[Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Bike Trail, Development Overview]

I've been working on a project, and I need some help to finish it up:

Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Bike Trail, Development Overview

Background:
In the early 2000?s, Chad Berger developed the Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Trail (TWAT) dual-sport motorcycle route. This route starts near Hazel Green at the Point of Beginning on the southern border of the state, then traveled north through the Driftless Region, the Central Sands and into the North Woods, finishing at Point Detour, the northernmost point on mainland WI. This route follows backroads of pavement, gravel, dirt and sand as well as motorsports trails where available.

Inspired by the TWAT, Joe Meiser created the Trans-Wisconsin Mountain Bike Trail (TWMBT) and organized the Trans-WI Mountain Bike Race along this route in 2010. The TWMBT stays entirely within Wisconsin and also includes rail-trails and singletrack trails that are only open to human-powered travel. In places the TWMBT travels through several of the states best mountain bike trail networks including Sidie Hollow, Kickapoo Valley Preserve, Levis-Trow, and Chequamegon area trails.

In 2011, I (Frank Hassler) decided to tour the TWMBT route. Despite some rough stormy weather early in the ride, I found it to be a truly exceptional bike route that really shows off everything that WI has to offer. But I think it could be a truly world-class route with a little more work. So I have been fine-tuning a new version of the route of the past couple of years, and am looking for some help to finish this project up in 2022, and plan for the first group ride of the route in fall of this year. This is not a route for folks who want to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. This is a route for the kind of person who always wonders ?What?s down that backroad?? or, ?Where does that trail go?? Here is a chance to explore those backroads and trails across the entire state.

Objective:
To further improve and refine the TWMBT into a Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Bicycle Route in 2022 with the goal of organizing a group ride on the route in early-fall 2022, and to make this route publicly available thereafter. Specific goals and guidelines for route reworking include:
- To route through additional mountain bike trail networks including: La Riviere (Prairie Du Chien)(?), Platteville area trails, and Mt. Ashwabay.
- Follow more ATV, XC Ski and multi-use trails where possible, particularly within the Black River SF, Flambeau River SF, and Chequamegon NF for a little more adventure and less traffic.
- Increase route rideability by avoiding miles of sand road in the Black River Forest, swamp-walking in the Chequamegon, and reducing the climbing in the Driftless region from absurdly brutal to simply grueling levels.
- Offer ?gravel bypass? options that would route around singletrack trails and technically challenging ATV trails and sand roads, making the Trans-WI accessible and appealing to riders with a range of riding styles and skill levels, including people riding more traditional touring and gravel bikes. Furthermore, Gravel Bypasses allow MTBers to avoid trails when they are muddy and take short cuts when fatigued or behind schedule.
- Shorten and simplify route wherever possible.
- The current iteration of the route can be found at: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31336633

Some Statistics:
- Route length: ~680 miles, with over 35,000? of climbing. Surface types break down as follows (very rough estimates):

• Pavement: 31%
• Gravel: 30%
• ?Doubletrack?: 25%
• Singeltrack: 14%

If you'd like to learn more or get involved, I have put together a Facebook Group to coordinate things.

Happy to continue the conversation here as well.

After I made a scale model out of paper and measuring out what we would need for fabric, my seamstress wife has concluded that the size of this tarp is impractical due to the size of fabric that is available. You can get some silicon coated nylon in 68" wide (the minimum we would need), but its tough to come by and the stuff we have on-hand is smaller. And, of course you can sew pieces together to make it larger, but extra seams are extra work, additional points for potential leaks and failures. I have also chosen to go with a fully waterproof bivy (OR Helium), rather than an ultra-light water-resistant bivy (was looking at Borah Gear), so I need less tarp.

I am going to keep the same concept and scale back a bit. Actually, this older thread is pretty close to what I think we will do. I won't need the tarp if I'm going purely minimalist, but it would be a nice addition for an emergency rain shelter and/or some extra living space. Should be really fast to put up and take up little space.

With the help of my experience seamstress wife, I am looking to put together a tarp for bike packing. My idea is to design a tarp that could use the bike as the structure for the shelter, or it could be guyed out. Basically, flip the bike over, stake the bars so it doesn't fall over, and then throw the tarp over that. The high points of the shelter will thus be the tops of the tires (keep the rubber side up), but this is also where we would put a couple guy-out points. The tarp would be asymmetrical so that the side of the bike away from me (probably the drive side) will slope fairly sharply to the ground, but the other side will be longer and depending on how I guy it out, could be an expansive shelter or a tight weatherproof nook.

Attached is a very crude diagram of what I want to do, not to scale, but the measurements are based on testing with a bike and tarp in my back yard.

Anyway, has anyone tried anything like this before? I could imagine a really dirty, muddy bike making this problematic... but other than that, it seems like a simply solution, much like hikers use their trekking poles.

Also, how do people make guy out points? I was thinking some narrow webbing and guyline tensioners would make for easy set-up, but is that a sturdy solution when using sil-nylon?

So, got my HydroBlu, and it seems pretty slick. I bought the full "package" with some bags and hoses and such. While its slick how those bags screw into the filter, I really don't see how you would fill them up in the field... other than from a spigot, which obviously isn't useful.



So here is what I set-up:



I got an old, grungy, 100oz hydration bladder (Deuter) and connected that as my dirty water bag, and a bit of hose to a quick-coupler that I've had sitting around that allows me to filter water directly into my hydration pack hose.

No doubt, this will need some refinement, but it seems like a good starting point. The whole set-up weighs 1/4lbs less than my old Pur hiker, packs a lot easier, will be faster, and less effort to filter, and if necessary gives me another 100oz of (dirty) water when its going to be a while between water sources.

I have been buying Shimano shoes that are a size too big, and that gives me enough room in the toes, but the upper and heel are loose. I currently have the Shimano XM7, and had good luck with the previous iteration. With the gore-tex layer, they can be hot. They are quite flexible for hiking, but my foot can get sore pedaling since that same flexibility means they are not stiff enough to spread pedaling forces over the whole foot.

Recently I bought a pair of Lake MX237 Endurance in the Wide last. These seem to do the trick, but they are crazy expensive. I'm using them for Endurance MTB races (sub-24hrs), and general MTB and road riding... CX races too. I'm hoping that these being one-shoe-to-rule-them-all for 2-3 seasons will help offset the $370 i paid for them.

In any event, Lake seems to have worked out a last that works for wide toe boxes, so maybe they have other options that will work as well. Customer service has been good as far as them promptly answering questions about what shoe would be best for me needs.

I'm looking to upgrade from my 20+ year-old Pur Hiker filter. I was leaning towards the Saywer Squeeze since it looks like it can filter water quickly and easily. But, then I started reading about the HydroBlu Versa Flow, which is said to be smaller, lighter and less expensive than the Squeeze but much better water flow than the Saywer Mini.

Does anyone have any experience with the HydroBlu, or enough experience with the Sawyer to say weather or not the HydroBlu looks like a good idea or not?

I'm setting up a new bike, planning to do the Kokopelli in October and figure its about time I ink the AZ Trail in on my calendar. As I'm thinking through the set-up, I'm realizing carrying enough water for the longest stretches on those trails is going to be the major consideration I need to work around. Both trips will be in the fall, so I'm thinking only year-round consistent water sources will be available to me.

Thanks in advance.

What you're talking about falls well within the wheelhouse of traditional bike touring. The reasons people like frame bags and seat packs is for singletrack, these bags being in-line with the bike help narrow the profile of the bike so it doesn't snag on trail side obstacles and to improve maneuverability.

For wide open paths/roads panniers and racks work great. Yes they are a bit heavier, and though weight is still an issue, it is less so on a touring set-up, so, stability, simplicity and easy packing are all big advantages of traditional panniers.

I'd recommend a lowrider front rack, use your ortleibs in the back to carry bulky gear and small panniers on the front to carry heavy stuff. Your gear should be loaded 60% on the front wheel, 40% in the back. Leave the handlebar bag and trunk rack at home since keeping weight low on the bike will improve stability.

I do like frame bags for versatility. Mine carry my lock, toolkit and water for commuting and 100oz hydration bladder plus tools when I'm touring.

If you haven't used your big Oerleibs much, consider that they make great grocery getter bags!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Post about your trip when you get back. I've been thinking of doing something like this in late-winter for a while now. Just need some starts to align. Would love to hear about your experiences.

Glad to hear there isn't much better, since I just picked mine up tonight! Rode home wearing and got the fit settled in a bit. It definitely seems bit more substantial than my Talon 11, with a stiffer back and 'frame', and it looks like it has better back venting. With all that said, my Talon 11 may be an older version than this bag.

Has anyone gotten a 100oz Camelbak lumbar hydration bladder to fit in a Talon 22 or should I just pick up a Platypus bladder?

If you're worried about the cush factor, it looks like the troll will take up to 3.0" tires. You could run those at pretty low pressure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was in Nicaragua 4 years ago. I'm going to make some brash generalizations and assume the bikes that were common there are common throughout Latin America.

Everyone in Nicaragua was riding 26" mountain bikes with v-brakes. I would try to replicate that in case you need spare parts. So you could get a bike that has mechanical disks, but be sure it has canti studs too, and rims that can run v-brakes.

[looks up the specs for a Surly Troll really quick]

So in summary, yes, a Surly Troll would be just about perfect. I'd probably put a crankset on it with smaller chainrings though. The big tires should soak up the bumps.

I've been pretty happy with Sun Rhyno Lite XL, which have a 23.5mm inner width. A little tough to run tubeless but workable, and tough as nails.

I've ridden with two pairs of PADDED shorts before, a little warm for sure, but helped get my tender tant through a couple hard days.

I can't deny the convenience of pockets in a pair of baggy shorts.

There are definitely baggy shorts out there that are complete outer/liner pieces designed for warmer weather or more vigorous riding. They tend to have a very thin fabric for the 'lycra' part, sometimes its even mesh-like, and the outer baggy part is a lighter fabric as well. I suspect they wouldn't be great for bushwhacking, but fine for most conditions. I almost picked some up myself last fall when they were on clearance.

But I'm not too shy about just wearing lycra. When I started riding you were either wearing cut-off jeans or lycra. If you were serious about riding (in general or that particular day) you were just wearing lycra. Especially when in the backcountry, I don't care what other people think of what I'm wearing. I'm coming around to being more fashionable with baggy shorts, especially on social rides, but I've just become so fond of bibs... its hard to go back to something less comfortable.

I guess what I'm wondering is if there are packs that have better venting and suspension systems. I seem to recall that the Deuter EXAir was well regarded for this, as were some of the other Osprey packs... Syncros? Stratos?

I would grab another Talon 22 in a heartbeat since mine is coming to the end of its life cycle, particularly if it was cheap!

Well, you can find it cheap here: https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/116322/osprey-talon-22-pack

Looks like Osprey tweaked the Talon 22, made it lighter... the continuous hip-belt thing does sound like it could be valuable, but not for $35 more than the old model on discount:  https://www.ospreypacks.com/us/en/product/talon-22-TALON22.html

I do have a Talon 11. Aside from a few minor quibbles, I love it. I am going to need something bigger though for a variety of reasons/trips/uses.

Are you guys with sweaty crotches running just straight Lycra padded shorts or some sort of MTB baggy over-short thing?

I've found that traditional lycra with padding, synthetic or chamois, to work great in all but the hottest weather. When you put those baggies on-top is when it gets uncomfortable. I reserve the stylish baggy shorts for days its 75F or cooler or for less intense riding.

I'm looking for a new mid-sized pack for bikepacking and other misadventures. I noticed REI has the venerable Osprey Tallon 22 on closeout... plus I have my dividend burning a whole in my pocket.

The Tallon 22 was a well regarded pack when it came out 5-10 years ago, but are there newer packs that are better? Should I snap one up before they are gone or get something more recent?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk