Ride Across Wisconsin (Elroy-Sparta, 400, Glacial Drumlin, and Hank Aaron Trails)

Somewhere along the trail this year I thought about what types of rides I wanted to do going forward. Some people ride coast to coast. Some ride country to country. Some ride continent to continent. What I decided I wanted for my goal was to ride across individual states, finding the best route or set of trails in each state. Since I have done Iowa and Illinois, as well as Maryland (Pittsburgh to Washington, DC), the next state rides in my area would be Wisconsin and Missouri. I decided to do Wisconsin this year and save Missouri for next spring.

There is a Ride Across Wisconsin, a two-day, 235-mile ride in mid August. I'm sure back-to-back century rides on gravel in mid August sounds like a great time for some people, but I'll pass on that opportunity. However, the route itself looks good, and I decided to try it as a four-day trip at the peak of the fall color change. Because of the mid-October evening temperatures, I decided to make this trip a credit-card tour and stay in hotels and Airbnbs instead of camping.

Palatine to Chicago and then La Crosse

Day 0: 38 miles, 600 feet of elevation gain. I rode from home to downtown Chicago by way of the Des Plaines River Trail, the North Branch Trail, and the Lakefront Trail. It's a pretty nice ride. The forest preserves are very nice. The streets in between are okay once you get used to the crossings and turns.

What made this ride particularly interesting was that it was Marathon Day in Chicago, and the marathon route went between the two Chicago train stations. I couldn't take the local train in because I would be outside the loop and wouldn't have any good way to get inside to Union Station for the Amtrak Empire Builder ride to La Crosse. So I rode in north of the marathon route and over to the lakefront, then down to Grant Park and finally back up the inside.

I arrived just as the marathon route was clearing. In fact, I ended up riding my bike on the marathon route. I didn't realize it until I got to a section of street that had carpeting on it and people ringing cowbells. It was interesting seeing the different runners who had finished their marathons, as well as those still running who were being cheered on by the crowd.

Anyway, I arrived at Union Station without issues and then went inside and down a long stairway to the ground floor. It turns out that street level in this part of the city is actually on the second floor. In the future, I'll look for an entrance at ground level vs street level.

The train to La Crosse goes up to Milwaukee and then across Wisconsin. I arrived in La Crosse just after 8 p.m. The ride to the Candlewood Suites hotel is just over a mile. The first half is very small-town white picket fences and porches. The second half is part of the Elroy-Sparta bike trail. Although it was dark, the ride was safe and uneventful. As I arrived, I stopped next door at Rocky Rococo's for a slice of pizza and took it back to the room.

La Crosse to Wilton

Day 1: 54 miles, 1,000 feet of elevation gain. It was cold this morning. I needed extra layers for the first hour or so. I decided to start out heading west. I went over the bridge to Minnesota and put my feet down by the Welcome sign so I could truly ride border to border. I also wanted to make the connection to my Minnesota ride from August, which came down the Mississippi River through La Crescent just to the west.

After crossing the border, I turned around and headed east on the Elroy-Sparta Trail. It warmed up into a beautiful day. The bike trail passes corn fields and wooded areas. The trail also includes three tunnels. I rode through two of them today and have the longer one to go tomorrow.

I stopped for lunch at the Sparta Family Restaurant. It was about a mile off trail and uphill, but it was the closest / best option available. It's one of those places with the pies at the front counter and you pay up front instead of paying the wait staff. Lunch was good and so was the pie. And it was nice to be able to start off downhill to get back to the trail.

Airbnb options are quite limited along the trail. But I found a nice one in Wilton just above a retail shop. And just down the street is the Hitchin' Post bar and grill. And it just so happened that the Green Bay Packers were on Monday Night Football. So I got to meet some really nice people from small-town Wisconsin and enjoy MNF with their team playing.

Wilton to Baraboo

Day 2: 58 miles, 1,300 feet of elevation gain. Another good day on the trail. The third tunnel was interesting. It was raining / dripping inside almost the whole way through the tunnel. With the water is a good bit of erosion / potholes. There were some other bikers taking their bikes for a walk through the tunnel. I found I could do more of a scooter-like approach, mostly riding with an occasional foot down to manage the more difficult parts.

In Elroy I picked up the 400 State Trail. That ends in Reedsburg where I stopped for lunch at the Deli Bean. From there it's mostly back roads over to Baraboo. There are other ways to go between Reedsburg and Madison, but I wanted to see Baraboo and the Devils Lake area. I found an Airbnb-listed campground / cabin just south of Baraboo at Skillet Creek Campground. It was a tiny cabin, but it had heat and running water, so it was good. There was also a nice restaurant / brewery called Tumbled Rock about a mile down the road for dinner.

Baraboo to Jefferson

Day 3: 79 miles, 2,600 feet of elevation gain. The morning was cold again. But I didn't need extra layers for very long. About a mile past the campground is a serious climb up into the Devil's Lake area. But once I made the climb, the fall colors were incredible. The paved road turns to gravel, then the gravel becomes a two-track, then it picks up a bike path. You know you're out the middle of nowhere when you pass a sign that says "Rescue Area 3".  Shortly after that I came around the turn and found the view pictured on the right. Just gorgeous.

South of Baraboo is the Sauk Prairie Recreation Area. Part of the trail includes signage documenting the edge of the glacial deposits to the north (the moraine), the outwash plain in front, and the Driftless Area with no glaciation to the west. Fascinating and beautiful to be able to see this geology from a single vantage point.

From there, there is a bike trail into Middleton and then over to Madison. The trail goes right by Lake Mendota and the UW-Madison campus. Further east it becomes the Glacial Drumlin trail. The prettiest colors of the day came just as I was crossing the river into Jefferson.

I decided to make this a long day and get as far across as I could. Jefferson is a good spot because it only leaves 50+ miles to Milwaukee, it is the joining point for a bike trail that heads down to Rockford, and because there was a convenient hotel here. 

Jefferson to Milwaukee

Day 4: 54 miles, 1,000 feet of elevation gain. After reviewing the weather forecast the night before, I decided to take a break here. We're only two hours from home and my wife was willing to pick me up. The weather today was miserable, with strong headwinds and rain predicted all day. So I took 10 days off and came back to finish the ride when the weather was better.

It ended up being an amazing choice. The colors were stunning. This is also a very interesting ride that transitions from rural to suburban to very urban, all on bike trails. The ride effectively ends at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee and then you take side streets over to the lakefront.

I rode over to the lake and then found a local eatery for pizza. I then caught a Lyft back to my car in Jefferson for the ride home.

Epilogue

Four days and 245 miles to ride Wisconsin border to border. This was my favorite ride of the year. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was the reduced daily average mileage. Certainly it was also the time of the year and the brilliant fall colors. And part of it was being able to get sleep every night vs. the challenges of camping. In any case, I would definitely do this ride again and highly recommend it to others.