In the spirit of adventure...

The Tour de Chequamegon is designed to be a self-supported ride, but you won’t be alone. We have a well-trained support crew, that have been doing this ride for years. Riding along with you will be “Ride Guides” - on bikes, support vehicle with mechanics, and a medic… just in case. We have a Lead Ride Guide that rides with the fast group up front, a Ride Guide in the middle that floats among different groups, and a Sweep Ride Guide that makes sure no one gets left behind. Cell reception in the Northwoods is many times non-existent… do your best to stay on the trail and be sure to download the most recent TdC GPS File on your RideWithGPS app.

You can ride as a group or on your own. You’ll just need to have your daily provisions, camping gear and basic bike repair gear on hand (tubes, levers, multi-tool…). You don't have to bring any cooking supplies, meals, sports nutrition, as that is all provided by the ride. We do ask that riders bring a coffee mug - let’s save the earth, one paper cup at a time. Each morning you will have a lunch wrap and snacks to carry with you.

At the end of the day, we'll meet the group at camp and have dinner, refreshments, and gather around a warm campfire. Those who join us are in for a treat…This is bikepack-glamping. Please keep in mind that registration is limited to 50 riders, and the spots fill up quickly.

Below are some helpful tips and details about what to expect on the ride written by, yours truly, Seeley Dave.

the route and daily mileage

Note the daily mileage is not very long, but with the hills and soft gravel, it is still a good ride. The first day is the hardest and longest, but you should still roll into camp in daylight. We kept the days shorter intentionally so we can sleep in a bit, ride at a conversational pace, have plenty of time stop along the route for photos and relax next to the lakes when you get to the campgrounds. Of course, if you want to crush it, there are hundreds of miles of gravel forest roads in every direction, so feel free to go explore and get some extra miles in. Everyone is expected to carry their own water, tent, sleeping gear, clothing, and incidentals, but you don’t have to bring food. All food and beverages are included in the price.

We hope everyone will stick together in a group and we will lead the ride at a conversational pace, but your pace is up to you. That said, it is easy to get separated from the group on long, hilly gravel roads, so everyone should download the route on a GPS head unit like Garmin, Wahoo, etc. or use a phone app like RideWithGPS, etc. You can also draw the map on a paper map like one of the Wisconsin Bike Fed cycling maps, but please also have the route downloaded to your phone even if you don’t think you will need it.

Be aware there is no electricity at our campsites, so your phone or Garmin must last the entire three days. Bring a small portable power bank and cable with you to keep your electronics charged. I often also use a Shutter Precision hub dynamo and Sinewave Beacon dynamo powered light that will also keep my phone charged.

Cellular coverage has improved, and RideWithGPS now has a coverage overlay layer for their RWGPS cycle map with major providers, so you can check where you will have coverage and where you won’t.

what bike should i bring

A gravel bike with 42 mm tubeless tires at 40-50 psi is probably the fastest bike overall for this route. That said, I typically ride my Milwaukee Bicycle Company Feral 29er with 2.4s because some of the sections of the route are very rocky and others can be very soft, sandy soil. Some TdC regulars ride full suspension mountain bikes or fat bikes every time and love the extra comfort.

Seriously though, bring any bike of any brand you have that rolls well on soft gravel.  You can bring a cross bike, hybrid, mountain bike, fat bike, touring bike, etc. Road bikes with <32mm tires are not recommended. Please have your bike looked over by your local bike shop before you come. While Wheel & Sprocket can fix almost anything on this trip, they will not have time to tune up 50 bikes on this trip and rule #1 on trips like these is BE PREPARED! :)

WHAT GEAR SHOULD I PACK ON MY BIKE?

Google bikepacking gear list for three days and you will find plenty of different suggestions. In this blog post on my LifeAboveEight website, I share my suggestions and personal gear choices for what I typically bring. Remember, we don’t carry your stuff for you, so please do a couple of longer shake-down rides on some rough terrain with your bike all loaded up. It is not uncommon for people to bring too much stuff and curse the extra comforts that slow them down on the many steep climbs the first day.

what about food?

You do not have to bring food for the camping trip as breakfast, lunch and dinner on the ride are included. When you register, please select any food preferences for vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free. Each afternoon, the Wheel & Sprocket crew will arrive at our campgrounds ahead of us with cold beverages, snacks and firewood, so you only need to carry your provided lunch for the day’s ride.

• Dinners will be around 5:30 pm. Like on many bikepacking trips, we will have a cookout the first night at Black Lake where there is no nearby restaurant or tavern.

• Lunch will be wraps for you to take with you on your ride each day so you can eat lunch whenever you feel hungry. We will also bring a supply of hydration mix and bars to eat along the route. There is fresh water available at each campsite so you can fill up before you head out on the ride.

• Breakfast will be instant oatmeal, granola, toppings, tea/coffee fixings and juice. W&S will have that set up each morning, including hot water, paper bowls and compostable utensils.

• Coffee: making coffee while camping is an enjoyable ritual and people have many different preferred methods, from Aeropress to instant to pour over. We will provide good coffee grounds (and tea), but riders will need to make their own coffee with the method of your choice. We will have some french presses you can use, but we encourage you to enjoy a camp coffee-making ritual of you own preference.

what will the camp culture be like?

We will have a campfire for people to gather around. Note some people bring very small backpacking folding chairs. Others sit at the picnic table, on a couple of coolers we bring or just on the ground. We will have some craft beer, cider and other non-alcoholic beverages at the end of the ride, but this is NOT a raging party with bike jumping through the fire. Feel free to bring a book, swim in the lakes at each campground or go hike or ride around the campsites and explore a bit.