Riding in Wisconsin

[quickfeet]

Wisconsin has the best road riding on some of the worst roads...

MTB is actually really fun there too, but Midwest riding is a bit different than mountainous areas obviously. I always tell people that speed is what makes Midwest MTB technical.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by quickfeet

Wisconsin has the best road riding on some of the worst roads...

Very true. And given the condition of the roads elsewhere in the country, that's quite a statement.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by saab2000

That is the price for quiet roads and the land time forgot. I’ve ridden in many places and western and southwestern Wisconsin ranks very highly with any of them. Obviously, some places like Provence and Switzerland, both of which are places I’ve Logged a fair number of miles, are different and legendary in their own right, but that serenity that exists in the rolling and wooded areas west and northwest of Madison are special in their own right.

If my work didn’t have me in Chicago, I’d live in Madison with little hesitation. Yes, winters are a challenge, but the other 8 months kind of make it worth it. I grew up in Appleton, so Wisconsin is very familiar to me.

Over the past few years I spent time riding in River Falls, WI as well. Same stuff. Rolling, winding land with very low traffic.

Same

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Plum Hill

MTB big in Cable area.
Race series: http://wors.org/
Great state for riding.

From a FIBer (actually a FIBWB).

thanks for the suggestion. Though if that's the area where they host some of the northern MTB races, I think i'm way out of my depth...

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by echappist

thanks for the suggestion. Though if that's the area where they host some of the northern MTB races, I think i'm way out of my depth...

All the hills all the time

[rccardr]

The Driftless Area is so spectacular I have to make a pilgrimage there once a year. Dairyland Dare!

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by quickfeet

Wisconsin has the best road riding on some of the worst roads...

There's a Times article about rural Wisconsin roads: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/b...sin-roads.html.

Like hundreds of other small agricultural counties and towns around the country, Trempealeau County in central-west Wisconsin is overwhelmed with aging, damaged roads and not enough money to fix them.

“Our road hasn’t been paved since the ’60s,” said Kellen Nelson, whose family owns Triple Brook Farms on County Road O outside Osseo. “Patching and seal coating is all they’ve ever done.”

The roads look like losers in a barroom brawl. Thick, jagged cracks run down the asphalt like scars, interrupted at points by bruised bumps. In some places, guardrails are tilted off their moorings like a pair of glasses knocked askew...

[thwart]

Originally Posted by rccardr

The Driftless Area is so spectacular I have to make a pilgrimage there once a year. Dairyland Dare!

And the Dare is under new (it has to be better...) management this year, after not being held at all in 2019.

[thunderworks]

While it is true that the road surfaces in Wisconsin can be pretty bad, riding in Trempeauleau County (based in Whitehall at the Oak Park Inn) is the highlight of my riding year. I’ve been going to Whitehall every June for nearly 10 years. We ride 4 or 5 days and it is relentlessly beautiful and pleasant.

[scpknees]

Be sure to check out the Sadistic Century in August held in Menomonie if you move here. Beautiful and really challenging.

[weisan]

My oldest daughter is moving to Madison in July to start a new job. All these "positive reviews" is making me wanting to go check it out...with my bike.

[earlfoss]

[QUOTE=thwart;2661909]Yep, especially clockwise. 2+ miles of curvy, hilly and smooth roads with several hundred feet of elevation gain.

There has been some talk with Epic about hosting a crit on their campus! My team had intended to follow up but my contact moved on to another job before the details were agreed to.

[earlfoss]

Originally Posted by Plum Hill

MTB big in Cable area.
Race series: http://wors.org/
Great state for riding.

From a FIBer (actually a FIBWB).

I thought WORS wasn't happening this year! The owner was going to retire and I was under the impression a lot of the races were going to go by the wayside.

[Frankwurst]

You won't like Wisconsin. There aren't alot of people. The few that are there tend to be polite and friendly. Madison is no fun from what I can remember and I've been there at least 60 times. Truth is Cycling in and around Madison is fantastic. The whole state in general is pretty cycling friendly but the winters can be a bitch. Get past that and it's a pretty nice place to hang your hat. Join the Wisconsin Bike Fed when you arrive. They do alot for the sport and it's a small price to pay for an organization that lobbies for cycling.

[madsciencenow]

I live just South of the Wisconsin line near 94 (Antioch) and do most of my riding in Wisconsin. As you head North West from where I am the riding improves (i.e. if you like hills) and the traffic generally decreases. As others have said, if you can get past the winters it’s a pretty amazing place to ride. I’ve visited Madison a few times and other points around the state and IMHO this is equivalent to ground zero for cycling around WI. I like Madison but would probably choose to live minutes away to avoid the college scene when it’s in full bloom (Fall Football). If that’s your jam then maybe it’s perfect but I’m getting old for the constant chaos.


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