The ATW route has almost achieved the latitude it needs to start heading east to the gap between the Great Lakes: but the road isn’t going that way just yet: when Mark Beaumont rode the North American leg, he ran into fierce headwinds on this section of the midwest, and as ATW is a faithful reconstruction of his route, it mirrors his attempt to find a detour: so for now it’s another journey south, another journey up and down and a journey that’s sure to burn your legs: there are almost twenty little climbs lying in wait on the stage.
The rollout south on Highway 71 is straight and flat to a bunch of water on the right hand side of the road at two miles. Cue the first steep jaggy climb. The descent down off the top of what is the highest elevation of the stage is just as spectacular, and more, but by five miles the road is climbing again. It’s that sort of a stage.
The bottom of the descent features the crossing of the Wing River at the town of Hewitt and the road hangs a right thereafter to Bertha at nine miles. That’s a straight road whose elevation profile resembles a punk rock haircuit: spiky and all over the place. There’s another short, sharp climb at 420th St at eleven miles followed by a second river crossing, the Little Partridge River, at thirteen miles. Once the road straightens out after the crossing, the main Partridge River flows on the left and the Little Partridge River flows on the right. The highway carries on regardless and after crossing more water at sixteen miles, enters Eagle Bend a mile later. The bend through the town’s a left hander, which straightens out on the exit to cross Eagle Creek before running alongside the meandering stream. The creek runs alongside the road for four miles before crossing back under it at twenty miles just before the finishing straight. The line itself, which is at the lowest elevation of the stage, is at the junction of County Road 80 on Highway 71.
Distance: 21 miles / 34 kilometres
Distance: 21 miles / 34 kilometres
Ascent: 325 feet / 99 metres
RGT Magic Road: 5JDByQbSA0iY
Max elevation: 1450 ft
Min elevation: 1344 ft
Total climbing: 325 ft
Total descent: -368 ft
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