Funny story.
Went for a ride today. Pretty morning. Rode down the Mississippi on the Minnesota side into Iowa. Stopped for gas in a town named Lansing, then crossed over on the metal grate bridge to the Wisconsin side. Headed further south on the Great River Road, then east on County Road C towards Hwy 27. This is amazingly beautiful country by the way. Hills and coulees (valleys) and gently curving two lane roads. Farmland and forest and creeks. You find picturesque little villages with manicured cemeteries. There's Mt. Sterling (it's a town, not a mountain) and Gays Mills (it's a, um, it's a town.) Then south again and onto County Road E. Winding around and back to the Mississippi and finally, after about 120 miles, I stopped for lunch in Prairie du Chien*.
It's just after noon. I pull into a bar which had a sign reading "Second best burger in town." That's the kind of self-deprecating humor I love to support. I order a cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a bottle of Potosi beer as well. Good stuff. The bill is $13.50. Ok. Looking in my little riding wallet...Huh? I thought I had a $20, but, um, nope, I only have $11 in cash and a Discover Card. Literally the worst/least accepted of the credit cards. The bartender/cook/owner/bouncer looks at me, not so much smiling any more, and says, yeah, cash only. I say, I'll need to go on up to the Kwik Trip (it's a gas station) to get some cash. My Discover card isn't a debit card, but if I buy something (I think, hope?) I can get some cash back. No problem, he tells me, then an older lady at the bar pipes in with "how much are ya short?" I say "two-fifty." She says "I got it, don't worry." I protest, she insists, I say thanks, slap down my $11, and I'm outta there.
Hang in there, I'm getting to the funny part.
I ride to the Kwik Trip and refuel but it turns out I can't get cash back because it's not a Debit Card. Hmmmmph. Ok. I call Discover and set up a PIN. Easy. Not sure why I hadn't already done this, but whatever. I hit the ATM and withdraw two twenties. I ride back to the bar and hand the lady $20. She protests, I insist, and I'm outta there again. I ride up Hwy 27 then county road D to the 35 to county F, and holy crap, is it getting MORE beautiful? It really is, but it's also looking like it's gonna rain. By now I've gone about a hundred miles since refueling. I stop at a BP station and look at the weather on my phone. It's looking ominous. I'm at the checkout with a bag of chips and, what's this? I can't find the other $20? Nope, not where I left it. Not anywhere. Must've fallen out of my pocket. Ugh. At least they take Discover.
So, in summary, a cheeseburger (the second best in town), waffle fries, and a beer set me back $51 today. And I eventually got rained on too.
*speaking of second, Prairie du Chien is the second oldest city in Wisconsin. Green Bay is the oldest. Jesuit missionaries followed the Fox river outta the Green Bay area south and west almost all the way to the Wisconsin River (they had to portage at the spot that was subsequently named Portage). They then took the Wisconsin River to the mighty Mississippi. I find it fascinating that the city, which is on the Mississippi, wasn't actually first settled by Europeans who had travelled up the Mississippi.
/still had a great day
Went for a ride today. Pretty morning. Rode down the Mississippi on the Minnesota side into Iowa. Stopped for gas in a town named Lansing, then crossed over on the metal grate bridge to the Wisconsin side. Headed further south on the Great River Road, then east on County Road C towards Hwy 27. This is amazingly beautiful country by the way. Hills and coulees (valleys) and gently curving two lane roads. Farmland and forest and creeks. You find picturesque little villages with manicured cemeteries. There's Mt. Sterling (it's a town, not a mountain) and Gays Mills (it's a, um, it's a town.) Then south again and onto County Road E. Winding around and back to the Mississippi and finally, after about 120 miles, I stopped for lunch in Prairie du Chien*.
It's just after noon. I pull into a bar which had a sign reading "Second best burger in town." That's the kind of self-deprecating humor I love to support. I order a cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a bottle of Potosi beer as well. Good stuff. The bill is $13.50. Ok. Looking in my little riding wallet...Huh? I thought I had a $20, but, um, nope, I only have $11 in cash and a Discover Card. Literally the worst/least accepted of the credit cards. The bartender/cook/owner/bouncer looks at me, not so much smiling any more, and says, yeah, cash only. I say, I'll need to go on up to the Kwik Trip (it's a gas station) to get some cash. My Discover card isn't a debit card, but if I buy something (I think, hope?) I can get some cash back. No problem, he tells me, then an older lady at the bar pipes in with "how much are ya short?" I say "two-fifty." She says "I got it, don't worry." I protest, she insists, I say thanks, slap down my $11, and I'm outta there.
Hang in there, I'm getting to the funny part.
I ride to the Kwik Trip and refuel but it turns out I can't get cash back because it's not a Debit Card. Hmmmmph. Ok. I call Discover and set up a PIN. Easy. Not sure why I hadn't already done this, but whatever. I hit the ATM and withdraw two twenties. I ride back to the bar and hand the lady $20. She protests, I insist, and I'm outta there again. I ride up Hwy 27 then county road D to the 35 to county F, and holy crap, is it getting MORE beautiful? It really is, but it's also looking like it's gonna rain. By now I've gone about a hundred miles since refueling. I stop at a BP station and look at the weather on my phone. It's looking ominous. I'm at the checkout with a bag of chips and, what's this? I can't find the other $20? Nope, not where I left it. Not anywhere. Must've fallen out of my pocket. Ugh. At least they take Discover.
So, in summary, a cheeseburger (the second best in town), waffle fries, and a beer set me back $51 today. And I eventually got rained on too.
*speaking of second, Prairie du Chien is the second oldest city in Wisconsin. Green Bay is the oldest. Jesuit missionaries followed the Fox river outta the Green Bay area south and west almost all the way to the Wisconsin River (they had to portage at the spot that was subsequently named Portage). They then took the Wisconsin River to the mighty Mississippi. I find it fascinating that the city, which is on the Mississippi, wasn't actually first settled by Europeans who had travelled up the Mississippi.
/still had a great day
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