Following the lead created by hut-to-hut trekkers of the Alps; riders of the driftless can now conquer challenging backroads by day and enjoy evenings in the privacy of their own cabin, with home cooked meals and comfy beds. New, for the 2008 season, Spree Touring makes it possible for bicyclists ride cabin-to-cabin on a 'lightly supported, self-guided tour' through Wisconsin's own 'Hill Country'.

Simply put:











To begin planning a tour, cyclists need to determine the following:

1. The dates and days you wish to be touring.
2. For each day you will be touring select
• the 'route leg' you wish to ride, or...
• request a custom 'distance & challenge level'
3. Select the groceries to have delivered for each day.
• Food items are purchased from the local cooperatives and are typically organic or produced by sustainable metheds.

Once your tour is defined, Spree Touring will reserve the lodging and finalize the financial details.
Then, while touring you can count on Spree for the following:

1. Daily route maps, tubes, CO2 & patch kit & misc. items.
2. Luggage transport to the next evening's destination.
3. Grocery delivery to the next evening's destination.

Each day, cyclists will tour from cabin to cabin. Where cabins are scarce, B&Bs and hotels are used.  Additional activities such as flyfishing, visiting local artist studios, wildlife viewing is up to the cyclist to arrange.

Food
Groceries are ordered by cyclist prior to tour departure.  All groceries are provided by local food cooperatives, therefore most items are organic or produced by sustainable processes.  Throughout the day, routes will pass multiple villages and cities where riders can top off water bottles and purchase lunch or snacks.


The Tour's Organization: Beginning, End & the Middle
The Driftless tour is set-up to have two endpoints and a network of cabins & routes in between.  Routes are laid out to link cabins or 'groups of cabins' together.  Along the routes are points of interest and communities where cyclist may refill the bottles and pick up lunch.  

Two cities are identified as access points for riders to begin and end their Driftless Tour (we’ll call these endpoints).  These endpoint cities are Madison and La Crosse. Both have good connections (roads, trains & planes) to nearby metros.  La Crosse has train and commercial air connections through Minneapolis/St Paul.  Madison has bus and commercial air connections through Chicago and Milwaukee.  

When planning, cyclists can choose to start or finish at either end of the network.  Cyclists may plan an 'out and back', tour 'end to end', or simply ride out to one cabin and send several days venturing out from that one single point.  

In between the two endpoints is a network of routes, cabins, points of interest and a lot of adventure. The network of routes is organized around lodging, linking cabins (or groups of cabins).   Currently the network of routes consists or 14 major links.  Each link can consist of multiple routes.  This way, when doing an 'out and back', cyclist can tour on different roads.  

Getting to & from your Driftless Tour
A great feature about Driftless Touring is the variety of ways to get to the tour’s start and end points. With very affordable connections to neighboring metros, cyclists can choose to travel green & leave the car parked. 

By Air
Air travel, certainly an expensive option, may still be feasible for cyclists arriving from outside of the Midwest. This seems the case for cyclist arriving from the southwest and wish to begin touring at La Crosse.
La Crosse-The airport is about a 5-10 min.drive from the center of the city & has daily connections to Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP). The two hotels identified for over night stays offer airport shuttle service.
Madison- With daily connections to Chicago. This tour identifies several hotels in Madison offering airport shuttle service. In the event a shuttle is not available, taxi service exists and is reasonably priced (~$25)

A very economical and green choice involves bus & train service. Both services are prepared to transport bikes. Bus & train transport costs about half as much as driving a car. For a boxed bike, add $10.

By Train
La Crosse-Amtrak service passes through MSP & La Crosse twice daily and the timing could not be any better. The morning service from MSP will have you and your bike in La Crosse before 11am. Enough time for you assemble the bike, then get started on your Driftless Tour. Considering La Crosse’s river front park, galleries & shops, cyclists could delay their start until the next morning and spend the afternoon exploring La Crosse.  The train’s timing for the return from La Crosse back to MSP seems perfect. With an early evening departure (shortly after 7pm) cyclists have all day to tour & explore. Late afternoon cruise into the station and begin preparing for the trek back home.
Madison- Less convenient & economical is train service at the Madison end. Seems the tracks have missed Madison and pass through a small town called Columbus, which is 28 miles away. Madison’s many taxis will transport you to the Columbus station. The cost will range from$70-$90. Although the cost seems high, it isn’t much worse than the cost to drive a vehicle from La Crosse, Milwaukee & Chicago & it is a heck of a lot greener.

By Bus

Madison- Although the train to Madison comes up short, the busses deliver for travel between the airports of Milwaukee or Chicago. For transport between Madison & Chicago Van Galder offers multiple trips daily. For the Madison & Milwaukee route Badger Bus offers multiple trips daily. These services are a very economical and green. Boxed bikes travel for $5-10.
La Crosse- Bus service departing La Crosse to either Madison or MSP is offered by Jefferson Lines. The service is not daily. Great if it works into the schedule, otherwise use the train.

By Car
The convenience of car travel is unquestionable. That is until you have to figure out where to leave it during the tour and deal with baggage pick-up and drops.

At each end of the Driftless Tour, Spree has identified several hotels in both La Crosse & Madison which will help with the parking and luggage. In return for a one night stay, these hotels will allow you to leave your car on their lot and provide space to hold luggage for a couple of hours until it is passed between Spree and cyclists. At the Madison end these hotels are actually located in western burb ‘Verona’. For La Crosse these hotels are located at the center of the city.

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Lodging used for Driftless Touring:
Coulee Cabins,
Farmer's Inn,
House on the Rock Resort,
Norskedalen's Paulsen Cabin,
Ottervale School Vacation Cottage,
Trillium (A Green business),
Wilson Schoolhouse Inn