Day 1: April 25th 77 Miles 1816 feet of elevation gain. Winona to Norwalk
Started in the rain at 9:15, rain for a few hours then tapered off and continued to be off/on throughout the morning. Trempleau state park was pretty, they were working on the bridge. Had to loop back and go back to 35. Lots of semis and traffic on a Friday morning. Lots of rail trail that starts before Trempleau, it was scenic but the riding was kinda dull for my preference. It was a nice way to warm up for the things to come in the upcoming days. The terrain made for good conversations and leisurely sight seeing while cruising on the wet crushed limestone through low lying, post apocalyptic vibe wetlands. Foot traffic was minimal and very respectful throughout the 50 or so miles of trail. We found out the tunnels on the Sparta- Elroy Trail are closed from November to May, we were a week early so we had to reroute onto 71 which runs parallel to the trail to go around the tunnels. We were surprised that bikepacking.com didn’t have any notes on this as this route is posted on their magical site. Plenty of resupply points on the first day. Stayed at the Norfolk Village park where cyclist can camp for free. They didn’t have the showers or bathrooms open yet, but we made due with the gas station a few blocks away. Consumed giant football sized burritos at Bailey’s Dinner to restore some calories. Retired early.
Day 2: 74 Mile, 4200 feet of elevation gain. Norwalk to Viroqua
Woke up early to frost and Mother Nature calling, unfortunately the bathrooms weren’t open so we had to rush to the local gas station to do the business. They just opened, so we were greeted with fresh gas station drip coffee and glazed honey buns for breakfast. Locals were looking at us a little funny, but that’s normal for us. Resupplied and hopped back on the trail for 30 or so more miles until we reached Hillsboro. Grabbed some food at the Kwik Trip for the next leg of the journey. After Hillsboro we finally were on some awesome gravel roads. At mile 48 we hopped on some single track, the trail is named Hoot Owl Trail, careful its easy to miss.After that it was up and down all day long until Viroqua, this was welcomed after all the flat rail trails. Another day full of resupply and easy water filter spots if needed. Stayed with a friend in town, ate some shitty bar food and retired at our friends place. Awesome day of riding.
Day 3: 80 Miles, 6000 feet of elevation gain. Viroqua to Brownsville
Woke up with a weed hangover and promptly went to grab awesome breakfast sandwiches and coffee from Wonderstate Coffee, highly recommended if you are in Viroqua. Made our way to Kwik Trip to load up on more calories and hit the road. Out of Viroqua, you will hit some single track that leads to gravel roads that leads to an awesome state park called Sidie Hollow. This day was full of climbing and descending, which is why we came to the driftless. On this particular day, we traversed Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. It was interesting to see the difference in the landscape from one state to another. We had a crazy tailwind once we started heading north out of Iowa which help push through the hilly route. This was the most fun day in my eyes, constant changing and undulating roads kept this fun and interesting. I was very happy to have the 2.6 tires on the gnarly gravel descents we faced all day, well worth pushing them around on the flats and hills. Snuck into Brownsville around 7 PM. Had awesome pizza at Saxon Hall Grill and slept at the local campground, right on the Mississippi River. We didn’t build a fire, but watched barges and large boats creeping down the river. Woke up a few times to barges shiny their bright lights on the shore, was a very cool experience.
Day 4: 51 Miles, 3500 feet of elevation gain. Brownsville to Winona.
Woke early to warm temps, packed up camp and went to the local gas station to resupply for the last day. Picked up Coffee and pastries and our calories for the day as there aren’t as many resupply spots on this leg of the trip. We kept being told severe storms and wind were in our future for the day. Well we definitely had the wind, which was a bonus since we it was a tailwind 80% of the time. We traversed north going through lots of hilly farmland, soaking in the adventure and reminiscing about the last few days, wishing we could just keep going.
Bike Setup:
Frame: 2021 Salsa Timberjack Ti
Fork: Salsa Cuttrhoat
Wheelset: Dt Swiss 350 hubs, Raceface Arc 30 rims, 9-46 eThirteen 11 speed cassete
Tires: 29 x 2.6 Mezcals tubeless
Shifters: GRX 810 11 Speed
Rear Derailleur: GRX 812 11 Speed
Brakes: GRX 810 Front and RS785 rear
Crankset: Shimano SLX 170MM, 30 tooth chainring
Chain: Shimano 11 Speed
Handlebars: PNW Coast 48CM
Stem: Raceface 60MM
Seatpost: Enve 31.6
Saddle: Specialized Toupe Sport with some extra padding
Bags and gear inside:
Front bag:
Sea to Summit Medium Event dry bag
-40 degree North Face sleeping bag
-Mountain Hardwear Airmesh Hoodie
-REI wool long johns
-Eddie Bauer lightweight pants
-Wool socks
-Lightweight puffy jacket
-PNW wool shirt
DIY harness with Sea to Summit TPU straps
DIY harness support
Moosetreks Stem Bags:
-Food
-Camera
-Electrolytes
-Tooth brush/ paste
-Tire plug kit
-Duoy Wind jacket
-Outdoor Research Helium ll rain jacket
Customer LesonekTop Tube Bag:
10000 Anker Battery bank
2 small 5k battery banks
Cables
More food
Customer Lesonek Frame Bag:
Repair kit
Tolietries
Tent stakes
Tubes
First aid kid
Knee warmers
Fleece gloves
More food
Saddle Bag:
Wayward Rider Louis Harness
10 Liter Outdoor Research Dry Bag
-Lanshan 1 Pro tent
-BIg Agnes Rapide SL sleeping pad 72 x 20”
-Inflation sack
-Outdoor Vitals inflatable pillow
-REI rain pants
-Teva sandals strapped on top
Water Capacity:
1.5 liter on downtube
Camelback Chase Hydration Vest:
-phone
-wallet
-cannabis
-headphones
-1.5 bladder
by kjk00000003
1 Comment
Nice ride!