I've done a lot of biking in Southern Wisconsin particularly in the Monroe, Evansville, Brodhead and Juda area.  This area of Wisconsin is very hilly.  The hills are long and protracted and there are some hills of steep grade and make for some challenging rides.  A 30 to 40 mile loop going to Monroe, Albany and Evansville before returning to Brodhead can be brutal...until now.

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Wisconsin anymore."

My whole perspective of biking changed when I started to bike the Rockies in Utah.

In Wisconsin, there are some hills that have an 8% grade that go for maybe a quarter of a mile.  Climbing a hill like that on a hot summer day is tough in Wisconsin, but you can see where the hill ends and can plan accordingly.  In Utah, heading from Cedar City to Brian Head the road will have 8% grade that will go for 2 miles, then after a run of about a half a mile at 4% grade will go into another 2 miles of 8%.  This kind of riding will go on for 20 miles until you get to the top.

In Wisconsin you simply can't prepare for anything like this kind of riding.

I've learned a lot on how to tackle mountains.  In Wisconsin, I would tend to try and barrel up a hill and keep a solid hard pace.  I would go to my higher gears but keep a somewhat heavy pedal to get to the top quickly.  This technique would be madness in the Rockies.  As soon as I come to any grade where I start to go uphill,  I go to my top 3 lightest gears and pedal slowly and methodically until I get to the top.  I resign myself to the fact that it will take a lot of time and I just keep cranking.

Sometimes it will take hours to get to the top of a big mountain, but it puts a lot less stress on my body and allows me to survive the long haul.  When the grade starts to get really steep (like 10 or 12% grade, I simply gear as light as I can, put my head down and start counting pedals.  When the traffic is not too bad, I put on music (a staple is Lord Huron's 'Lonesome Dreams' album, the songs 'Brother', 'Time to Run', 'She lit a Fire' and 'Ends of the Earth' is great music for riding in the west) and sometimes I simply look up and see the beauty around me and it calms me down and inspires me to keep going. Another thing that keeps you going is that there is a 'down' to every 'up' and there are some fantastic 'ski runs' where my bike will go up to 45 mph and go on for miles. You really have to concentrate on those runs, but, boy, the ride is exhilarating!  The comparison to downhill skiing in Wisconsin and downhill skiing in the Rockies is apt.

I've lost a lot of weight and that really helps, too.  I started in San Francisco at 191 lbs and today I weighed myself and I weighed 174 lbs. I feel lighter and stronger and it's easier to go up the big hills.  A couple of days ago I biked 112 miles from Escalante UT to Hankville UT.  During that ride I climbed and descended a 9600 ft mountain.  A month ago, if you told me I would ride 100 miles and climbed a mountain to boot, I would have told you that you were nuts.

I'm really looking forward to riding in Wisconsin when I get done with this trip.  In the past many of the hills on Balls Mill or Smock Valley Road were intimidating to me and I would mentally 'gear up' to do those rides.  I don't want to insult Wisconsin, because I love my state, but it'll be like riding in Munchkinland after doing the Rockies. And you know what?...That's a good thing. I've always liked Munchkins!  :-)

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