm pub and you hit it on a Packer game night too (good job OB).
    Did you reveal your Vikingness? New Glarus is one of my favorites. I really like their Uff-da brew, an excellent Bock. Unfortunately it is seasonal but you may be in the right season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OuttaDoorsDanSeptember 29, 2020 at 5:15 PM

      Well I did share I was one of those twin cities guys in the way back, but also told them some badger friends have turned me on to the Packers

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northwoods Day 14 - Marion Park, Glidden WI to Hayward,WI

Image
Dans Big Adventure - Northwoods loop - Fall 2020 Northwoods Day 14 - Marion Park, Glidden WI to Hayward,WI October 11, 2020 Northwoods Day 14 - Marion Park, Glidden WI to Hayward,WI Sunday Oct 11, 2020 Miles 59.5 Total time 5:45 Ride time 5:11 Today is a day of change.  Cloudy overcast skies greet me in my sheltered camp spot, then it cleared and was sunny, then the clouds moved in midafternoon, a harbinger of shift in the weather. This weather change will change my plans as well. I was planning on starting my dirt backcountry route today, with 4 -5 days of dirt roads and trails between here and Superior. But with 2 heavy rain storms followed by cold days for another week+, dirt doesn't sound to enticing after a couple of storms. Snow flakes predicted Thursday right where my dirt route is headed! So I am going to use this last nice day to divert to close the loop and get back to my truck in a couple of days of riding. I will explore the northwood ...
Read more

Northwoods Wrap

Image
After closing my loop, I spent a week truck camping. Did some trail riding, and exploring the south shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin and the UP. Lots of waterfalls, picturesque cliffs, trails, and snow! ok, met some kayakers(Brian and Joerg) truck camping like me. We got on just fine, and shared a campfire and dirt bag camping in the cold and snow! They ran Black River with the falls pictured above the next day, when it was snowing! Makes my bike riding look like a poseur! highest point in WI ...
Read more

Northwoods Day 3 Glidden to Loon Lagoon Resort, Mercer WI

Image
 Northwoods Day 3 Marion park in Glidden to Mercer,WI, Loon Lagoon Resort Sept 26, 2020   41.4 miles Ride time: 3:57 Total time about 5 hours Morning breaks, light suffuses from all around; my consciousness is awakened to just one sound - drip, drip, drip;  I am camping under a colorful maple, and it is either lightly raining, or the maple is making it last. I finally decide it is the maple playing tricks on my poor mountain oriented mind, and peak my head out. A fine fog greets me, yet the pavement is not wet. I drag all of my gear to the pavilion and pack, cook breakfast while I attempt in vain to dry my tent fly. I snap a few more shots of the unique Marion Park and leave about 10.  The fog has lifted and reveal a steel grey sky. There is a 50% chance of rain today, so I am going to do a modest length day hoping to avoid the highest chances in the kate afternoon and evening. First 10 miles ar...
Read more