Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail invite.

Hello everyone,

This is an invitation to join me on a run of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail early in the riding season. May 23 - May 26. That would be 3 days on the trail and taking advantage of Memorial Day for the ride home.

I started to plan this as a Driftless Dual Sport Riders club ride, but I don’t want to bother with AMA sanctioning or any of that insurance nonsense. This is not an organized event; I’m doing a thing, come along if you would like to.

My plan would be to camp in Galena at the Palace campground on Thursday, May 22, have everyone meet either there that evening or at the start of the trail south of Hazel Green at the state line the morning of May 23.

I'll be on my CRF300, and if others are also on little bikes or on a big bike and want things a little spicy, I can look into modifying the route a little to pick up more of the ATV trails on the way.

I plan to camp. If the overnight temps are below 40, I may want to modify it to hotel stays. I'll make that decision a minimum of one week before departure. I plan to go even if the forecast is for rain.

This is not a guided tour; I expect everyone to have the track on GPS or phone and be able to navigate. I will have tools with me, but if your bike needs something out of the ordinary for tire changes, you should have it with you. Bring spare tubes and a patch kit.

If it's dusty, we'll break up into groups of 4 or less to minimize how much anyone will be sucking dust, and it'll be easier to keep an eye on each other.

I won't be cooking at camp; expect a stop for dinner, a stop for a few snacks before heading to camp, and then a stop for breakfast in the morning.

If this is the first time moto camping for anyone, I plan to have a meeting beforehand where we can talk over what to pack and any other concerns.

I will have an emergency beacon and I do have some experience with accident scenes but there is always risk and it is yours to bear. This is a group of friends traveling, not a tour, you are expected to carry your own insurance. In case of a breakdown that can't be resolved trailside, I will help get you to a Uhaul so you can get yourself and your bike back home.

I plan to put this out as a pretty open invitation and we may get a very wide range of abilities and paces. I plan to be pretty chill for pace but we may self-select and break up into separate groups if someone is feeling overwhelmed or utterly bored by the pace. If the pace is too much, speak up, never be shy about it. I never want someone to get hurt because they tried to keep up. I would rather wait for you on the trail than to wait for emergency services. Trust me, it sucks for everyone if someone gets hurt.

Enough rambling, let me know who is interested and a little about your experience level and start dreaming about riding thru the woods and fields of Wisconsin.

I’ll put together an email list of everyone who’s going. I plan on a few zoom calls to discuss maybe an in person get together.

Cheers,

Tim Clarke