Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa/Illinois Driftless Ride - Day 1 - June 2nd 2013 - 285 miles

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I didn't get a chance to ride this area last year, so I planned to make my first jaunt of the season a trip to this magnificent riding area. The initial plan was to ride up there with my buddy Jim, for a nice Saturday-Sunday over-nighter. Unfortunately, Jim had a bike issue, so he was unable to accompany me for my 3rd trip in the area with him. Luckily, since this was now a solo ride, I was able to change the days of the ride to be Sunday-Monday, as Saturday turned out to be a poor riding day due to the weather. This was my 4th time riding in this area in 5 seasons, and I hope to get back up there for an extended trip later this summer/early fall.

My plan was to ride I-90 up into Janesville, WI, then take route 14 all the way to the Mississippi. While scouting the maps of the area, I made sure to take an alternative route around Madison in an attempt to bi-pass any traffic issues related to larger city riding. I jumped off of 14 in Oregon, WI, and took a county road west to Mt Horeb, WI, taking route 78 north, reconnecting with route 14 in Black Earth, WI. This is the area in which route 14 becomes very hilly, and the rest of the ride west was extremely scenic. Also, my entire ride up until reaching Black Earth was very gloomy; the sky had been grey my whole ride with the temperature in the upper 60s, and I experienced some very windy conditions while filling up in Evansville, WI. I stopped in Spring Green, WI for lunch, and by the time I left the Culvers parking lot, the grey clouds had almost completely disappeared, displaying white fluffy clouds and blue skies the rest of my journey. The temperature hovered in the low 70s, and the wind died down significantly.

(side note: As I sat for lunch, I couldn't help but overhear the conversations of a group of you Canadians who had just crossed the border early that morning, heading south for a vacation. One of the young men in the group asked the rest of the group to promise him that if anything happened to him on this trip, he wanted them to give him "a whole bunch of horse tranquilizers," and to drop him off on the Canadian border. This statement prompted a discussion of the nightmares that these Canadians had heard from family and friends, in which they got sick, or were injured, while visiting "the States," and the massive bills they accrued while receiving treatment.)

This route was all new to me, which was my intent. I wanted to make this a new experience, even though I've ridden this area many times. I've been on 14 into La Crosse, WI, so I took a slight detour by taking route 56 west of Viroqua, riding the winding roads out of the hills down into Genoa, WI. (Sorry Genoa, IL; Genoa, WI is much more beautiful). I was able to shoot some handlebar footage with my point and shoot camera, and have included it below. This is 8 minutes of uncut riding, and if you have the time to watch the entire thing, keep your eyes to the left and right sides of the screen. The video seems blurry, as the initial footage was extremely shaky, and I had to use the stabilization effect in my video editing software. I actually like the way it came out, since the HD video actually looks reminiscent of the old Super8 home camera. I've included a map showing the exact route of the footage, AND I've added a couple of perfect songs to accompany the video. The last shot takes place at the scenic overlook from Bergen Bluff, over 200 feet above the Mississippi!


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*panoramic view from Bergen Bluff

You'll notice towards the end of the video, as I'm heading up the road to the overlook, there are 3 people on the left hand side of the screen, as well as one more at the very top. These were area longboarders, who were "bombing" the road to the lookout. You can't really tell in the video, but that road has at least a 45 degree grade to it. Right before I left, I walked over to use the restroom, and one of the guys came up and asked where I was from. He was probably no older than 25, but had a beard that would have made Santa Claus jealous. We talked for a few minutes, and parted ways. He was originally from the Milwaukee area, but had moved out to the driftless area to do more downhill skating. Very friendly kid.

I headed north up Wisconsin 35 (their Great River Road) from Bergen Bluffs into La Crosse, WI, stopping just north of Stoddard, WI, to take this panoramic photo of the area. This is pretty much the entire view on Wisconsin 35, all the way to St. Paul, MN:

I hopped the river on 14/16 into LaCrescent, MN. I then took 61 straight up into Winona, MN, which was where I stayed for the night.


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I checked into my hotel just around 6pm, and went for a little ride into downtown Winona in search of somewhere to get dinner. To my dismay, there wasn't much of a downtown, but I did hop the river on 43 back into Wisconsin, giving me a chance to take this great panoramic shot of the Wisconsin side of the river:

I headed back to Winona, and found a place to eat dinner; directly across the street from my hotel! It was a restaurant called the Green Mill, which was attached to another hotel. The food was actually very good, and I had a couple of New Castle Ales while I watched the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the LA Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Who knew that Minnesotans would be rooting for the Blackhawks?

I nodded to another rider who was unpacking his bike in the opposite parking lot as I rode into my hotel. We met at the rear entrance of the hotel. As I opened the door for him, he asked me, through his full faced helmet, where I was coming from. "The Chicago suburbs," I replied. "Wow, I'm actually coming in from Rockford!" We had a 20 minute conversation about the Wisconsin area I had just ridden through, and he told me of some other routes to ride next time I'm there. He actually grew up in Trempealeau, WI, and was meeting an old classmate in Winona, who had actually been riding all week.... from Alaska! Amazingly, he never took his helmet off, so the next morning's continental breakfast was a little unnerving, as I watched numerous guests stroll through while I ate my complimentary bowl of oatmeal. I'm not sure if he ever came through, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have recognized him if he did!

All in all, the ride was very enjoyable and scenic; just as I had hoped for my maiden trip of the season!

Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa/Illinois Driftless Ride - Day 2 - June 3rd 2013 - 325 miles

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As I came into Winona the evening before, I rode past a Harley Davidson dealer, which was already closed for the evening. When I left the hotel Monday morning, I decided to head down before I hit the road to purchase a t-shirt. Just my luck: they were closed on Mondays! Oh well. The sun was shining; little white fluffy clouds hung in the deep blue sky; and the temperature was in the upper 60s. I was looking forward to a great ride. I took some pictures from the parking lot of the Super 8 just before leaving the hotel:

Since I had been in this area before, my intentions were to hit some roads that I hadn't taken yet. I headed south out of Winona on Pleasant Ridge Road, which met up with 76. I took 76 to 16, which took me into the southern part of La Crescent. This little 1 hour detour was well worth it, as these roads were well kept, with long, winding curves, and nice elevation changes throughout. I encountered some wildlife along this route: 4 deer running through a freshly plowed field, and shortly after that I passed a big fat wild turkey just hanging out a few yards from the side of the road. I've included a map of my route below:


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I had never ridden Minnesota's Great River Rd south of La Crescent, so I headed south on 61. As I've told people in the past, it seems as though the Wisconsin Great River Road is set back further from the bluffs than on the Minnesota and Iowa side. When riding the roads on the west side of the river, the road sits a only few yards from the bluffs. This obviously proves that the signs marked "Watch for Fallen/Falling Rock" are no joke. These roads wind up and down the river, providing small changes of elevation, allowing some spectacular views of the water and bluffs popping up over the Wisconsin side.


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Here's a picture I took shortly after entering Iowa from one of their scenic overlooks:

(if you enlarge and look closely, you'll notice the car driving next to the bluff. This is the scenery on both sides of the river, from Savanna, IL, all the way up to St. Paul, MN)

I crossed the Mississippi back into Wisconsin on 18 from Marquette, IA. I stopped off at a Walgreens in Prairie Du Chien, WI, to get something to drink and munch on. As I stood in the parking lot, an older gentleman pulled in on a little Honda Spree scooter. He parked in the spot next to me, and asked me "do you want to race?" I laughed at his suggestion, and replied "Sure!." He was obviously kidding, but his comment broke the ice. We discussed our machines for a bit, and then I was on my way to Wyalusing State Park.

Another goal for this trip was to ride south from Prairie Du Chien into Illinois. I had never ridden the Wisconsin Great River Road south of Prairie Du Chien, so the next few hours was more brand new territory. I crossed the Wisconsin River into Wyalusing State Park. I actually hadn't intended on stopping in the actual park, but I figured I'd pull in for a few minutes. Wisconsin and Minnesota charge fees to visit their state parks, and they are usually $5 for an hour. I followed a car into the park entrance and up to the visitor's menu. As I waited for the car ahead of me to pay, I enjoyed the view of the hummingbird feeder 5 feet from my head. I was a bit unnerved at first, as I've only witnessed a hummingbird in the wild one time in my life. There were at least 10 at the feeders, hovering from hole to hole, and flying past only a few feet from my face. It was my turn to pay, so I pulled up to the window. The ranger asked me if I'd ever been to the park, then pulled out a map and pointed out all the things to do within my hour. The most popular destination was the scenic lookout overlooking the merger of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.

I followed the signs to the overlook and parked my bike. As I was walking towards the lookout, an employee was mowing the grass. He pulled off with a wave as I stepped out in front of the placard:

To my dismay, it seemed as though the landscaping had awoken every single blood sucking insect in the area. I was only able to enjoy the view for a couple of minutes before making my way back to the bike as quickly as I could, without actually running. Luckily, I was able to snap a panoramic, as well as a short video (you should be able to see the bugs swirling around in front of my lens in the video):

After leaving Wyalusing, I followed the signs pointing out the Great River Road, since the road is shared with 35 and little county roads as you go south of Prairie Du Chien. I actually stopped just outside of Bagley, WI to put my camera back in my saddlebag. I took my time, and sat there for a good ten minutes. Not one car passed me going either way, and I was surrounded by nothing but the sounds of nature. I hopped back on the bike, and was very excited to witness this portion of the state.


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This section of the ride was quite impressive, as the road swerved up and down through farmland. Plenty of sweeping, scenic curves, and many elevation changes. I was about 45 minutes into this portion of the ride when I realized that I hadn't passed 1 gas station since leaving Prairie Du Chien! Luckily, I was not too far from Potosi, WI, where I stopped for a short break and fuel. After refueling the bike, I moved it over to the side of the station, when I happened to stumble upon this spectacular view, which is a great representation of the views from this section of the road:

I was less than an hour outside of Galena, IL, where I had initially planned to stop for lunch. But it was already past 4pm, which meant lunch was now dinner. This also meant if I stopped to eat in Galena, I could expect to make it home well after sunset. The issue isn't that I don't ride at night: I ride regularly in the evenings, since I'm also a daily rider. The issue is that a scenic ride ceases to be scenic once the sun sets, so I passed through the Galena Territory on my way home. I needed to stop one more time for fuel, which I did just outside of Stockton, IL. There is a McDonalds attached to the station, so I had a quick snack and jumped back on the bike. Stockton is in the vicinity of where the driftless area ends. Though I had already been on the road for well over 8 hours, with a couple more to go, I couldn't help but start to plan my next trip to the area.

I pulled into my driveway just before 8pm. The weather cooperated throughout the day, and the sky stayed blue the entire trip. Another successful journey into the greatest riding area in the upper midwest! Long Live the Driftless Area and Mississippi River Valley! I can't wait to visit again.