Great roads &
Great views!

Sugar Riverm
Albany, Wi.

Roll Out the Barrel, Roll Out the Barrel of Fun!

Indeed, a barrel of fun was had by all who joined me on the inaugural “America’s Little Switzerland” Weekend ride.  Joining me on the ride were Sam and George from the MCBC and John  and Tom  from the BCLC.

Greeted by perfect weather for the weekend, we began our journey on a Saturday morning from Sharon, Wisconsin and rode along quiet and picturesque roads to our various rest stops, which 75 miles later would have us in New Glarus.  We passed through a few small towns, which gave us several different lunch options.  Just over the halfway point on day 1, there was an option to ride the Sugar River Trail, offering further variety to the ride as well as a convenient method of avoiding the more challenging hills.

We had a great sense of accomplishment upon reaching New Glarus, knowing that we were there for our overnight stay and our world was just our bikes and ourselves at that point.  It’s the same great feeling as being on a multi-day organized ride, except we had the additional satisfaction of having done this without the support of anyone else to haul our gear bags.  As you prepare for a ride like this, you gain a better appreciation for what you really need (and DON’T need) for an overnight stay.

We enjoyed a group dinner at the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant, which offered a buffet loaded with great biking food: a variety of vegetables, meats, potatoes, and pasta.  The band played polka music, including, of course, the Beer Barrel Polka!  George impressed us all with his fluency in German, which he used to dialog with our waitress.  Our waitress seemed to enjoy this quite a bit, as she is originally from Europe and plans to return there as well.

The second day of our journey took us back to Sharon, Wisconsin, offering an option to ride the entire length of the Sugar River Trail.  Again, there was a great sense of accomplishment upon reaching our destination.  In some ways, it was better than the night before, in that we were going to sleep in our own beds that night.  On the other hand, we were sorry to see the adventure and the simplicity of our weekend journey come to an end.