Spent Sunday night at the Franklin Victorian B&B in Sparta, Wisconsin. They offer a bike shuttle service and we took advantage of that. They transported us this morning to Elroy where we started riding on the trail. This trail has been converted from an abandoned railroad and has the distinction of being Wisconsin's first bicycle trail and America's first rails to trails path. It is 35 miles long and is known for it's trestles and tunnels. The longest tunnel is three-quarters of a mile long. You are suppose to walk your bike through the tunnels but since no one was around we actually rode through two of the three tunnels. We just went very slow.
Walking through tunnel two
Tunnel one
The towns along the trail are Elroy, Kendall (love that name), Wilton, Norwalk, and Sparta. They are small farm and Amish communities. Ate lunch in Norwalk at The Main Street Cafe. Sparta is known as the "Bicycling Capital of America" and has the "World's Largest Bike".
Ben Biking. The world's largest bike in Sparta, Wisconsin
As we came out of tunnel three we saw Tunnel Tom. He is well known in the area. Back in the 50s, as a little boy he would wait in his backyard every day at 3 pm for the train headed for Chicago. It would come barreling out of the tunnel and pass right by his house. The train conductor would toss him a candy bar, and a newspaper for Tom's dad. Tom is now in his 60s and the trains are forever gone but Tom still spends plenty of time waiting in that same backyard. He now waits for bicyclist to come along. He has candy bars, Gatorade, and flashlights for sell but is more interested in conversation than in turning a profit. I think he should also sell towels because you get wet going through tunnel three!
Amish horse and buggy in the background
Today's Weather: Perfect! Started out in the 60's and ended up in the 80's.
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