[Diamond Solitaire]

I am moving from Colorado to Milwaukee. We should arrive into town in late August. I have heard from transplants out here that WI has some of the best riding in the Midwest. Is this true or are they just proud of where they are from?

Where are the trails near Milwaukee?

I ride a 26 inch SS and currently run a 32 : 18 gear ratio. What ratio do you guys run out there?

Is there a cross series in the fall?

Any information would be great. . .

Thanks!

 

[wizzells]

Don't have all the answers for you, but I highly doubt anything in WI will compare to anything in CO as far as great trails go. Some places to check out are the Kettle Moraine South trails outside Palmyra, Blue Mounds west of the Madison area, and more locally the Alpha Trail in Franklin.

 

[xtremewriter]

Did you read the thread below? Sheybogan is not far from Milwaukee, but I agree that you'll have to ttrek it to southern Kettle, Wausau, La Crosse or Blue Mounds outside Madison for some real fun.

Nothing here will compare to Colorado, that is true, but we take what we can get and ride with it:thumbsup:

Same goes for snowboarding

But welcome to Wisconsin. I think you'll find people pretty friendly here. In a bar, you'll always be holding at least two beers, because someone is always buying you one, whether you need it or not

See you out on the trails!

http://http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=318317

 

[xtremewriter]

Oops, that link didn't work, sorry.

http://http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=318317

 

[xtremewriter]

for the love of god, I did it again!

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=318317

 

[RedMosquito]

Officially there are two trail systems in Milwaukee County, the Crystal Ridge/Alpha trails and the Menomonee River trails. Both are of the twisty, wooded, singletrack variety with little technical challenge. Also within the city limits are the Milwaukee River trails (contains a few tech spots, probably my favorite of the Milwaukee trails) and the Grant Park trails (good lakefront scenery). I ride a 2:1 SS ratio and that gets me through anything at the aformentioned trails. Wisconsin terrain is perfect for SSing.

Blue Mounds State Park west of Madison is two hours away and makes for a great weekend ride. Way more technical than anything else I have found in the state.

The Southern Kettle Moraine Forest is also only about an hour away. Usually pretty crowded, but the extensive system allows a rider to put together a fun 25 mile all singletrack loop, which you will find is much harder to do in Wisconsin than Colorado (putting together a 25 mile loop that is, not actually riding 25 miles).

 

[hardtail6]

Welcome

What they said and more. Yes, there is a cross series here and you could also mix it up with the Chi-town series in the fall.

For day/weekend trips you could also add 9 mile forest/swamp near Wausau, standing rocks near Stevens Point, Levis Mound near Black River falls, anything near Cable, currently being constructed trails at green bush, and stump farm up by Green Bay. Just to name a few.

For info about trails and rides near MKE, check out: http://www.metromountainbikers.com/
Come for the meeting, stay for the 30+ tappers of local brews.

for general Wisco trails: http://www.worba.org

'Cross racing: http://www.wicycling.org/

XC racing here: http://www.wors.org

 

[Diamond Solitaire]

Thanks

Wow. Thanks for all the info. I was thinking of switching to a 2:1 for WI. It seems like a good combo. I just didn't know if I would spin out too much.

It looks like a really positive and vibrant biking community over there. I'll stop by and have a beer with you guys at Benno's and maybe get a race in on Wednesday night.

How far is the velobowl in Kenosha? That looks like fun. . .

See you all soon on the trails.

 

[wi1trackrider]

Let me preface this post by stating my riding experiences have been limited to the midwest (WI, MO), and a little bit out east (ME). I've never rolled a fat knobby west of the Mississippi.

What I think WI has going for it is numerous solid biking locations around the state. The weakest sections are the southeast and southcentral areas of the state (where all the population centers are - go figure!) The further you go north and/or west, the quantity and quality of riding locales improve. The range in trail composition is also a plus IMO. You can go from riding what seems like an endless rock garden to a sandy pine forest to hardpack rooty terrain in less than 100 miles.

Another positive going for the state is the popularity of XC skiing. Most of the major good riding locales are large XC ski networks with MTB singletrack cut through it. The skiing trails were set up initially way back when (70s I'm guessing), so the preserved parks where in place, and they became a natural location to cut singletrack into.

The trails must be good in the national ranking. Some of the accolades are that NORBA has a 24hour race here, and they have also given one of the trails the 'epic' classification.

Search around this forum and you'll pick up on the some of the hot spots. If you make it out here, enjoy it.

 

[hardtail6]

The velodrome...

is located about 45 minutes south in Kenosha via the freeway.

I forgot about the gearing. I run 34x19 on the 29er, so 2:1 should be about right. Although you may want to have a couple teeth +/- on hand. The trails change quite a bit from one area to the next around here.