Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.trophyoftexas
10-06-09, 02:01 PM
I've just returned from three and a half weeks of riding in Wisconsin and Michigan and just want to make a little mention of these two events.
TIRE is a three day event-ride that loops each day out of Whitehall, Wisconsin and was organized and is lead by Ron McKernan. Ron is also known as cycleonron on youtube where he has posted several video's from this and other events he has been involved with. TIRE stands for "Trempealeau Invitational Ride Event" and is one of several rides that the Bike Club Trempealeau County sponsors. I've never ridden in Wisconsin before but I can say for sure I'll go back! WONDERFUL roads through BEAUTIFUL back country farms and small villages....in short, a GREAT time was had by all of the 30-or so people that came for this 1st time event! Really nice climbs, long and graceful decents, lots of little places to eat, friendly people, this event has it all...including the crazy-low price of $25.00 for ALL THREE DAYS! They did a rolling sag wagon with water, sports drink, power bar-type foods...all included in the entry fee! I can't say enough about how nice Ron was and all of the information he "passed out" to all of us from outside of the area! There will be a Bicycle Magizine write up on this event sometime in the future as one of their writers was along, too. And if you are ever in the area be sure to visit the Memorial at Arcadia....simply incredible! I'll post some pictures on my website and advise here when I can get them worked and loaded.
From there it was on to the anomaly that is Michigan!...I mean, really, a peninsula in the middle of a continent! In fact, Michigan is just one beautiful peninsula after another....Kewanau, Leelanau, Old Mission, and the big Mitten itself!
I did so many rides up there that I am really hard put to pick a favorite but year in and year out the Leeland Harvest Tour that the Cherry Capital Cycling Club sponsors is my "never miss" event...heck, I live in Texas but I've done this ride 5 of the last 6 years and have already blocked out the weekend in September for next year! Just about perfect roads, best food ever at rest area's, and views that are just super....lakes, streams, and dunes at almost every mile-point, great little towns with wonderful places to hang out to eat and drink!(if you haven't done "Art's Tavern" in Glen Arbor you might as well kill yourself, lifes over, done!...best chili EVER!...and that's from a guy that KNOWS good chili!) Pictures to follow when I get the Wisconsin stuff done, too!
The ONLY disappointment on the whole trip was the condition of the road surface of the famous Brockway Mountain Drive up near Copper Harbor, Michigan. The view was spectacular! But the road sucked, big time! I've been told about BMD for YEARS and how wonderful it was...I'm afraid "was" is the key word here! I had intended to ride 3 days on the Kewanau Peninsula with each day's riding finishing up by coming back into Copper Harbor via this well-known route...well, I'll tell ya, the shorter, steeper end down into the town is SO badly broken up into small chunks of asphault that it took ALL of the fun out of this great little downhill....you could hardly pick a line to ride, much to rough to enjoy on a road bike so I spent a day and checked outta town! I took time to tell quite a few locals that, in light of all the complaining I hear about the ecconomy in some of those smaller places, I would think that to lose the tourist dollars that I and others may have spent would be taken into consideration when it's time to direct local money for different projects.....the reaction was what I expected...."we're so poor up here, we don't have this, we don't have that, they may go back to gravel for our county roads"....yeah, well you might tell the locals to open their businesses up before 10am and to stay open after 4pm so some of us dummy's can drop a few bucks in the local pockets! I was there for a total of 12 hours, spent $165.00 and said the heck with it...went down to Mackinac Island where they don't even need the money...but sure know how to take it from you!
Anyway, great trip, great places, great people, great weather...counting the days 'til next September!
TIRE is a three day event-ride that loops each day out of Whitehall, Wisconsin and was organized and is lead by Ron McKernan. Ron is also known as cycleonron on youtube where he has posted several video's from this and other events he has been involved with. TIRE stands for "Trempealeau Invitational Ride Event" and is one of several rides that the Bike Club Trempealeau County sponsors. I've never ridden in Wisconsin before but I can say for sure I'll go back! WONDERFUL roads through BEAUTIFUL back country farms and small villages....in short, a GREAT time was had by all of the 30-or so people that came for this 1st time event! Really nice climbs, long and graceful decents, lots of little places to eat, friendly people, this event has it all...including the crazy-low price of $25.00 for ALL THREE DAYS! They did a rolling sag wagon with water, sports drink, power bar-type foods...all included in the entry fee! I can't say enough about how nice Ron was and all of the information he "passed out" to all of us from outside of the area! There will be a Bicycle Magizine write up on this event sometime in the future as one of their writers was along, too. And if you are ever in the area be sure to visit the Memorial at Arcadia....simply incredible! I'll post some pictures on my website and advise here when I can get them worked and loaded.
From there it was on to the anomaly that is Michigan!...I mean, really, a peninsula in the middle of a continent! In fact, Michigan is just one beautiful peninsula after another....Kewanau, Leelanau, Old Mission, and the big Mitten itself!
I did so many rides up there that I am really hard put to pick a favorite but year in and year out the Leeland Harvest Tour that the Cherry Capital Cycling Club sponsors is my "never miss" event...heck, I live in Texas but I've done this ride 5 of the last 6 years and have already blocked out the weekend in September for next year! Just about perfect roads, best food ever at rest area's, and views that are just super....lakes, streams, and dunes at almost every mile-point, great little towns with wonderful places to hang out to eat and drink!(if you haven't done "Art's Tavern" in Glen Arbor you might as well kill yourself, lifes over, done!...best chili EVER!...and that's from a guy that KNOWS good chili!) Pictures to follow when I get the Wisconsin stuff done, too!
The ONLY disappointment on the whole trip was the condition of the road surface of the famous Brockway Mountain Drive up near Copper Harbor, Michigan. The view was spectacular! But the road sucked, big time! I've been told about BMD for YEARS and how wonderful it was...I'm afraid "was" is the key word here! I had intended to ride 3 days on the Kewanau Peninsula with each day's riding finishing up by coming back into Copper Harbor via this well-known route...well, I'll tell ya, the shorter, steeper end down into the town is SO badly broken up into small chunks of asphault that it took ALL of the fun out of this great little downhill....you could hardly pick a line to ride, much to rough to enjoy on a road bike so I spent a day and checked outta town! I took time to tell quite a few locals that, in light of all the complaining I hear about the ecconomy in some of those smaller places, I would think that to lose the tourist dollars that I and others may have spent would be taken into consideration when it's time to direct local money for different projects.....the reaction was what I expected...."we're so poor up here, we don't have this, we don't have that, they may go back to gravel for our county roads"....yeah, well you might tell the locals to open their businesses up before 10am and to stay open after 4pm so some of us dummy's can drop a few bucks in the local pockets! I was there for a total of 12 hours, spent $165.00 and said the heck with it...went down to Mackinac Island where they don't even need the money...but sure know how to take it from you!
Anyway, great trip, great places, great people, great weather...counting the days 'til next September!