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To Minneapolis cyclist Russ Raschke, the “unbelievable” view is a portrait of one of the best regions to bicycle in the Upper Midwest.
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Avid bikers, from left, Mark Blaubach, Kim Hill and Harvey Hill, ride down German Coulee Road near Ettrick, Wis. Sunday during the Tour de Trempealeau. The 55 mile bike ride starts in Whitehall and goes through Blair, Ettrick, Galesville and Trempealeau. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
“You don’t get vistas like this riding in the flats,” Raschke said.
Raschke stopped at the winery Sunday morning as part of the Tour de Trempealeau, which took 70-plus riders through 159 miles of Trempeleau County countryside on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The three-day event was sponsored by eight local businesses and organized by the Trempealeau County Tourism Council, which uses it to raise money and promote the area’s scenery.
Guests like Dan and Michelle Bibeau, who live near Hibbing, Minn., appeared to appreciate Trempealeau County’s bucolic beauty.
“We travel about 350 miles just to ride here,” Michelle Bibeau said.
Ron McKernan, who chairs the board of the Trempealeau County Tourism Council, said cyclists have given the area rave reviews since the first Tour de Trempealeau five years ago. This year’s event is one of seven bike tours the council is sponsoring in 2007.
“The terrain, the scenery and the low volume of traffic — that’s a very unique combination,” McKernan said.
Also thanks to its abundance of paved back roads, McKernan said, the area was singled out as prime cycling territory by the Twin Cities Bicycle Club, which still visits twice a year. The Twin Cities club mapped out 14 routes in the county, and that map is given to Tour participants to allow them to stray from the larger group routes.
Sunday’s 50-mile ride started in Whitehall, went through Galesville and ended in Trempealeau. Friday and Saturday’s rides took cyclists through Arcadia, Independence and Osseo, among other locations.
Kiyoko Fiedler, who owns Tenba Ridge Winery, said local residents appreciate the “silent sports” like bicycling. They’re environmentally friendly, she said, and have a low impact on the surrounding countryside.
Residents can place blue signs on mailboxes to welcome cyclists in for a drink of water or to use a telephone.
“I think everyone can benefit from the quiet and peace,” Fiedler said. “The more people are introduced to the area, the better.”
