Help me plan a little vacation
 

Am planning a 4-day weekend with my girlfriend for mid-July. We live in Evanston and just want to get away from the city for a bit. We're thinking of driving somewhere and staying. I'm planning on doing plenty of riding.

So: since I don't know of any really good places to go (within a few hrs drive), would you recommend some good places to stay and do some road cycling (or road-bike appropriate trails)? We're thinking Michigan or Wisconsin, but really have no idea where to go.

Check out this http://www.traillink.com/viewtrail.aspx?AcctID=6016309 in Minnesota. We stayed in Lanesboro at a BandB. It was just about perfect for a long weekend. The trail has some challenges to the east near the river. If your girlfriend doesn't ride Lanesboro is quaint.

Driftless area of Wisconsin. 3 hours from Evanston. Plenty of climbing. Stay here, http://www.brewerycreek.com/

End of July, Firehouse 50 "race". http://www.firehouse50.org/gvfh50/ 6 hours from Evanston. Beautiful north woods. Stay here, http://www.lakewoodsresort.com/

+1 on the Root River / Harmony-Preston trails in MN. All paved rail trail. This is in the MN part of the driftless area, so you can get into some pretty good hills if you hit the roads.

We stayed in Lanesboro at The Green Gables Motel and rode 3 days
1) 50 mi from Lanesboro to Harmony and back with a rest stop in Preston and lunch in Harmony. Did another 10 mi on some roads around in the hills
2) 34 mi from Lanesboro to Peterson and back. Stop at Julies in Peterson
3) 40 miles from Houston to Peterson. Rest stop in Rushford, Lunch at Julies in Peterson, Be sure to stop at the pie place in Whalen

Trail has one notable hill on the east end near Houston, and several notable hills on the south west end near Harmony.

Another interesting rail trail is Elroy-Sparta in WI ... essentially 4 rail trails from Reedsburg near the Dells to Lacross. The most interesting section is between Elroy and Sparta http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com/

Galena, Il is pretty nice for a romantic getaway. I was just there a few weeks ago for part of the TOMRV. It is a scenic little town, plenty of good hills, and really good food. As a bonus, you could easily ride in three states. It can be a bit pricey with lots of B&Bs, but you could look for something nearby to be cheaper. We stayed overnight in Dubuque, IA.

If you are looking for good hills to climb, head on down to Chestnut mountain. I didn't expect the climb to be that intense. Additionally, The Wall(8-9th paragraph) is even closer to Galena.

Another option would be to follow the first part, of the second day, route out of Dubuque. The first 20-25 miles are the best, although there are some pretty long, but doable, hills. There was enough of a shoulder that I felt safe, but it is foggy in the morning. Bring a rear blinky.

http://www.qcbc.org/tomrv/packet.html

If you like this, you should sign up next year.

After posting this I recalled that sections of the Root River Trail will be widened and resurfaced this year. Check http://www.rootrivertrail.org/ for details

I would also recommend Galena for a nice getaway. For biking, try Rocky Hill Road and Blackjack Road, both a few miles southeast of downtown Galena. There both 15%+ grades with some fantastic views from the top.

+2 on Root River. We stayed there this weekend in Lanesboro at Brewster's Red Hotel. He can give ride routes outside of the trail. Currently you can get all the way to Houston (30 miles east of Lanesboro), and to Preston (22 miles west of Lanesboro), but the fork to Fountain is closed for resurfacing until around July 4. Then for a month starting July 4th the Lanesboro to Preston section will be paved. Best place to stay is Lanesboro. Other parts of the trail, not so much. There is also camping available there too, at the city park and in private and DNR sites.