Ride Across Wisconsin

press release: Join Wisconsin Bike Fed for the 5th Annual Ride Across Wisconsin with a new route and new challenges to conquer. La Crosse to Green Bay:

1 Day- 225 Miles & 100 Mile Ride Options

2 Day- 225 Miles: La Crosse > Stevens Point (overnight)> Green Bay

After four amazing years we are moving the start of RAW to La Crosse and the finish to Green Bay. We had amazing growth in registrations early, but our registration numbers were down a little in 2018. Then last year at the finish party, some of our riders who have joined us every year told us they might not come back in 2019 unless the route changed. That gave us pause.

Since our inaugural ride in 2015, a group of our Founders have been encouraging us to move the start to La Crosse and the finish in Green Bay. We hesitated because that adds at least 50 miles to the route. But with our numbers down slightly and requests to move the route, we included those questions in our 2018 post-RAW rider survey.

The results of that rider survey could not have been more clear. While everyone said they liked the original route, the vast majority of riders said they wanted a change. We specifically asked about moving the ride to La Crosse with a 225 mile route that finished in Green Bay. We were surprised that the vast majority of riders said we should move to La Crosse with the longer route. Even more of a surprise, most respondents said they would choose a one day, 225 mile option over a two-day option!

Our riders spoke and we listened, and we couldn’t be more excited for the move to the iconic Wisconsin host communities of La Crosse and Green Bay. The longer route now offers two legitimate days of riding for those who don’t want to power through 225 miles in one day. The overnight location in Plover, just south of Stevens Point, includes a party at the beautifully redone Pacawa Park, located right next to O’so Brewing and Great Northern Distillery!

It is bittersweet to leave the southern route. We have made many friends with farmers along our route and businesses and volunteers from our host towns. We cannot thank everyone enough from Dubuque to Beloit to Kenosha for making us feel welcome as we ride through your communities. Our thought is to return to the Founding route from Dubuque to Kenosha in the future, so we will not say goodbye, but see you soon.