Ride Across Wisconsin: Cyclists trek from La Crosse to Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - The Ride Across Wisconsin bike ride from La Crosse to Milwaukee got rolling Saturday, Aug. 19.
One by one, riders who completed the 235-mile trek crossed the finish line at American Family Field.
"I kind of just came here today to set my own pace and rode with another guy for 100 miles, and he pulled over, and I just kept riding my pace the whole way," said Chris Stevens of New Richmond.
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Stevens was the first to finish the race.
"This was 11…over 11 hours riding my bike. Beautiful sunrise and a beautiful day," he said.
Ride Across Wisconsin 2023 ends at American Family Field
Now in its eighth year, organizers said Ride Across Wisconsin's goal is to promote bike riding in the state and raise money for the Wisconsin Bike Fed – which promotes bike-friendly laws and projects.
La Crosse was the starting point, and hundreds of cyclists were up early at 5 a.m. to begin the ride. Wisconsin Dells was the halfway point.
"Started out good, dark. Everyone had headlights flashing," said Johnathan Olson of Spring Grove, Illinois.
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"It was awesome," Stevens said.
On Thursday, because of Canadian wildfire smoke, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued an air quality advisory that was supposed to end Monday. Friday, that alert was canceled because of high winds.
Those winds had quite the impact on Saturday's cyclists.
"There was a lot of headwind, and it picked up even more in the afternoon," Olson said.
Wisconsin Bike Fed
"Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s south of La Crosse and the wind was out of the south, so we spent a lot of time riding into the wind today which made it hard, but it was fun. It was a great day out there," said Stevens.
Despite the wind, riders said the 235-mile race is worth it.
"Had a great day out there," said Stevens.
A second wave of bicyclists participating in Ride Across Wisconsin will complete their trek to Milwaukee on Sunday. One important note for cyclists: Some of the counties they'll be traveling through will be under a heat advisory.