Pedal and Party in Pardeeville

40-Mile Pardeeville Route
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 29 minutes, average speed: 11.7

We spent the night before our Pardeeville ride in the Comfort Suites Hotel near Portage, WI. Joining us for this event were Alan and Michelle Andersen from Spring Valley, MN. After checking into our room on Friday, we drove into Portage for cocktails at the Blarney Stone Bar & Grill. While chatting with our bartender, Carolyn, Cimaroli’s was mentioned as a great place to try for our evening meal. We took Carolyn’s advice and drove out into the country to find the supper club. The restaurant was packed full but we decided to add our name to the 45-minute wait list. The food was good but the noise level made it hard to relax and enjoy our meal. Back at the hotel, we rested in the pool area and chatted with a few guys taking part in a Tough Mudder running contest? We found out that this contest is a nationally known, 10-mile obstacle course where the participants run, climb and sludge through any apparatus in their way to get to the finish line. It was exhausting just listening to these young men describe their event. We then shared our biking activities and our plans to ride in Pardeeville in the morning. It was now getting late so we wished the guys good luck with their race and found our room to get some rest before our 7:00 a.m. breakfast appointment with Michelle and Alan.

Dennis and I met up with the Andersens following breakfast and caravanned towards Pardeeville, WI for our ride start at Chandler Park. Registration was in progress so we joined the group getting ride information. Pardeeville bandanas were given to each rider with warnings to take precautions around the poisonous wild parsnip growing along our route. We were on route before 9:00 a.m. and enjoying the rolling countryside. The temperature was in the 80’s at ride start with a promise of higher temps later in the day. It instantly felt muggy but it was not storming as predicted so we had no complaints.

Our first rest stop came at the 17-mile mark. Eggs and other snacks were being served here so we stopped to take a rest and chat with other riders. We didn’t want to stop for long because the temperature was heating up. It was only 10:30 in the morning and already the temperature was in the 90’s. So, on down the road we pedaled.


This route provided so many beautiful sites. I enjoyed being on my single bike so that I could really enjoy the view. It was a little hard to take photos but I did manage to get some beautiful shots once stopped and this gave me time to rest along the way. I rolled past an Amish lady mowing her lawn on some kind of riding lawnmower attached to a horse and also passed many Amish children out in their yards. They were all friendly and waved as we passed.


Our next stop was at an Amish grocery store but we didn’t find much of interest here so we went on down the road and pulled into an Amish furniture store—Hey Dennis, do you think we could get that home? I found the perfect porch glider made out of permanent decking material with cow heads for back rests. Alan and Michelle offered to bring one of our bikes home so that we could fit the glider in the van. This was just meant to be so we asked the salesman to put a “Sold” sign on the piece and promised to return when our ride was over. The Amish do not take credit cards and that is all we had on us. It was quite the adventure getting back to the store to collect our seat but we are very happy with our purchase.


We made it back to Pardeeville by 1:30 and in time to join all riders for a party at the Caddy Shack Bar and Grill. Burgers, salads, desserts and beer were provided by Kay Lum and her ride organization team.


The live music was being held out on the patio for those tough enough to withstand the heat. The bar was very crowded so we ate our burgers and began our drive back to the hotel. We ended this mini vacation with a DQ treat and an evening of cards and games with Alan and Michelle. We are happy that biking is becoming more popular and more biking adventures are being offered to allow us to see and experience a variety of travelling opportunities. It is always extra special to share these adventures with good friends and biking companions.