2nd ride. Loop 6

This is Brent before we went down a hill on loop 6. Count another 30 miles in the books.

Top of the world loop

The first official ride has been accomplished.  Absolutely beautifull area. We'll do another loop this afternoon.

7 Days Until Wisconsin!!!

Image via WikipediaBy:  Jeff

Brent and I have exactly one week until we go on our grand tour of Trempealeau, Wisconsin.  We have been adding the miles and making final preparations for our trip.  Last week was one of my best cycling weeks ever.  In 7 days I covered 140 miles!  In the next 7 days I hope to cover a few more miles and let my body get just a little recovery in before we log some big miles in the rolling hills of West Wisconsin.  I have to admit I am a little nervous about the hills, but I know I will be able to eventually get over them.  Now all we have to do is to pack, and pray that the weather is great, or at least decent! I'm not sure we have a proper name for this tour yet, Brent suggested Tour De Wiss, but I'm not so sure on that.  Any suggestions? We will be riding six different loops over three days while we are there. For the fun of it we are calling them stages.  Anyway, I am really looking forward to this trip. I will have my bike in the shop early this week just to make sure everything is in working order before we go on the trip.

Here is the group ride I did with the Elkhart Bike Shop this Wednesday:

Related articles

• Have Bike, Will Travel - Trempealeau County Wisconsin (pursuitoffit.com)

Have Bike, Will Travel - Trempealeau County Wisconsin

Image via WikipediaBy: Jeff

Brent and I have been planning for some time now to take an extended weekend biking trip.  Last year we talked about taking such a trip, but just ran out of time.  Then Bicycling Magazine ran this article on Trempealeau County Wisconsin.  As we read and re-read the article, it became more clear to us that this might be a great area for us to try our first cycling trip. We acquired brochures in the mail, which is mandatory for any traveling excursions, plus as much as I love technology, there is nothing like a good travel brochure!!!

Here is what the Tempealeau County Bike Club has to say about the cycling in their county, "Breathtaking scenery, rolling hills, narrow ridge tops, and broad valleys with rural farm settings are part of the seventeen (17) carefully planned loops within the Trempealeau County Bicycle Loop.  There are loops for all occasions and all types of bicyclists.  The paved back roads with little traffic and willing folks to help you along the loops add personality to a beautiful rural setting along Western Wisconsin's Mississippi River Valley."  Sounds intriguing right?  The review from Bicycling Magazine also favored it in a positive light, "It's pretty, sure enough. For the past hour, we pedaled through a patriotic anthem's worth of scenic cliches— spacious blue skies, amber waves of grain, even a fruited plain or two—and from this vista there is lots more of the same, bathed in late-afternoon sunlight."


I for one am very excited and ready to try it out.  Who knows it might just be a really good marketing job.  Either way we will be cycling for the weekend, in a place that is not Indiana.  We have our trip scheduled for mid- July.  That gives us exactly four and a half months to train properly for this outing.  So here are the trip preliminary plans:

• We will be doing six of the seventeen available loops
• Trip will be 4 days
• Cycling will cover approximately 196 miles
• Cycling will include climbing of approximately 13,070 feet

It is time to start training.  The hotel is booked, plans are underway.  We have plans for blogging about our trip preparation, live blogs from the trip, photos, and obviously a thorough review of our trip.