T. W. A. T. or N. O. T.

**cheesy** · 09-23-2022, 07:20 PM

I got back home a little after ten last night after a marathon 454 mile ride. I am in a world of hurt today.

Anyway, starting last Sunday, I made a valiant attempt at riding the Tran Wisconsin Adventure Trail to Cornucopia, WI. I didn't keep a daily mileage log because I forgot though I did manage 1306 miles Sunday through Thursday.

I left home about 1:30 pm Sunday, gassed up twice, and crossed into Wisconsin just north of Galena, IL about 5 pm.

This is the Driftless Area of Wisconsin and Illinois where the hills go straight up, straight down, and there are ninety degree curves on either end that can be on camber, off camber, or flat.

I figured that I had to find a campground soon. A friend that had done the trail several years ago recommended two. Neither exists anymore. I found an open campground that was RVs only. I guess tent campers don't spend enough money to bother with. I remembered there were some state parks in the general area from back when I was a kid. The first one I checked closed their campground decades ago. I found campsites at the other but they required reservations and did not do FCFS. So, it's 7:30 Sunday evening, the season is winding down, the place is pretty much vacant, and the ranger office is closed until 6 Monday morning. Stealth camping is going to happen and it did.

I had a lousy nights sleep, mostly because I set up in the dark and didn't bother to set up my cot. The jerk in the site behind mine kept wandering around his site with a flashlight until midnight and started again at 4 am. I broke camp and was on the road at 5:30. It was humid and foggy. I stopped in Prairie du Chien for coffee, a donut, and gas.

I found a Wayside about an hour later and stopped to make breakfast.

The Wayside was along the Mississippi and there was some barge traffic.

After breakfast, I followed the trail via the .gpx files on my Garmin. It was all paved and took me through some pretty country but trying to wrestle the Ural through the twists and turns was tiring. By the time I got to my next gas stop in Sparta, I was wiped.

Time to change plans.

**cheesy** · 09-23-2022, 08:18 PM

After some calls, I decided to hop on WI 16 east to US 12 and headed up to see my Dad, my sister, and my half sister. It was 150 to Dads' place and another 50 to my sisters'. I got to Dad's place but that damn Kenda was beating the crap out of me. Under 50, it was tolerable. Over 50, Jeez. Too bad it took me a couple more days to figure that out.

The break at Dads' was appreciated but I was soon on my way to my sisters' place. She let me pitch my tent in her back yard.

I had a couple beers and dinner with her and almost BIL. (it's a long story) Had a decent nights' sleep.

My plan was still to get to Cornucopia but my sister talked me into staying a second night so I could meet up with our half sister(Another long story). Sis treated me to breakfast in Spooner, then I rode down to Turtle Lake so half sis and I could meet for coffee. We BS'd for a couple hours and then I rode back to my sisters' in Trego. Did a little maintenance on the Ural and found out I'd lost one of the brake disk bobbins. Good thing there's nine more bobbins in there.
We had another nice dinner and a couple of brandy's while sitting around their fire pit. I slept really well. Must have been the brandy.

Wednesday saw me on the road again, taking US 63 north towards Ashland. As I was passing through the town of Drummond, I spotted a sign for a National Forest Campground, so I decided to check it out to see if it was open and I'd have a place to stop for the night. It looked pretty good.

From Drummond, I headed to Ashland. The trip odometer was showing gas was getting low in the tank and I learned there are no gas stops between Drummond and Ashland. The weather was also turning shitty. When I got to the corner of US 63 and US 2, I'd been on reserve for about 10 miles. Iron River was 18 miles west and Ashland was 9 miles east. So, Ashland it is. My eldest kid went to school in Ashland, so I know the closest gas is another mile into town. That would be cutting close, so I grabbed my gas can off the sidecar and proceeded to put a half gallon in the tank. I mentioned the weather turned shitty. Half of what I tried to pour was blown all over creation.

I got into Ashland, gassed up, and grabbed a hot coffee. Besides the wind, the temp was nosediving. Pointed myself west and got on WI 13 towards Cornucopia. I made it, too.

**cheesy** · 09-23-2022, 09:32 PM

I headed west out of Cornucopia towards Port Wing. I spotted a turn off for a National Forest road and decided to check it out. For the next 2 hours and 25 miles, I was riding off pavement.

Some of it was soft sand and required a bit of 2wd to get through but the bulk of it was passable, albeit slowly. The area reminded me of Talkeetna, Alaska, with the mix of pine and birch.

After getting back to US 2, it was time to head south. It was early enough that I could get to Drummond and the campground before dark. I got set up before 5 pm.

And made some dinner. Dinner was Dinty Moore in the can.

The temp continued to drop and I was glad I thought to bring a cold weather sleeping bag. Brrr! Had a decent nights sleep, though.

Yesterday morning, while making breakfast,

and doing TCLOCKS, I found the Kenda just about worn out. I moved the Kenda to the spare, the spare to the sidecar, and the half way decent Duro on the sidecar to the pusher.

I left about 10 and headed back to Dads to drop off what I forgot to drop off on Monday. Did I mention it was cold? I was wearing a t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, wool sweater, hoodie, jeans, with my lined drover coat. I was still cold. I shouldn't be needing heated grips this time of the year.

Swapping the tires around stopped the ass kicking i was getting earlier. The rest of the ride home was pretty much uneventful, though the stretch between the Dells and Evansville was a hoot. It usually has heavy traffic but yesterday it was wide open and it was 65 mph for almost 50 miles.

I got my last tank of gas in Marengo, IL and was home less than an hour later. My ass hurt, my shoulders hurt, and my back hurt. I'm better today, just some minor aches. I got the perishables out of the sidecar this morning but most of the day has been a recovery day. AKA, sitting on my ass.

buzz · 09-24-2022, 08:42 PM

Sounds like a great ride,getting cold here already.

**cheesy** · 09-24-2022, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzz

Sounds like a great ride,getting cold here already.

The grandson had a soccer game this morning and I had to get the fireplace going when we got home. I think the furnace is getting kicked on early this year.

buzz · 09-26-2022, 07:18 PM

Same here cheesy, just think its too early.

SGCSCRX3 · 10-09-2022, 04:21 AM

We just camped with our camper at Nelson Dewey state park last weekend. Great area on west side of the state.

**cheesy** · 10-09-2022, 06:04 PM

I think the last time I was there was probably 1966. I really liked it. Wyalusing was a great place to be a yard ape, too.

I stopped in Dickeyville for some grub and was across the street the Dickeyville Grotto. It's a lot smaller than it was 60 years ago.

flopsweat · 12-29-2022, 04:12 PM

This is absolutely great. I only live about 30min east of you, and a friend and I did the Cheese Country Trail in Wisconsin this past summer (https://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=31453). I may actually take an honest look at your route and put it on the backburner until spring, that sounds like a great trip! If I ever see you out there, as I frequently head west of Randall Rd just to get to some open country, I'll be sure to give you the ol'

!

**cheesy** · 12-29-2022, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flopsweat

This is absolutely great. I only live about 30min east of you, and a friend and I did the Cheese Country Trail in Wisconsin this past summer (https://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=31453). I may actually take an honest look at your route and put it on the backburner until spring, that sounds like a great trip! If I ever see you out there, as I frequently head west of Randall Rd just to get to some open country, I'll be sure to give you the ol'

!

Cool beans. If that's the trail that runs between Monroe and Mineral Point, I did that one a couple years ago with the Midwest Antique & Classic Motorcycle Club. We dared the bagger riders to come with but they all chickened out.

I'll be doing a warm solo Polar Bear Ride on Sunday.

flopsweat · 12-30-2022, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheesy

Cool beans. If that's the trail that runs between Monroe and Mineral Point, I did that one a couple years ago with the Midwest Antique & Classic Motorcycle Club. We dared the bagger riders to come with but they all chickened out.

I'll be doing a warm solo Polar Bear Ride on Sunday.

Yup, that's the one! Nice, I'm incredibly excited that Sunday actually might be just barely decent enough to go ride for a bit.

AJ22_ChinaRider · 01-01-2023, 02:23 AM

Inspirational, guys! Have to try it someday!

09-23-2022, 07:20 PM	#1
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,995	T. W. A. T. or N. O. T. I got back home a little after ten last night after a marathon 454 mile ride. I am in a world of hurt today. Anyway, starting last Sunday, I made a valiant attempt at riding the Tran Wisconsin Adventure Trail to Cornucopia, WI. I didn't keep a daily mileage log because I forgot though I did manage 1306 miles Sunday through Thursday. I left home about 1:30 pm Sunday, gassed up twice, and crossed into Wisconsin just north of Galena, IL about 5 pm. This is the Driftless Area of Wisconsin and Illinois where the hills go straight up, straight down, and there are ninety degree curves on either end that can be on camber, off camber, or flat. I figured that I had to find a campground soon. A friend that had done the trail several years ago recommended two. Neither exists anymore. I found an open campground that was RVs only. I guess tent campers don't spend enough money to bother with. I remembered there were some state parks in the general area from back when I was a kid. The first one I checked closed their campground decades ago. I found campsites at the other but they required reservations and did not do FCFS. So, it's 7:30 Sunday evening, the season is winding down, the place is pretty much vacant, and the ranger office is closed until 6 Monday morning. Stealth camping is going to happen and it did. I had a lousy nights sleep, mostly because I set up in the dark and didn't bother to set up my cot. The jerk in the site behind mine kept wandering around his site with a flashlight until midnight and started again at 4 am. I broke camp and was on the road at 5:30. It was humid and foggy. I stopped in Prairie du Chien for coffee, a donut, and gas. I found a Wayside about an hour later and stopped to make breakfast. The Wayside was along the Mississippi and there was some barge traffic. After breakfast, I followed the trail via the .gpx files on my Garmin. It was all paved and took me through some pretty country but trying to wrestle the Ural through the twists and turns was tiring. By the time I got to my next gas stop in Sparta, I was wiped. Time to change plans. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	7

09-23-2022, 08:18 PM	#2
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,995	After some calls, I decided to hop on WI 16 east to US 12 and headed up to see my Dad, my sister, and my half sister. It was 150 to Dads' place and another 50 to my sisters'. I got to Dad's place but that damn Kenda was beating the crap out of me. Under 50, it was tolerable. Over 50, Jeez. Too bad it took me a couple more days to figure that out. The break at Dads' was appreciated but I was soon on my way to my sisters' place. She let me pitch my tent in her back yard. I had a couple beers and dinner with her and almost BIL. (it's a long story) Had a decent nights' sleep. My plan was still to get to Cornucopia but my sister talked me into staying a second night so I could meet up with our half sister(Another long story). Sis treated me to breakfast in Spooner, then I rode down to Turtle Lake so half sis and I could meet for coffee. We BS'd for a couple hours and then I rode back to my sisters' in Trego. Did a little maintenance on the Ural and found out I'd lost one of the brake disk bobbins. Good thing there's nine more bobbins in there. We had another nice dinner and a couple of brandy's while sitting around their fire pit. I slept really well. Must have been the brandy. Wednesday saw me on the road again, taking US 63 north towards Ashland. As I was passing through the town of Drummond, I spotted a sign for a National Forest Campground, so I decided to check it out to see if it was open and I'd have a place to stop for the night. It looked pretty good. From Drummond, I headed to Ashland. The trip odometer was showing gas was getting low in the tank and I learned there are no gas stops between Drummond and Ashland. The weather was also turning shitty. When I got to the corner of US 63 and US 2, I'd been on reserve for about 10 miles. Iron River was 18 miles west and Ashland was 9 miles east. So, Ashland it is. My eldest kid went to school in Ashland, so I know the closest gas is another mile into town. That would be cutting close, so I grabbed my gas can off the sidecar and proceeded to put a half gallon in the tank. I mentioned the weather turned shitty. Half of what I tried to pour was blown all over creation. I got into Ashland, gassed up, and grabbed a hot coffee. Besides the wind, the temp was nosediving. Pointed myself west and got on WI 13 towards Cornucopia. I made it, too. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	7

09-23-2022, 09:32 PM	#3
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,995	I headed west out of Cornucopia towards Port Wing. I spotted a turn off for a National Forest road and decided to check it out. For the next 2 hours and 25 miles, I was riding off pavement. Some of it was soft sand and required a bit of 2wd to get through but the bulk of it was passable, albeit slowly. The area reminded me of Talkeetna, Alaska, with the mix of pine and birch. After getting back to US 2, it was time to head south. It was early enough that I could get to Drummond and the campground before dark. I got set up before 5 pm. And made some dinner. Dinner was Dinty Moore in the can. The temp continued to drop and I was glad I thought to bring a cold weather sleeping bag. Brrr! Had a decent nights sleep, though. Yesterday morning, while making breakfast, and doing TCLOCKS, I found the Kenda just about worn out. I moved the Kenda to the spare, the spare to the sidecar, and the half way decent Duro on the sidecar to the pusher. I left about 10 and headed back to Dads to drop off what I forgot to drop off on Monday. Did I mention it was cold? I was wearing a t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, wool sweater, hoodie, jeans, with my lined drover coat. I was still cold. I shouldn't be needing heated grips this time of the year. Swapping the tires around stopped the ass kicking i was getting earlier. The rest of the ride home was pretty much uneventful, though the stretch between the Dells and Evansville was a hoot. It usually has heavy traffic but yesterday it was wide open and it was 65 mph for almost 50 miles. I got my last tank of gas in Marengo, IL and was home less than an hour later. My ass hurt, my shoulders hurt, and my back hurt. I'm better today, just some minor aches. I got the perishables out of the sidecar this morning but most of the day has been a recovery day. AKA, sitting on my ass. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	9

10-09-2022, 06:04 PM	#8
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,995	I think the last time I was there was probably 1966. I really liked it. Wyalusing was a great place to be a yard ape, too. I stopped in Dickeyville for some grub and was across the street the Dickeyville Grotto. It's a lot smaller than it was 60 years ago. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	1

09-24-2022, 08:42 PM	#4
buzz Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Dayton Pa. Posts: 963	Sounds like a great ride,getting cold here already.
	1

09-26-2022, 07:18 PM	#6
buzz Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Dayton Pa. Posts: 963	Same here cheesy, just think its too early.
	0

10-09-2022, 04:21 AM	#7
SGCSCRX3 Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 47	We just camped with our camper at Nelson Dewey state park last weekend. Great area on west side of the state.
	1

12-29-2022, 04:12 PM	#9
flopsweat Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: The burbs of Chicago Posts: 251	This is absolutely great. I only live about 30min east of you, and a friend and I did the Cheese Country Trail in Wisconsin this past summer (https://chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=31453). I may actually take an honest look at your route and put it on the backburner until spring, that sounds like a great trip! If I ever see you out there, as I frequently head west of Randall Rd just to get to some open country, I'll be sure to give you the ol' !
	2

01-01-2023, 02:23 AM	#12
AJ22_ChinaRider Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 105	Inspirational, guys! Have to try it someday!
	0