SE MN , NW IO route advice

[bigbear]

Hi all,
weather permitting (Read no tornadoes) I am heading from north central IL to central MN. I will be leaving on Friday 13th. My desire is to take the back roads Vs slab and am considering crossing the river at Prairie Du chein (spelling). Which roads along the river will allow me to make some time yet see the sights? I want to avoid the Twin Cities so will start heading west in central MN south of there. Ultimate destination is Sauk Centre, Long Prairie area.

Considering returning through Duluth just to see the sights.

Be the first trip of any length on the LT so will see what I think of the Ole Hoss after 450 miles a day.

thanks

Roy

[jers99lt]

Hi Roy,

I can't be of specific help, but what I've been doing lately is using Google terrain maps to identify interesting landscapes/topology such as forested hills and streams in areas I'd like to venture out to.

HTH,
Jer

[Tom1200]

Go ahead and come up the river to Wabasha, MN and then take 60 over to Zumbrota. But you will be missing alot of good roads in Wisc. by getting into Iowa so early. Most of the county roads in Wis are paved and there are some really good ones along the river from Winona, Arcadia to Red Wing. The Winona bridge is closed over the river so you have to cross at LaCrosse or Wabasha now.

Here is a link you can play with with some good roads.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=235157258473186469,42.301850,-89.633370%3B17780985916062396972,43.043780,-91.180680%3B11705354635508397310,43.869120,-91.232210%3B17826040957073499876,44.250570,-91.473440%3B16773510203372526482,44.134440,-91.714520%3B14183586663722479761,44.419120,-92.008870%3B6023175035879561671,44.267450,-92.640850%3B8434151228838752245,44.299030,-93.305490%3B7090087855923728509,44.543230,-93.818810%3B9953022091570100312,44.768470,-94.130850%3B12948310430678390445,44.895450,-94.355420%3B17298012338824092481,45.199830,-94.316630%3B604897651654103457,45.311480,-94.290170%3B201109863159471992,45.434700,-94.938560&saddr=W+Galena+Ave%2FUS-20-BR+%4042.301850,+-89.633370&daddr=US-18+%4043.043780,+-91.180680+to:WI-35+N+%4043.869120,+-91.232210+to:WI-93+%4044.250570,+-91.473440+to:N+North+St%2FWI-95+%4044.134440,+-91.714520+to:WI-25+%4044.419120,+-92.008870+to:MN-60+%4044.267450,+-92.640850+to:CR-11+%4044.299030,+-93.305490+to:280th+St+W+%4044.543230,+-93.818810+to:US-212+W+%4044.768470,+-94.130850+to:MN-22%2FMN-7+%4044.895450,+-94.355420+to:MN-15+%4045.199830,+-94.316630+to:MN-24%2FMN-55+%4045.311480,+-94.290170+to:MN-55+%4045.434700,+-94.938560+to:45.725356,-94.96582&mra=mi&mrcr=10&mrsp=14&sz=8&via=8,10,11&sll=45.571755,-95.20752&sspn=1.703412,3.339844&ie=UTF8&z=8

Between points C and F are some really good county roads you can take. Zoom in more and move your points around. I guess it depends how much time you have.

[ChiefMn]

Make sure to take Hwy 33 through Wildcat Mountain state park 40 miles sw of La Crosse if you get the chance.Hwy 35 up the Wisc. side from La Crosse is a nice ride.You can cross over to Mn. in Wabasha and stop and eat at Slippery's from the Grumpy old men movie.The locals will try to steer you away because "it's to spendy."A burger and fries will set you back $7.

[2Wheelroadtrip]

If you take hwy 35 on the wisc side to Nelson Wisc. They have the best real Ice cream at the old creamery. We will make an all day ride just to get there and home. Then you can cross over to Minn. Hwy 60 west is very nice for the first 40 miles or so. Let us know how much time you plan on spending just getting there so we can let you know of the great roads on the way. There are lots of great roads between Madison and Lacrosse WI. This is Amish country so watch out for the horse apples on the road. Also, don't miss the "Mindoro cut" north of LaCrosse. That is a nice way to get from the east side of Lacrosse to hwy 35 for the run up the river. When you get past MN 52 in Minnesota you will be able to make up some time since most of the roads northwest of there are on the grid system(boring).
Have a great ride! Bring your rain gear this year.

[nocanpickem]

Those are good suggestions:

An alternative to Hwy 35 is Hwy 60 that follows the Wisconsin River and ends at Prairie du Chien. 35 has more hills and curves but 60 is smoother and faster.

If you get to Prairie du Chien next weekend is Rendevous. It is free and worth seeing. Don't forget Pikes Peak in McGregor Ia.

[bigbear]

thanks guys and gals,
rain gear, hell might need pontoons and a prop on the LT. 2 1/2 inches of rain Saturday & Sunday with more on the way. Still compared to some areas we are dry.

Won't have a lot of sight seeing time this trip but trying to scope some decent weekend rides for the future. This trip is to see some family I haven't seen for four years.

Roy

[bigbear]

Well after 1187 miles later I am home safe and dry.

I took the suggestions from the members and road along the Mississippi on 35 and it was an interesting ride. Several places where there had been mud slides between Prairie Du Chien and La Cross. Non of them recent enough to cause any traffic problems. Got to La Cross and decided to keep on going so went to Eau Claire and then on to Duluth. Windy as heck but dry.

Coming home decided to take the slab to see how it would effect the milage on Hoss. Set the cruise so speedometer read 78. I suspect this is real close to actual 68 - 70 MPH since I was passing very few cars.

Going up with mostly two lane roads and a strong wind Milage was 48.18 MPG.

Coming home on slab milage was 49.1.

Total trip average was 48.78 MPG.

Temperature when I left central MN on Monday was 46 degrees. Warmed up to 68 by the time I hit Tomah, WI. Had on summer vented riding gloves, Kilimanjaro jacket no liner and Darien pants. Stayed comfortable without using heated seat or grips. Was actually warm enough I had to pull over and stop to stay awake twice.

Only complaint: Vacations are never long enough.

Ride safe all

Roy

[jers99lt]

Hi Roy,

Sounds like a successful trip. How was the scenery? Any exceptional areas?

Jer

[bigbear]

Hi Roy,

Sounds like a successful trip. How was the scenery? Any exceptional areas?

Jer

I didn't stray off of the beaten path to far. My concern was washed out roads in unfamiliar territory. Route from New Glarus to Dodgeville was very scenic on a winding road. I took hwy 39 from New Glarus to Hollandale & then 191 to Dodgeville. 191 was very twisty but there was several places where mud and gravel was washed across the road. From Dodgeville to Prairie Du chein was pretty uneventful. hwy 35 north from Prairie Du Chein was very scenic but it was hard to tell what you could not see due to the river being so high that the trees under water.

I hope to take a couple day or weekend trips up to that area this summer and do some exploring. I was in Prairie Du Chein in about 2 1/2 hrs and stopped for gas once at New Glarus.

Over all I was pleased with how well the LT handled the wind and just kept on eating miles.

Only real concern about the bike was that I keep over riding the cruise and the beast is a ticket trap. Set cruise at 60 MPH look down doing 80+ :eek:

I suspect that as the cruise maintains speed it rolls the throttle on and my hand resting on it keeps the throttle rolled. Just causes a few Oh Sh*t moments. Not the bikes fault it is so smooooth you don't even notice.

Roy