Madison, WI via Rockford, IL

For time's sake, I decided to combine these two entries. We had a ride of 110 miles from Dubuque to Rockford, IL starting out with a TON of rain that was left over from the intense thunder storms from the early morning hours. Early in the morning we crossed the Mighty Mississippi. The Lusters kindly brought us lunch on the road of wraps and a great supply of Gatorade and fresh fruit. Just before Rockford about half of the team missed the turn off and headed for Chicago. After some re-routing and laughs we were all safely at the Saturn Dealership for some great dinner before we headed to the motel for the night that was also provided by Saturn. It was nice to sleep in a bed for a change. We hung out for the evening eating leftover snacks and watching terrible old Arnold movies. Good times. The next morning's ride to Madison was pretty hilly but good weather. Once again, the Saturn dealership bought us lunch at a local bowling alley. We stayed the night with some friends of the Lusters who have a huge beautiful house from 1904. It was a great fit for us with Luster, DJ, and I staying in the upstairs study. We had a great time at dinner down at State Street Brats. This restaurant is the happening place for Madison. State Street itself is nightlife central for this college/capitol city. We enjoyed some great brat sandwiches and darts while there. For the evening some of us soaked in the hot tub while others just hung out.