Didn't ride today, though the weather is (at long last) gorgeous. Instead, I did the walk I'd signed up for weeks ago. The Syttende Mai 17-mile walk from Madison to Stoughton. I thought it'd be easy enough. I know from winter workouts in the gym that I can do 4mph for at least an hour on a 12% grade. This walk would be flatter, and at 4mph it would take me just over 4 hours. Well, 4 hours is a summer evening walk for me, with weekend walks often taking the whole day. So ... easy, right? Not. Must be that when I walk all day I do not average 4mph. Today I did average that for 4.25 hours, and boy do I feel it! Especially after the bus ride home. Still, now I've been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

It was a pretty route, though not much wildlife to see. Lots of songbirds heard but not seen, a few ducks and geese, some squirrels (live and roadkill), one roadkilled raccoon, a brief whiff of skunk from a distance, some tent caterpillars on a tree, and two miniature ponies on leashes. Also met one sassy lady on the bus. She said she was definitely not going to do this again. Another sassy lady in her group said it wasn't that bad, not as bad as giving birth and you did forget that pain after a while. Sassy lade 1 replied, "I remember all five of them!" So I said, "Well, you did that again four more times, then." To which she replied, "That's just because I liked the s*x. This was no fun at all." But I think she was actually having fun. They seemed to be a fun gang of gals. I think they may even qualify as wildlife too.