540+ mile dual sport route across the dairy state
Wednesday 5-14-2008, 9:28pm:
The sounds of coyotes howling their praise over a recent kill is the only sound
that breaks the silence at our campsite at Perch Lake in the Chequamegon -
Nicolet national forest in Northern Wisconsin....read more here:
ADVrider.com T.W.A.T. ride
Well over a year ago, I had and Idea, an idea that was better than most of my crazy ideas and that was to map out a route from
the Illinois / Wisconsin border to Lake Superior using Gravel roads, ATV trails, Forest roads, and as little pavement as possible.
After many hours of scouting roads and pondering many, many different maps, I came up with a possible route that starts near
the Dubuque Iowa / Galena Illinois area and goes all the way up to the Apostle Islands. I know the roads south of my home like the
back of my hand, so all I needed to do was to check out the rest of the route north. What we found was a fantastic dual sport
ride through many different landscapes of this great state and got to meet some great people along the way.
the Illinois / Wisconsin border to Lake Superior using Gravel roads, ATV trails, Forest roads, and as little pavement as possible.
After many hours of scouting roads and pondering many, many different maps, I came up with a possible route that starts near
the Dubuque Iowa / Galena Illinois area and goes all the way up to the Apostle Islands. I know the roads south of my home like the
back of my hand, so all I needed to do was to check out the rest of the route north. What we found was a fantastic dual sport
ride through many different landscapes of this great state and got to meet some great people along the way.
What is this Trans Wisconsin Trail?
This is a route that I came up with and its not an actual marked trail. I used
various maps and my knowledge of local roads to come up with a route that I
thought would be a good compromise between gravel and scenic roads and also
have the option of riding atv trails. I was actually surprised how enjoyable of
a route this ended up being! This route is comprised completely of public
roads and many of these roads run near ATV trails, so you have the option of
hopping on them also. Any ATV trails you might ride are at your own risk and
you will need to be aware of the rules and regulations of those trails.
With the help of a couple great GPS experts, the file is now complete and
available. Please email me at chad@lonewolfexpeditions.com and ask for
the TWT file. The GPS file will be free, although paypal donations would be
accepted. I have 3 years of exploring and countless hours of mapping tied up
in this little ride and although I do it all for fun, it has still cost me quite a bit.
This is a route that I came up with and its not an actual marked trail. I used
various maps and my knowledge of local roads to come up with a route that I
thought would be a good compromise between gravel and scenic roads and also
have the option of riding atv trails. I was actually surprised how enjoyable of
a route this ended up being! This route is comprised completely of public
roads and many of these roads run near ATV trails, so you have the option of
hopping on them also. Any ATV trails you might ride are at your own risk and
you will need to be aware of the rules and regulations of those trails.
With the help of a couple great GPS experts, the file is now complete and
available. Please email me at chad@lonewolfexpeditions.com and ask for
the TWT file. The GPS file will be free, although paypal donations would be
accepted. I have 3 years of exploring and countless hours of mapping tied up
in this little ride and although I do it all for fun, it has still cost me quite a bit.
| For more info, e-mail chad@lonewolfexpeditions.com |
Mark Sampson from
bigdogadventures.com was the
first person to run the full route,
Mark is a good friend of mine
and has done some amazing
rides in the past, check out his
web page.
Mark also made a fantastic
video of the ride, which you can
purchase off his site:
BigDogAdventures.com
read his story here: BigDog -
Tales of the Trans Wisconsin
Trail
bigdogadventures.com was the
first person to run the full route,
Mark is a good friend of mine
and has done some amazing
rides in the past, check out his
web page.
Mark also made a fantastic
video of the ride, which you can
purchase off his site:
BigDogAdventures.com
read his story here: BigDog -
Tales of the Trans Wisconsin
Trail
| BigDog and I on the trail. |
| Tom Coulter on the T.W.T. |
One week after Mark ( Big Dog ) did the ride, I
rode it with a few friends. I started out with Tom,
and after the first day he had bike troubles and
the next day I met up with Ernie and Elmer and
we rode to the finish.
you can read about that here:Tracking BigDog
through a flood zone.
rode it with a few friends. I started out with Tom,
and after the first day he had bike troubles and
the next day I met up with Ernie and Elmer and
we rode to the finish.
you can read about that here:Tracking BigDog
through a flood zone.
Paypal to rokklym@mwt.net
Have you ridden the route? If so, I want to see your pics! Let me know if you finish the route and I'll put your photo
here and a link to your ride report ( if you do one ).
here and a link to your ride report ( if you do one ).
Me and Dave Kilkenny went out
and rode the top 2/3rds of the
route in May to make sure that
the GPS track was on, and
there weren't any changes that
needed to be made. Its a good
thing we rode it, because there
were a couple sections you can
no longer ride.
Ride Report here
and rode the top 2/3rds of the
route in May to make sure that
the GPS track was on, and
there weren't any changes that
needed to be made. Its a good
thing we rode it, because there
were a couple sections you can
no longer ride.
Ride Report here
For more information on the route and how to get maps
and the GPS file , click here!
and the GPS file , click here!
This is one ride
report I was really
waiting for! Jim Klas
is a great
photographer and
the pictures he took
on his solo ride of
the T.W.A.T. turned
out great.
Jim did this ride on
his old airhead GS
with TKC80
knobbies. Check out
his pictures here.
report I was really
waiting for! Jim Klas
is a great
photographer and
the pictures he took
on his solo ride of
the T.W.A.T. turned
out great.
Jim did this ride on
his old airhead GS
with TKC80
knobbies. Check out
his pictures here.
Eddie ( ajayhawkfan from advrider ) and his brother in law Pete had a
great time pounding the T.W.A.T.! Read about their ride here.
great time pounding the T.W.A.T.! Read about their ride here.
Featured Photo:
Photo by Jim Klas. Click on the photo to see a great,
informative ride report on his time on the Trans Wisconsin trail.
informative ride report on his time on the Trans Wisconsin trail.
| For more info, e-mail chad@lonewolfexpeditions.com |
| Join our group! |
This group from Iowa rode the trail in early May 2009: From left to right
Ted Boffeli Eric Mond Dan Wachtel Kevin Ehrlich.
Here they are at the well known Delta Diner in Delta Wisconsin.
http://www.deltadiner.com/
Ted Boffeli Eric Mond Dan Wachtel Kevin Ehrlich.
Here they are at the well known Delta Diner in Delta Wisconsin.
http://www.deltadiner.com/
Stickers now available!
I finally got some stickers made up from a local sign shop. They
are 5"x2" and printed on premium vinyl. If you want some, they
are $3 each shipped. Paypal to rokklym@mwt.net and let me
know your address and the qty.
are 5"x2" and printed on premium vinyl. If you want some, they
are $3 each shipped. Paypal to rokklym@mwt.net and let me
know your address and the qty.
New for 2009
Randy Nissen has been wandering around quite a bit in the north woods
of Wisconsin and came up with a great looking return route.
This new addition starts near the end of my route in Cornucopia and
goes down to Hwy 70. This could also be used as an alternate finish to
my route since it runs parallel to it and crosses it a few times. On the
map to the left, the TWT route is the one in magenta and Randy's route
is in red.
Let me know if you want this file also and I'll send it to you.
of Wisconsin and came up with a great looking return route.
This new addition starts near the end of my route in Cornucopia and
goes down to Hwy 70. This could also be used as an alternate finish to
my route since it runs parallel to it and crosses it a few times. On the
map to the left, the TWT route is the one in magenta and Randy's route
is in red.
Let me know if you want this file also and I'll send it to you.
Click the picture on the right to go to Randy's write up ->