In July 2004 I biked from DeKalb IL (near Chicago) to Minneapolis MN and back. Here are some tips in case anyone else plans something similar. STAGE 1: PLANNING ROUGH ROUTE Mapquest puts this at about 363 miles. Seems unlikely that I can find a bike route (complete with camping) which is close enough to that that I can do it in four days and be ready for work the next day, so I will shoot for four long and one final short day to arrive at a room to prepare for a 2-week conference. A request to rec.bicycles.rides for route suggestions leads to the idea of using US 12 for much of the route: it passes through level terrain (much of SW wisconsin is hilly) and since it parallels Interstate 94, the through-traffic will likely not use US 12, making it a pleasant ride. (Also the interstate brings access to hotels and food chains.) I will plan a more scenic and leisurely ride for the return (no time constraints to speak of) so on this outbound leg we will simply try to haul a**. So we pick out some natural division points: Day1: Dekalb to Beloit WI to New Glarus (known to be a terminus of a trail) Day2: New Glarus to Mauston (on US 12) (Avoids Madison WI urban routes) Day3: Mauston to Black River Falls or Eau Claire along US12 Day4: to Hudson WI (on WI/MN state line) Day5: to Minneapolis That's about 90-100 miles a day for 4 days with only about 30 miles for the last day. For the return, I am taking suggestions e.g. from http://www.cycletourist.com/Boulder_to_Minneapolis/Therest_II.html http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/9381/trip1995.html which will take me along the mississippi river (WI route 35 is scenic) to around Winona; then there are trails to Sparta, Elroy and to Reedsburg. Sound really cool -- tunnels and all -- and blissfully flat in a hilly zone. There are trail web pages, too: http://www.kscon.com/pnp/bikepath.htm http://www.glacialdrumlin.com etc. STAGE 2: figure out where to stay, to fix some destinations. I am forced to travel over a holiday weekend (Thurs 1 July to Mon 5 July) so I called ahead to reserve a hotel on the last night. But I later decide this is unnecessary; I reserved a campsite instead. New Glarus has a state park. Call 1-888-WIPARKS (947-2757) for reservations. (Or use wiparks.net ; but they require 2-day reservations, which is not worthwhile for me!) Warning: no shower at New Glarus state park; park guide says "showers nearby". Hm -- I will chance it. Near Mauston is Mill Bluff state park but that has no showers at all. Next closest: Buckhorn State park; will add ~20 miles at the end of the day. Bummer. I take it. There are no convenient parks between Black River Falls (which has many parks _nearby_) and Eau Claire. I could make Day 3 short and camp at BRF, or long, sleeping in Eau Claire (Super 8, Best Western, Days Inn, etc.). Or I can chance it and look for a hotel in the middle. (Warning: this is the region where US 12 diverges from Interstate 94, so hotels are not as common.) There is "Al's Pioneer Inn" in Augusta. Also Osseo has a Super 8 and a Red Carpet Inn; it's about 13 miles from Fairchild (back on 94). Willow Spring State Park is right near Hudson. That will do just fine. Note: I don't think one can cross the Mississippi river at Hudson except on I-94 and that probably means no bikes. I opt to go north to Houlton on the last day to cross there into Stillwater MN. I find there's a state trail starting near Stillwater and leading into St. Paul, so that's a good choice. Alternative: there is a MN state park (William O'Brien) about 12 miles north of Stillwater, with camping; one could cross as I will and then head north to camp and pick up the trail the next day a little closer to its initial (northern) point. So now it looks like a full 100 each day (35 on last day). STAGE 3: Pick routes between night spots Wisconsin is hilly: use topozone.com to see that. Sure enough Route 12 runs through flatter terrain. Also there are some rail-trails I will use which should be flat (but not necessarily fast; these are unpaved trails). Also check out http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/bike-foot/bikemaps.htm for biking maps predicting traffic conditions and suitability. When it looks fairly direct I try to choose green and blue routes, but I don't mind some traffic-y miles -- especially when the road has taken the only flat route between towns. Day 1: DeKalb to Beloit is familiar to me, and pretty easy. I go north past Kirland and pick up a diagonal road which basically runs from Genoa IL through Belvidere and north of Rockford. There are city recreational paths in the Rockton area. Skirt past the SW edge of Beloit. Looks like about 25 miles to Brodhead, where a rail-trail path begins (Sugar River State Trail) and runs 22 miles to New Glarus. Directions to the park (courtesy ReserveAmerica.com) look pretty straightforward. Total will be ~110. Day 2: Not so clear how to proceed. Maybe 39 from New Glarus, crossing US 18 between Dodgeville and Ridgeway. through Helen to Reedsburg on 23, picking up the "400" trail to Elroy and then splitting off north to Camp Douglas. Need to take little roads to the State Park; or maybe I'll just punt and continue up the now-achieved US 12 to Tomah where there are many hotels (Econolodge, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn). Day 3: return to Camp Douglas I guess, then just stay on US 12. At Black RIver Falls I will have to (a) continue on US12, which departs to the hinterlands (b) choose other routes to snake along I-94 (c) take a campsite in the nearby BR State Forest (d) Take a hotel (many chains here). Tentatively shooting for Augusta WI on US 12 with the no-name hotel noted above. Day 4: Just stay on US 12 all day: August to Eau Clair (+23), to Menominee (+24), to Hudson area (+43), and find the State Park. Looks OK. Day 5: Skip Hudson itself: wander from State Park to Houlton (+7), cross to Stillwater, find trail, continue on trail to St Paul, follow city maps (courtesy mapquest.com) to desired address (basically using Larpenteur Ave to Univ of MN on the riverfront. Should be easy -- 35 miles? STAGE 4: Fine tuning A check of the topographic maps suggests the New Glarus route is just asking for trouble. Too many hills the first two days! Bikers should never choose a route that passes through places called "Bluff view"... With no additional miles I can go around NE of Madison instead of to its west. That's much better terrain. (It's the region basically enclosed by I-94 and the Mississippi river that's hilly.) There is a state park at Sandhill/Drumlin Trail which is a good distance from home, but they do not take reservations; bummer. Some hotels in Columbus will do in a pinch. Mick Nelson reads my newsgroup post and we communicate; he's got some very helpful suggestions for these first two days. He says not to expect any problems getting a campsite at the Drumlin Trail park. OK, so that's the new route. Note: a night at New Glarus was going to cost $10 plus $10 reservation fee and now I find that only half of the first part is refundable. Forget it! So that's $20 down the tubes. If this weren't a holiday weekend I would probably just wing it and hope to find a place to sleep without reservations. (Nelson says he believes the wisconsin parks won't turn away a biker anyway.) So now first day goes East of Beloit, thru Ft Atkinson and Jefferson to Lake Mills where I will camp. Second day will aim for Buckhorn park. I think I will head through Columbus and Portage and take WI-16 until due south of the park. Careful review of the county suitability maps suggests quite a bit of fine tuning, but this looks pretty good. US12 looks heavy again entering the Twin Cities, so it will have to be county roads; those will have more hills. Mapquest finds car routes to help estimate daily distances: from my house to Lake Mills: 100 miles; Lake Mills to Buckhorn State Park, 103 miles; Buckhorn State Park to Augusta WI, 96 miles; Augusta WI to Willow River State Park, 97 miles; Willow River State Park to Minneapolis destination, 33 miles I can get better estimates by adding distances to intermediate destinations (so as to force Mapquest to use the roads I would use, more or less) but it nonetheless seems to be about 100 miles per day for each of 4 days, last day still around 35 miles. Check wunderground.com : Three bad days at the start. Yuk. Oh well. STAGE 5 : Pack I have to pack light! I am minimalist: I ride in ordinary gardening clothes and sandals, no gloves. So I pack: 5 sets { short, underwear, t-shirt }. One pair of shorts has zip-off legs to convert to long pants if needed. Toss in three pairs of socks, in case it's cold or I get blisters. Also one long-sleeved shirt in case of cold nights. For sleeping: tent (cheap, 5lb), air mattress, blanket. I bring a "space blanket" just in case. I will use my clothes for a pillow. Personal: toothbrush in holder, tootpaste, floss; soap in holder, towel, a few aspirin, spare toilet paper, shampoo. I am bearded with short hair, so no comb or razors for me! Misc: swimsuit (you never know!), twine & 2 clothespins, penknife, spare glasses, handkerchief, spare trash bags. (Everything is wrapped in 13-gallon garbage bags) All this comes to 20-25 lbs Then there's the stuff that lives in my bike saddle bag: 2 spare tubes patch kit chain lube stuff tire tool, screw driver maps compass bike light/flashlight lock & chain duct tape flat pack windbreaker poncho longsocks soft hat with brim bug spray minor first aid stuff The other saddle bag carries lots of granola bars/fruit, water/gatorade, brochures etc. Water is heavy! The two saddle bags are probably another 10lb, so I'm carrying 35 lbs on my Trek 7100 (together with my 160lb body). I am mailling clothes for two weeks and assorted sundries to Minneapolis for use during the conference. I might rearrange and put some of it on the bike for the return trip. By chance I find a flat tire the day before so I am now starting with a fresh tube on the rear. Then, by another fluke, I find my tires rubbing the brakes later in the day. At the bike shop we find: the wheel is out of true! And then we find: there is a missing spoke! So while we're at it, I take a new rear tire and a new set of brakes all around. Now, surely, the rear end of the bike is set! At home everything is attached to the bike. DOesn't ride too badly, though it would probably be better to have bigger bags so the weight would be lower down. Oh well. Here's hoping it's not too hard to go centuries. Cycle computer set to zero. Need to get a good night's sleep; I feel a cold coming on, and the latest weather shows cool nights ahead. Ugh. STAGE 6: Off I go!