Tag Archives: pump track fun

Ride the driftless monster at the La Crosse Bike Festival

For nine years, the La Crosse Area Labor Day Bike Festival has hosted all kinds of fun rides, for all kinds of riders. This year, along with the: family-friendly neighborhood tours, ice-cream rides, mountain biking, live music, and scenic road rides, there is the “Monster”. A 100-mile ride (with a 62 and 125-mile option) that will take you on an unforgettable journey through the scenic valley of the Mississippi River.

Travel on low-traffic rural roads, or at least on roads with bike facilities.

The Monster Ride is 100 miles, with 10 climbs, and 7,400 feet of elevation gain. Six of the climbs on this route count as real “Driftless Monsters,” or hills with over 300 ft of elevation gain and at least one has a grade of 14% or greater. Through the weekend, starting at the registration tent in Riverside Park, you can complete this route anytime between sunrise and sunset (6:28 a.m. to 7:35 p.m.) each day of the festival. Plus, it’s free, but you will need to register!

* NOTE CHANGE: Mass start is at 8 a.m. if you want to leave with the pack.

This is a self-supported, self-guided event; not a race. Challenge yourself or feel free to grab some friends and see if you have what it takes. The routes are not marked on the road. Rather they will be on Ride With GPS as an “event” with all available features. PDFs of the route and a cue sheet are also available.

Family fun for everyone at the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival.

Sign-up for the La Crosse Area Labor Day Bike Festival

The Festival registration, most in-town rides, the Open Streets fair, and live music are all complimentary. However, premium festival registration will give you many additional benefits including text-based weather updates; t-shirts and a special bag of goodies. The Gravel Enduro Series and Gran Fondo are also optional fee-based events with timing and added benefits.

In-town Bike Festival rides

Family fun for everyone on the La Crosse Area Bicycle Festival ice cream tour.

Most in town guided rides are free, except money for cool treats, and are suitable for families, kids, and are easy. They leave from Riverside Park at the designated time, make frequent stops,

Pump track fun at the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival is easy and will help you improve your mountain bike skills.

and have a leader and volunteers to shepherd the ride through the city.

Bike Festival self-guided bike routes

The Bike Festival team have designed these countryside routes to be ridden self-supported. Ride your bike alone or in small groups, without the need for a tour guide or ride leader. All mapped routes are designed loops, leaving from public parks or parking lots. Wherever possible, you’ll travel on low-traffic rural roads, or at least on roads with bike facilities. To help you stay self-sufficient, maps show optional stops every 25-30 miles at convenience stores or public parks.

Time to make plans now!

For lodging options see: Destination La Crosse

Enjoy a holiday bike Festival pedaling through the scenic Driftless Area

For eight years, the La Crosse Area Labor Day Bike Festival has hosted all kinds of rides, for all kinds of riders. This year, along with the: family-friendly neighborhood tours, ice-cream rides, mountain biking, live music, challenging road rides, are two new event options.

Family fun for everyone at the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival.

New on the 2018 schedule are the Gran Fondo and Gravel Enduro Series, both optional fee-based events. These are collections of fun rides exploring gravel and road routes in the Driftless region. “Enduro” and “Gran Fondo” means that riders leave together on a neutral start, with several sections timed along the way. The Gravel Enduro Series includes two rides over Labor Day weekend and a bonus recovery ride on Labor Day. The Gran Fondo will have two different rides on two days, with varying distances from 30-75 miles. Take your pick — join them on all of the rides, or pick just of one.

Sign-up for the La Crosse Area Labor Day Bike Festival

The Festival registration, most in-town rides, the Open Streets fair, and live music are all complimentary. However, premium festival registration will give you many additional benefits including: text-based weather updates; t-shirts and a special bag of goodies. The Gravel Enduro Series and Gran Fondo are also optional fee-based events with timing and added benefits.

In-town Bike Festival rides

Family fun for everyone on the La Crosse Area Bicycle Festival ice cream tour.

Most in town guided rides are free, except money for cool treats, and are suitable for families, kids, and are easy. They leave from Riverside Park at the designated time, make frequent stops,

Pump track fun at the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival is easy and will help you improve your mountain bike skills.

and have a leader and volunteers to shepherd the ride through the city.

Bike Festival self-guided bike routes

The Bike festival team have designed these countryside routes to be ridden self-supported. Ride your bike alone or in small groups, without the need of a tour guide or ride leader. All mapped routes are designed loops, leaving from public parks or parking lots. Wherever possible, you’ll travel on low-traffic rural roads, or at least on roads with bike facilities. To help you stay self-sufficient, maps show optional stops every 25-30 miles at convenience stores or public parks.

The Bike Festivals Grand Fondo and Gravel series

Join the Gran Fondo Series

Two days with two different distances in two states to choose from each day. Explore road routes through the Driftless region on the Grand Fondo. This type of event will have riders leave together and have three timed sections for the longer route and two timed sections for the shorter route each day. It’s all for fun! Competition is based on your time to complete the sections; your finish order compared to other riders doesn’t matter. Timed segments start outside of cities and villages on low-traffic roads, and end before reentering them. This allows for a great warm-up and cool-down, while encouraging riders to take a break and visit local businesses as they ride through towns. Riders are required to obey traffic laws at all times.

Join the brand-new Gravel Enduro Series

Starting with the Hoka Hilly Hundreds August 19th, this is a collection of fun gravel rides and events explores several gravel and mixed gravel/road routes in the Driftless region. Enduro-style means that riders leave together on a neutral start, with several sections (either gravel or hill climbs) timed along the way.

It’s all for fun! Competition is based on your time to complete the sections; your finish order compared to other riders doesn’t matter. Timed segments start outside of cities and villages on low-traffic roads, and end before reentering them

The Gravel Enduro Series features five events on three weekends and a bonus recovery ride on Labor Day. Take your pick —join old and new friends on the gravel this summer!

Time to make plans now!

Register today for the La Crosse Area Labor Day Bike Festival. Win a Wyatt’s fat bike at the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival by registering before August

For lodging options see: Destination La Crosse

Bike Pic Aug 19, ice cream smiles Friday!

This Ice cream smiles photo was shot as a family enjoyed the cool treats at a rest stop while participating in the LaCrosse Area Bicycle Festival, last year. An annual event over Labor Day Weekend, everyone can find a free ride or two that fits there bicycling interests. You will find ride opportunities in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. From the themed rides around town, like the Ice Cream Tours, the pump track and mountain bike events in the bluffs and scenic road tour, there is something for the whole family and skill levels.

Find many more ice cream smiles, bike friendly places and events to explore in the new Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking.

Now rolling into our 10th year as a bike tourism media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike. While showcasing all the unforgettable places for you to ride. As we continue to showcase more place to have fun we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. As you scroll through the information and stories we have posted, enjoy.

Do you have a fun bicycle related photo of yourself or someone you may know that we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to: [email protected]. Include a brief caption (for each), of who is in the photo (if you know?) and where the picture was taken. Photo(s) should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide or larger to be considered. If we do use your photo, you will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As we continues to encourage more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your next bike adventure – Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile friendly, as we enter into our 8th year of producing the guide.

So bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure. And don’t forget to smile, while you are riding and having fun. We may capture you in one of our next photos that we post daily.

Have a great day!

Bike Pic Feb. 20, determined to have fun biking

Here is a young cyclist is riding his bike along the city streets of La Crosse WI. during the 2015 Labor Day Weekend Bicycle Festival, with Determined printed on his t-shirt.

#FindYourNextAdventure

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking (HFB).

Now, rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As we search and present more fun photos worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted to help you find your next adventure. Then, while out there if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute on, or at an event you plan to attend with your bike, be prepared to smile. You never know where our camera’s will be and what we will post next!

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to use them. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please reference our blog and the annual print and quarterly digital Bike/Hike Guide to find your next adventure. We are proud of the updated – At-a-Glance information and maps we are known for in the HFB Destination section on our website and in the guide. Now, as the Bike/Hike Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of bicycle tourism information available for mobile devices where you may see some additional bike pics – maybe of yourself so.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!