Len's 463 Mile E-bike trip in hills of SW Wisconsin

[ridgewalker]

I wear padded butt bike shorts under my pants...

Big help...

This will help a lot! But just riding a lot will toughen up your rear as well. It always seemed like my rear was never tough enough no matter how much riding or how much padding I had! LOL!

 

[Sealesniper]

Len,

Looks like an absolutely awesome experience. Glad it was an enjoyable and safe trip. I really like your pictures. You have an eye for some great subject matter, well done.

Roger

 

[Stonyman88]

Last summer I started getting the travel bug and decided to become a serious bike touring guy. I have owned several e-bikes since first converting a Trek bike with a motor kit about 20 years ago. In mid August I picked up my new Gazelle along with a couple extra batteries.

After testing bike and gear with a few overnight trips I developed a 7 day route in the Driftless Area of SW Wisconsin. Fantastic rolling hills that were never scraped smooth when the glaciers scrubbed much land north, west and south of the unaffected area

The route design was 410 miles but I modified it on the go and ended up riding 463 miles and 22,000 vertical feet of climbs over 7 days. The screenshot below shows the planned route before in the field add-ons.

The rivers shown are the Mississippi on the west and the Wisconsin at the bottom...running east/west. My last day included a ferry ride accross the Wisconsin River.

My trip started on 9.27.23

View attachment 530586

Len Some trip , did you get close to Westby or Cashton WI,?

 

[Tree Farmer]

E-bikes and coulee country are a marriage made in heaven! Flat ground is the exception, not the rule.

 

[claybreaker]

Thanks for posting... You picked a beautiful time of year for year.

Curious at to your nightly arrangements... any tent camping (I see a state park)? B&Bs?
Did you need to resupply daily or every couple of days?

Be Safe

 

[Len Backus]

Thanks for posting... You picked a beautiful time of year for year.

Curious at to your nightly arrangements... any tent camping (I see a state park)? B&Bs?
Did you need to resupply daily or every couple of days?

Be Safe

3 nights in tent and 3 in hotel. I had food along with me but ate in restaurants and gas stations.

 

[Nobody]

I used to ride 2500 miles a year - mostly on the road but some on rails-to-trails. Always on a carbon fiber mechanical bike. Now I don't have the courage to ride on the road so it's rails-to-trails. Rode 313 miles in October but only about half that in November since it was hunting season. Weather's been so bad around here lately that I'd trash my bike with trail grit so December was pretty much a wash. Man I HATE being off the bike. Did you have any problems with unreasonable car drivers? Very nice pix btw.

You sound like a knowledgeable ebike guy Len. What made you go with a Gazelle?

 

[Len Backus]

This IS NOT a picture of me with all my bike touring gear.

I don't have nearly that much hair..

.

 

[claybreaker]

This IS NOT a picture of me with all my bike touring gear.

I don't have nearly that much hair..

View attachment 537645

.

HAha..

My first thought for about 50 milli-seconds,....oh a scene from MAD MAX... then no it isn't.

 

[Shaggy1]

Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Litehiker]

Good on ya Len. Good to see you like e-bikes.

You can tell Len is a photographer at heart and knows his way around a camera.. Even my avatar was taken by Len on our GC backpack.

 

[Litehiker]

View attachment 530613View attachment 530614View attachment 530615View attachment 530616View attachment 530617View attachment 530618

Like that shot of a hay "tedder". Few now even know what they are.

 

[Sprocketman]

Great ride Len. Really liked the skeleton horse & rider.