Suzanne's Blog: Day 3 - Paradise MI to Eau Claire, WI

A brief thunderstorm woke me up at 4am Tuesday morning and it poured for about 15 minutes. Good thing I was given a towel for my bike when I checked in! The ride out of Paradise was gorgeous, through woods and lakes, past Tahquamenon Falls and on to Lake Michigan. Once I reached the north end of Lake Michigan, it was down the west side along Green Bay until I crossed the Menominee River into Wisconsin and the city of Marinette. The ride west across Wisconsin to Chippewa Falls was mostly unremarkable, except for the lane closures every few miles that slowed traffic down considerably. That paired with one or two one-lane construction sections in Michigan meant that I arrived in Chippewa Falls and the Leinenkugel's Brewery about a half hour later than I expected, which meant that I missed the last brewery tour of the day. So I bought a bracelet to do some beer sampling - 5 tasters gets you a souvenir tasting glass - and tried some of the beers I was unfamiliar with while I wandered around the Leinie Lodge and checked out the merchandise. When they closed at 6, I headed for Eau Claire and my hotel room. I was pretty tired since I didn't sleep well the night before, and couldn't get back to sleep after the thunderstorm so I basically crashed as soon as I got in. I'm taking my time this morning, going back to Leinenkugel's to get that tour before heading on to Duluth and Fargo.