Deflection

It rained last night in LaCrosse, so I worked on an essay in the hotel until 10:00 this morning. Since the weather seemed to be stable, I drove to Sparta and the weather seemed like it was good enough to go bicycling and the temperate was in the 70s. So, I got a pass and traveled to Norwalk and spent a growling 30 minutes biking up the grade to the northwest Tunnel Number 3 that is about 4,000 feet long. I walked into the tunnel for a few hundred feet and observed the method of cutting the rock through the tunnel. (Since I was by myself, it seem best not to walk through the tunnel. No one has taken refuge in the tunnel, but that is a long was by your self.) There is plenty of water seeping through the rock and there is leaching coming from the cracks. (For those that re not aware of the terminology, it is the leaching that will eventually form stalactites.). The return trip was easy going down the grade, but it wore me out.

But it did not wear me out that I was not going to try it again, So I traveled to Wilton and biked two miles northwest up the grade to Tunnel Number 2. This time I could see through the tunnel. It had stone blocks on the sides and stone bricks to make up the arch. But the area has sedimentary rocks. Although there is sandstone in the area, the rock seems to be harder than sandstone but probably not limestone. Tomorrow, I will read up on my road side geology to see if I can determine the type of stone that they blasted through to make the tunnels.

Since I was on the primary highways anyway, I took the primary highways back to Whitewater (no interstate highways), and I got back by 7:30 after driving through a few rain storms. But after all of the hard work peddle up the old railroad grades, I am ready for bed. The problem with biking up the old railroad grades, is that the grade is continuous. It never stops, so you never get a changes to obtain easy peddling.

Roger