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/31336633Some 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.
