The reservation was made, and we were all set to stay in an Airbnb in Wilton, Wisconsin. About five weeks prior to our arrival, there was a torrential downpour, and severe damage to the trail. Although we still had the Airbnb, we weren't sure that we would get to ride the Elroy-Sparta Trail. But in late September, they opened part of the trail so that people could participate in the National Ride Your Parks Day. This was wonderful news, because many years ago Therese had ridden the Elroy-Sparta Trail on her first overnight solo. She was excited to revisit the trail she had ridden in the mid 1980s!
We headed north on a Tuesday, October 9, 2018 and arrived sometime after 3pm. The Airbnb in Wilton was exceptional!
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| Our host left us many little treats! |
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| The place was beautiful and decorated for fall. |
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| We slept up in the loft; watch your head! Notice the re-used barn wood. |
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| Beautiful spiral staircase with cherry risers. |
The skies were gray, but with no rain in sight, we requested a ride to the Norwalk trailhead. We agreed to meet up with Therese's parents around 6pm in Sparta for the shuttle ride back to Wilton.
We had a great time riding the trail and were excited to ride through the tunnel. Except that the sign said, "walk your bikes." There was no one else out riding and walking our bikes 3/4 of a mile in a creepy, pitch black tunnel was not all that appealing, so we hopped on and pedaled through.
Around 4:45pm, a CRAZY storm hit us. We were caught in a torrential downpour complete with thunder and lightening. It hit so fast, we didn't have time to get into our rain gear...we headed for cover at a nearby farmhouse, but no one was home, so we stood dripping wet under a cluster of trees while calling Therese's parents to rescue us. They picked us up around 5:15pm; we were happy to be out of the storm.
We had a great time riding the trail and were excited to ride through the tunnel. Except that the sign said, "walk your bikes." There was no one else out riding and walking our bikes 3/4 of a mile in a creepy, pitch black tunnel was not all that appealing, so we hopped on and pedaled through.
Around 4:45pm, a CRAZY storm hit us. We were caught in a torrential downpour complete with thunder and lightening. It hit so fast, we didn't have time to get into our rain gear...we headed for cover at a nearby farmhouse, but no one was home, so we stood dripping wet under a cluster of trees while calling Therese's parents to rescue us. They picked us up around 5:15pm; we were happy to be out of the storm.
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| Fortunately, we had an emergency blanket to wrap T in because she got chilled pretty quickly. |
When we arrived back at the house, our host had left us a welcome email, complete with apologies about the weather and directions for what to do should we hear the sirens go off at the fire station regarding a potential tornado (get in the basement!).
We had a great night, and woke up the next morning to a forecast of somewhat clear skies. Around 10am, we loaded up our bikes and were dropped off at the point where we had stopped the night before so that we could complete the remainder of the Elroy-Sparta Trail.
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| It was a great ride and was followed by stops at the Visitor Center and Bicycle Museum. |
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