Redefining what is meant by “Midwest” does not make your original statement any more credible.

Okay. Cut out the parts you want. It doesn’t change the fact that there is a lot of territory between towns and many of the smaller towns a mere shells of towns. You admit that you touring days are long gone. Mine aren’t. I’ve toured in the heart of the Midwest several times in the last 2 decades, including the Great Lakes area twice in the last 2 years. Kinda got a bit more “on the ground” experience than you do.

Actually, you don’t. You previously stated you’ve done 10,000 miles - I’ve done much more than that.

But this thread is precisely about touring MY WAY!

And my way can be easily done without a heavy load, therefore does NOT require a touring bike.

You’ve made your one and only useful contribution in your first post…
You can keep your chest thumping to yourself. (Or a proper touring thread)

I, on the other hand, prefer a bike I can ride 10,000 miles a year within 100 mile of my own house, sleeping in my own proper bed! I will however, take that same bike for a couple overnights in a state park or a well stocked commercial campground (mind you, I didn’t elaborate in my OP, I’m going overseas on those trips). If I have to eat at a restaurant or eat peanut butter crackers for those couple dinners, that’s just fine.

Like I said, read my first post.

(Not to say this thread isn’t already done to death saved from some old timer insist on perpetuating outdated way of touring)

p.s.
All your posts have odd looking square blocks embedded inline where quotes should be. I don't know what you’re posting with. But it’s really annoying to read with those things getting in the way

Context. Context. Context. You said your touring days are long behind you. How long behind you? My touring experience isn’t. I have toured a lot in the last 2 decades and a whole lot in the last 2 to 10 years. I noticed this problem of food deserts in 2003 and it hasn’t gotten better over the years. Hell, it hasn’t gotten any better when driving…which I’ve done a lot to get to start points.

Your claim is farfetched, regardless of how you try to define the midwest or change the "context."

You specifically mentioned Wisconsin -- here is a map showing 6,272 grocery stores in Wisconsin (2024). It is hardly a food desert. You would have to go out of your way to bike 3 days (150-300 miles) and not encounter one of these stores, so the idea that you'd routinely be 3 days away from food is outright silly.

Being a bit disingenuous about that map aren’t you? Let’s look at it a bit closer. I found your map here. Yea, there are a lot of stores in high population areas. I don’t know of a lot of people who want to tour there. Out in the hinterlands, like along the Mississippi, the density of “grocery stores” falls off quite a bit as is shown in the red outline. Also look at the green line along the Mississippi from Minneapolis to La Crosse which is part of the MRT. There aren’t a lot of anything in that 188 miles. I also did the 136 miles from La Crosse to Dubuque. That’s close to your 300 miles with very little in terms of grocery stores along the way.



Your point is ever weaker when you look at the legend. These don’t appear to be “grocery stores”. The map is a map of all stores that have some kind of food, i.e. mostly convenience stores. Not the same as a “grocery store”. Only one of the 10 store listed in the legend could be called a “grocery store”.



The same site lists the type of “grocery store” in the map. The vast majority of the business listed are convenience stores which aren’t really known for their selection of true “groceries”. The chart is a bit weird and I’m not sure why they have broken it up the way they have but if we just consider the types of stores to around 2/3 of the circle, there are about 3200 stores listed. Of those 2400 are convenience stores and about 800 are actual grocery/supermarkets. That’s about 75% convenience stores and 25% grocery stores. And, as the initial map shows, those stores aren’t evenly distributed across the state.


This site doesn’t include convenience stores and they say there are 2060 grocery stores mostly concentrated in Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay which account for about 900 of the total.

What are you smoking? There are many food stores shown along that 188 mile stretch, or within a stone's throw of it. I doubt you'd ever be more than 10 miles from a store.

Does that map include bars?

Do you not know how to read a map? On the Wisconsin side of the river and hewing close to the river, there are 7 dots between the Helmart in St Paul and Trempelau which is most of that 188 mile trip. There are more stores near La Crosse but generally, that would mean about 26 miles between them. However, those aren’t “grocery stores”. They are convenience stores. Yes they have edible food but they aren’t someplace you could buy food to prepare a meal in camp. I visited many of them as I made my way down the river.

I will say that on that leg of my trip, I didn’t camp because that leg was during the Labor Day holiday and campgrounds were full. I stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants over the 3 days it took me to transit that section. However, even that was not as easy a task as one might think. There were slim pickins’ all along that section for ever restaurants.

So have we abandoned the rack mount discussion? If so, let me know.

The stores don't have to fall directly on the green line for them to be viable sources of food. But, even if you don't venture off that route, 26 miles between food stores still refutes your claim that you must carry 3 days of food because you're in a "food desert."

But, the mods are correct -- this is far off the subject, so no more.

not totally wet but fearful.
there was a blog, Cycling in the South Bay, long gone now, where the writer added a rear rack to his carbon road bike. Then set off on essentially a tour.
my thought a bad idea.
a few months later crack, a seat stay fractured.

he had a carbon repair shop fix it and added carbon tape to reinforce.

I stopped out reading the blog diligently and near the end he was on a different bike.

metallic has its place.