Today was a nice day of cycling on the back roads. A few more hills but not as many as I anticipated. I had several reasons for getting on the road early (a) some extra hills (b) it is humid and warmer in the afternoon and (c) there is a plume of smoke headed from Canadian wild fires, this time from northern Alberta.

Goose hill. They were out and active this morning

The first few miles were on a bicycle path parallel to US 12. However after that almost entirely on small roads.

An example of these small roads. I saw corn, wheat and soybeans today.

Multiple dairy farms along my route.

Road surfaces were good and there weren’t many cars.

Roxbury, one of the few hamlets I passed through. The larger town of Sauk City I passed few miles later and took a short break.

A few beef cows though most I saw were dairy cows.

Long, quiet roads with a farm in the distance.

Stone Church. There wasn’t a town around this, just a church out along the way.

Getting closer…

The plume of smoke when I arrived. Stayed reasonable during my ride today, now I will see what it looks like tomorrow morning. With my early start, it worked well.

This afternoon it is time to check my flashlight for the tunnels tomorrow.