PAW Day #1

Merrill to Rhinelander: 60.59 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 4 hours 32 minutes, average speed: 13.3



This is as beautiful as it can get—tree reflections in water smooth as glass!

Our day began at 6:00 a.m. with a full breakfast at our hotel. We put our luggage in Bubha’s hands for safe keeping, trusting it would show up at our next destination, the Quality Inn at Rhinelander.

We began pedaling towards Rhinelander at 7:00 a.m. experiencing temps in the low 60’s. Our first stop was 13 miles out at Camp New Wood Park. Janice was awaiting our arrival with tempting goodies and plenty of liquid to satisfy our needs as we biked north along the Wisconsin River. The route took us on WI 107 for 23miles of river-front viewing.

We passed the town of Tomahawk and arrived in Rhinelander at 11:30 a.m. where we found lunch at Bugsy’s Sports Bar and learned all about the mythical Hodag. We were still too early to check into our room so we went on a Hodag hunt and found 3 of these creatures to snap photos of. I will remember this route for its many views of the River and for its lack of hills. It was truly some of the best riding we’ve done in a while.

Following our Hodag hunt, we biked back towards Quality Inn. It was recommended that we stop for ice cream at the BP across from the inn but good fortune was not to be had—the ice cream freezer needed repairs and a cool treat could not be purchased at this time. Not to fret, plans for an excellent dinner were next on our list. We checked into our room and washed up to join the tour group at Wolff’s Log Cabin for supper. The Cabin was a log-style outdoor porch which accommodated our hungry group very nicely. New friends were introduced and the topic of biking was popular conversation as we all began to share our travels of day 1 into the Northwoods.