Riding across Wisconsin

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe
this summer. I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my
memory......I want to start in Manitowoc, after ridng 'cross the lake
on the steam ferry. I would like to start somewhere in MI where I
can ship the bike to a LBS and arrive by rail, possibly a days' ride
from the ferry. Any ideas?

It's not clear to me what you want to do. Where are you starting from
originally (you list two starting points, which is confusing)? Are you
taking the train to La Crosse? Riding your bike to La Crosse?

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe this
summer. I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my memory......I
want to start in Manitowoc, after ridng 'cross the lake on the steam
ferry. I would like to start somewhere in MI where I can ship the bike
to a LBS and arrive by rail, possibly a days' ride from the ferry.
Any ideas?

As I read this, you want to actually start in MI, take the SS Badger from
Ludington to Manitowoc, WI, then ride to LaCrosse? I'll defer to cheeseheads
for the WI routing, but in Michigan, you could ship the bike to Grand Rapids
and ride the White Pine Trail to Reed City, then jog over to Ludington along
US 10, or you could ship it to Muskegon and take the old 2-lane route of US
31 up the shore of Lake Michigan to Ludington. The White Pine Trail isn't too
kind to road bikes, though, so keep that in mind if you're riding skinny
slicks.

There might also be bikes shops in Ludington or Manistee that you could ship
the bike to, but I haven't been up there in a good 15 years now (something
I should remedy this summer).

--

Kristian Zoerhoff
[email hidden]

I want to start in Luddington only to catch the SS BAdger, but there
doesn't seem to be a good way to get there other than drive, so I want
to start in MI that's accessible by Amtrak with LBS and not too awful
far from Luddington. I have a fat tire touring bike that has no
problems with rail trails or even less gnarly singletrack.

BT

Bill Taylor said:

I want to start in Luddington only to catch the SS BAdger, but there
doesn't seem to be a good way to get there other than drive, so I want
to start in MI that's accessible by Amtrak with LBS and not too awful
far from Luddington. I have a fat tire touring bike that has no
problems with rail trails or even less gnarly singletrack.

If you're planning on Amtrak, you're SOL: the Michigan Services don't have
checked baggage service, so bikes are not allowed (unless it's a folder or
S&S coupled bike that can be nroken down and stuffed in the overhead racks).
You'd need to ship the bike ahead, and take the train to Grand Rapids or
Holland (the Pere Marquette), or take a Thruway connecting bus to Reed City
or Cadillac.

Holland to Ludington is just under 100 miles, but you'd have to spend the
night before in Holland (due to the late arrival of the train), and you
might need to spend the night in Ludington as well, depending on the Badger's
schedule).

Grand Rapids to Ludington is a bit over 100 miles, with the same sort of time
constraints: <http://tinyurl.com/35nclb>. This road route would be much
faster than taking the White Pine Trail, but I've never taken it myself, so
you'd want to check with some current locals (I moved out of MI a decade
ago).

--

Kristian Zoerhoff
[email hidden]

Bill said:

Quoted message said:

I want to start in Luddington only to catch the SS BAdger, but there
doesn't seem to be a good way to get there other than drive, so I want
to start in MI that's accessible by Amtrak with LBS and not too awful
far from Luddington. I have a fat tire touring bike that has no
problems with rail trails or even less gnarly singletrack.

Kristian said:

If you're planning on Amtrak, you're SOL: the Michigan Services don't have
checked baggage service, so bikes are not allowed (unless it's a folder or
S&S coupled bike that can be nroken down and stuffed in the overhead racks).
You'd need to ship the bike ahead, and take the train to Grand Rapids or
Holland (the Pere Marquette), or take a Thruway connecting bus to Reed City
or Cadillac.

Holland to Ludington is just under 100 miles, but you'd have to spend the
night before in Holland (due to the late arrival of the train), and you
might need to spend the night in Ludington as well, depending on the Badger's
schedule).

Grand Rapids to Ludington is a bit over 100 miles, with the same sort of time
constraints: <http://tinyurl.com/35nclb>. This road route would be much
faster than taking the White Pine Trail, but I've never taken it myself, so
you'd want to check with some current locals (I moved out of MI a decade
ago).

I used to go Greyhound and found them to be very accommodating (it
wasn't like they got enough bicycle tourists to be a PITA).

Holler if you need a list of bike shops in GR, Holland, or points
northwest (there's one who's right on a connector trail and he's on
the board). GR in particular is worth an extra day (I moved here
almost four years ago).

HTH

--Karen D.

Kristian M Zoerhoff said:

Grand Rapids to Ludington is a bit over 100 miles, with the same sort
of time constraints: <http://tinyurl.com/35nclb>. This road route
would be much faster than taking the White Pine Trail, but I've never
taken it myself, so you'd want to check with some current locals (I
moved out of MI a decade ago).

The White Pine Trail is boring, and old 131 is much preferred; see writeup
here:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=9559&v=1

Traverse City is about 90 miles north of Ludington, so it's another
potential spot. No train service, though.

Another alternative is for the O.P. to take Amtrak to Chicago, put the bike
on the Metra train (during off-peak hours) and take the train to Harvard,
IL -- past the urban fringe, just a few miles south of the Wisconsin line,
and home of champion cyclist Lon Haldeman [think RAAM and PacTours].
Harvard is 214 miles from La Crosse. Or, take the Metra to Kenosha, WI,
dip your wheel in Lake Michigan, and head west to La Crosse from there.
Kenosha to La Crosse is 245 miles.

Metra can be skipped entirely -- to go from downtown Chicago to Kenosha
there's only about 5 miles required on the road -- the rest can be done with
bike trails, should the O.P. wish.

Just providing some options.

--
Mike Kruger
Say not always what you know, but always know what you say.
Claudius; 10 BC-AD 54, Roman Emperor

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe this
summer.  I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my memory......I
want to start in Manitowoc, after ridng 'cross the lake on the steam
ferry.  I would like to start somewhere in MI where I can ship the bike
to a LBS and arrive by rail, possibly a days' ride from the ferry.
Any ideas?

BT

If you get to Manitowoc, pick up US 10 northwest of town and take it
to Menasha; generally hug the Lake Winnebago shore all the way Oshkosh
(or for less auto traffic keep going west to 76 and take it to
Oshkosh); pick up 21 in Oshkosh and take it all the way to Sparta,
then take 16 on into LaCrosse. If you want to enjoy the somewhat
famous Elroy - Sparta trail, turn south on 13 north of Friendship, and
take it south to 82, and 82 to Elroy and pick up the trail there.

Be aware that there's also a ferry from Muskegon to Milwaukee that, on
the Michigan side, would be nearer a train connection than Ludington.

Ron Wallenfang said:

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe this
summer. I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my memory......I
want to start in Manitowoc, after ridng 'cross the lake on the steam
ferry. I would like to start somewhere in MI where I can ship the bike
to a LBS and arrive by rail, possibly a days' ride from the ferry.
Any ideas?

BT

If you get to Manitowoc, pick up US 10 northwest of town and take it
to Menasha; generally hug the Lake Winnebago shore all the way Oshkosh
(or for less auto traffic keep going west to 76 and take it to
Oshkosh); pick up 21 in Oshkosh and take it all the way to Sparta,
then take 16 on into LaCrosse. If you want to enjoy the somewhat
famous Elroy - Sparta trail, turn south on 13 north of Friendship, and
take it south to 82, and 82 to Elroy and pick up the trail there.

Be aware that there's also a ferry from Muskegon to Milwaukee that, on
the Michigan side, would be nearer a train connection than Ludington.

See <http://www.lake-express.com/>.

However, it is somewhat complicated to get from the Port of Milwaukee to
outside the greater Milwaukee area. Milwaukee has some really bizarre
geometric street design, due to the city being a combination of several
villages that were independently formed in the 19th Century.

Too bad there is not a physically separated bicycle lane along the east
side of the Lake Freeway, since the view can be quite spectacular, such
as when the sun is rising over the lake in the morning. Looking down on
the docked freighters is also neat.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

This is great stuff. I am looking at my maps and making plans. To
re-cap my general intention: Some how get to within a days ride of
Ludington (notice I dropped the extraneous "d"😉. Hopefully via Amtrak,
bike shipped to convenient LBS for assembly and checkout (I'm very
capable of assembling, but I've never been able to resist clack-clacking
into a bike shop while touring). Thence by SS Badger to Manitowoc, then
ride across to LaCrosse (pun intended) where I will spend a few days
then ship bike home and follow by rail. I will be cheapy motelling or
B&B if one looks interesting. Sleeping on the ground is no longer any
fun- takes me an hour to straighten up.

Bill Taylor said:

This is great stuff. I am looking at my maps and making plans. To
re-cap my general intention: Some how get to within a days ride of
Ludington (notice I dropped the extraneous "d"😉. Hopefully via Amtrak,
bike shipped to convenient LBS for assembly and checkout (I'm very
capable of assembling, but I've never been able to resist clack-clacking
into a bike shop while touring). Thence by SS Badger to Manitowoc, then
ride across to LaCrosse (pun intended) where I will spend a few days
then ship bike home and follow by rail. I will be cheapy motelling or
B&B if one looks interesting. Sleeping on the ground is no longer any
fun- takes me an hour to straighten up.

Here you go.
http://www.bicyclerack.net/contactus/

Tom is one of the big wheels on the West Michigan Trails & Greenways
Alliance. If memory serves, his store is adjacent to one of the
trails.

HTH

--Karen D.

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe this
summer. I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my memory......I
want to start in Manitowoc,

After you find a way to Manitowoc, which several posters have already
suggested routes, then I would:

From Manitowoc to Sheboygan, south along Hwy LS, which runs right
along the lake.

From Sheboygan, go west on Hwy 23. There a bike trail paved part of
the way, along 23. After that, it isn't a bad ride though it might
get a little hilly in places.

Near I39, go from Rt 23 to Rt. 82 and take that all the way to Elroy.

Now the good part starts - the rest of the ride is off-rode.

Take the Sparta-Elroy trail to Sparta, from Sparta take the LaCrosse
River Trail to Lacrosse. Onolaska, actually but it's right along the
river next to LaCrosse.

That's kindofa coarse description, but a reasonable map should make it
clearer.

Sweet Old Bob wrote:...

Quoted message said:

Now the good part starts - the rest of the ride is off-rode.

(sic)

Quoted message said:

Take the Sparta-Elroy trail to Sparta, from Sparta take the LaCrosse
River Trail to Lacrosse. Onolaska, actually but it's right along the
river next to LaCrosse.

That's kindofa coarse description, but a reasonable map should make it
clearer.

Sparta-Elroy trail is a must-do. It's not an ATB surface. I first
enjoyed it on a touring bike (27" wheels) in 1979, and also on an
antique (1897) safety bike with wooden rims and replica tubular tires.

For the flip-flop, there's a nice network of country roads with great
scenery and rolling hills. The last time I did this trail, I found it
tedious (nothing but a tunnel of trees) and returned on the road
system.

The White Pine is our (Michigan) longest rail trail and it would be
worth riding at least part-way.

HTH

--Karen D.
this is a lot easier with teh internets

Sweet Old Bob said:

Bill Taylor said:

I have an old friend in LaCrosse whom I would like to visit maybe this
summer.  I know I have asked this before, but, refresh my memory......I
want to start in Manitowoc,

After you find a way to Manitowoc, which several posters have already
suggested routes, then I would:

From Manitowoc to Sheboygan, south along Hwy LS, which runs right
along the lake.

From Sheboygan, go west on Hwy 23.  There a bike trail paved part of
the way, along 23.  After that, it isn't a bad ride though it might
get a little hilly in places.

Near I39, go from Rt 23 to Rt. 82 and take that all the way to Elroy.

Now the good part starts - the rest of the ride is off-rode.

Take the Sparta-Elroy trail to Sparta, from Sparta take the LaCrosse
River Trail to Lacrosse.  Onolaska, actually but it's right along the
river next to LaCrosse.

That's kindofa coarse description, but a reasonable map should make it
clearer.

I have no problem with Bob Kastigar's route recommendation. His post
implies its main downside, which is more climbing than the route I
suggested. I think it may also be a bit longer in miles. Betweeen
Sheboygan and Fond du Lac, it crosses the north reaches of the Kettle
Moraine. But none of the individual hills are more than a couple
hundred feet or so of climbing.