Scouting.

Friday night I loaded up the camping gear in a borrowed truck for a drive east to Levis-Trow Mounds. The plan was to scout some trail for TransWisconsin and do a bit of riding on some singletrack I hadn't ridden before.

Saturday Morning I woke up at first light after a windy night and sleep that was less than ideal. So, I made it all better with a bit of breakfast.



After breakfast I hopped in the truck and began my drive. There was alot of this.



and this.



The more I scouted the more excited I became about the TransWisconsin this June.

My day ended in Viroqua, WI with a stop by Bluedog Cycles for a chat with Pete about the local trails. Ten minutes into our conversation a friend from Minneapolis walks in and offers me a place to stay. He and his wife own a century old farmhouse south of town in a little valley. We spent the evening talking about organic gardening, sampling early spring greens in the garden, listening to the frogs, burning last year's wildgrass growth so this year's will thrive, sipping wine, and enjoying great conversation.

Our Sunday morning ride took us down the Rush Creek Valley.



My chance meeting with Mark and the resulting experience were completely unexpected, somewhat random, and incredibly enjoyable.

After my ride with Mark I hit the local singletrack to scout some more.



On the way home I recounted the weekends activities and began the mental download. At one point It thought to myself "I think this thing is going to turn out alright."