KENTUCKY & INDIANA
NORTH DAKOTA & MONTANA
2023
2024
We decided to ride the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We signed up for the Bourbon Burn Ride. We decided to tag-team driving to the event with stopping at Tim’s house in Cedar Rapids Iowa. We
spent the night here and then drove the rest of the way (with a stop in Kansas City for BBQ). The Burn is a three-day bicycle tour of the quiet back roads of Kentucky and the world-famous bourbon distilleries. At the end of the rides we camped at the Bourbon Base Camp located at the world-famous Lexington Kentucky Horse Park. There were many distilleries and vendors that set up each night, they fed us but we found better places off the trail and had our own pub tour in Lexington. Sunday morning, we will drove from Lexington to Indianapolis for a FUN pub crawl ride exploring Indianapolis on the famous Monon Trail. The route was unique, fun and comprised of very cool breweries, bakeries, local favorite hangouts, wineries, and ice cream shops comprised of only 22 miles and 26 stops! We made 14 stops before throwing in the towel and heading to the hotel.
This year, we traveled to North Dakota and Montana and participated in the North Dakota Badlands Gravel Battle. Our trip began by driving to Spearfish, South Dakota, and staying at Travis’ parents; house, where we met his family and explored his hometown. The next day, we had breakfast with his family, rode his dad’s trek bicycles, and visited Spearfish waterfall. We also enjoyed a ride back to town through the canyon. We then proceeded to Medora, North Dakota, where we had some drinks, scouted the route, and prepared for the 40-mile Badlands Gravel Battle. The course included rolling hills and over 3,000 feet of elevation on rugged red scoria roads, making it a challenging and competitive ride. The ride was epic, the scenery was amazing and unique, very different than the badlands of South Dakota and a very challenging ride! After finishing the ride, we drove to Montana, where we explored a state park with unique terrain and dunes. The group decided to continue riding further into the Montana countryside. That evening, we concluded the day with a meal and returned home the next morning.
ARKANSAS
SOUTH DAKOTA & WYOMING -
Mickelson Trail and Devils Tower
2022
We had heard rumors about Bentonville becoming the premier biking destination in the USA, sowe decided to visit and see for ourselves. Given that it is only a 9-hour drive, we opted to travelby car and brought along our road bikes, mountain bikes, and gravel bikes. We stayed at anAirbnb located within riding distance of all the trails.During our journey, we made a traditional stop at Arthur Bryant’s BBQ in Kansas City. On ourfirst day in Bentonville, we explored Slaughter Pen Park and then ventured to the Back 40.Some members of our group rode the trails on mountain bikes, while others rode nearby onroad bikes. We concluded the day by riding to the south side of town, where we enjoyed asubstantial seafood meal and visited several bars before returning to our Airbnb.On the following day, we rode some trails outside of town and later in the afternoon visited theRailyard, an extensive pump track where we practiced high-bank turns, jumps, and otherobstacles. That evening, we experienced the downtown bars and concluded with the traditionalTEAM ROTR nachos back at our Airbnb.
2021
We traveled and partied on the ROTR bus to Deadwood, SD. In the morning we rode the Mickelson which turned to be a more challenging ride than we thought... continuous uphill but at a low grade and the altitude seemed to have and effect on many of the riders. This trail is one of the most beautiful trails we have ridden yet. We slept in fancy Teepees the first night then continued on and finished the trail, loaded the bus and headed into Wyoming. We stopped at fantastic steakhouse on the way and arrived in an authentic DUDE ranch in dark in Wyoming. The plan was to just stay here and ride around Devils Tower but when we woke up and saw the once in a life time paradise we decided to ride the gravel roads around the ranch. On our adventure we found ourselves riding in the parries of Wyoming. We experienced a heard of horses that welcomed us and even herded sheep on our bikes TOTALLY off the grid. The ranchers cooked us dinner and we had a true unexpected, once in a life time experience.
MISSOURI - The Katy Trail
2020
The Katy Trail is the country's longest recreational rail trail in the United States.
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We did this trail in replacement for 2020 RAGBRAI cancelled because of the COVID pandemic.
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This trail is loaded with historical markers, wineries, breweries and followed the path of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
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The trail is just over 100 miles and comprised of crushed lime stone so we rode gravel and mt bikes.
MICHIGAN - Coast to Cost Grinder
2019
In pursuit of a rugged adventure, we discovered a route that stitches together fast gravel roads, signature two-track trails and sand trails that span across the Michigan peninsula.
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This is one of the hardest courses in the USA and took our ROTR riders months of training, time and dedication to prepare for the ride.
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Only two ROTR riders came across the finish line.
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There was breath-taking views and is the only course on earth that links you to two fresh water oceans in less than 24 hours.
Cuyuna Mountain Bike Adventure
We are a team of "roadie" riders but have been experimenting and learning how to mountain bike. With the help of our newest ROTR member Travis we decided to SHRED SOME READ ... coming from the red clay trails of Northern Minnesota. We rented E-bikes per our guide's recommendation and boy was it fun. The trails were AWESOME, the scenery of northern Minnesota was breathtaking and the E-bikes let us get in 50+ miles of mountain biking. This was a bit of a rugged trip for us with no bus and support crew and camped through high temperatures and rain storms but it did not stop us from tearing the small town of Crosby up... we visited the brewery and EVERY bar the town offered including an awesome mixology type of bar where we racked up a HUGE bill. Mountain biking is now in the plans for future adventures was a super fun time ROTR style!!
2021
MICHIGAN - Coast to Cost Grinder
TEXAS
2019
2019
In pursuit of a rugged adventure, we discovered a route that stitches together fast gravel roads, signature two-track trails and sand trails that span across the Michigan peninsula.
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This is one of the hardest courses in the USA and took our ROTR riders months of training, time and dedication to prepare for the ride.
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Only two ROTR riders came across the finish line.
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There was breath-taking views and is the only course on earth that links you to two fresh water oceans in less than 24 hours.
We traveled to Dallas, Texas on a Tuesday to meet with our team members Scott and Tiffany who hosted the activities. That night we engaged in drinking and playing board games. This evening also marked the beginning of the TEAM ROTR tradition known as "porn roulette." The following day, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast with mimosas and embarked on a bike ride tour around Hunt County. We visited a friend's place for a unique tour of a mansion, jet planes, and luxury cars, eventually ending up at the Landon Winery where we spent several hours sampling various wines. The next day included biking around Lake Tawakoni, visiting an outdoor bar, and dining on seafood with potent drinks. In the evening, we went to a traditional Texas steakhouse where we cooked our own steaks and participated in country line dancing. On the third day, we toured downtown Dallas on LIME scooters, visiting notable sites including the location where President Kennedy was assassinated, as well as various pubs and restaurants. Our day concluded with late-night activities back at the hotel. These four days were filled with numerous activities with a focus on exploration by bike, following wherever the journey led us.
ILLINOIS - Lake Shore Drive Trail
2018
The Lake Shore Drive Trail flows through downtown Chicago and it is a paved trail that follows the scenic Lakefront of Lake Michigan.
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When riding you have the blue waters of Lake Michigan on one side and the lush parks and awesome skyline views on the other side.- Riding this trail at night is a MUST!
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The trail puts in downtown Chicago with a great nightlife, fantastic restaurants, bars and entertainment.
NEBRASKA - The Cowboy Trail
2017
The Cowboy trail is one of the country's longest rail-trails.
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Spans 205 miles between the towns of Norfolk and Valentine.
The trail is mostly crushed gravel, includes 200+ bridges that go through native prairie lands, stunning lakes, grass covered sand dunes and the longest bike trail bridge in the USA.
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You feel like your in a different world riding this trail.
KANSAS - Tour de Salt
2016
Tour de Salt is an unique opportunity to bicycle over the salty terrain in the tunnels of an active salt mine located 650 feet under the Kansas prairie.
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The only ride of its kind in North America and it is 650 UNDER GROUND!!
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This was not a race, no competition involved and just you, your bike and your ROTR friends.
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Such a fun ride!!
WISCONSIN - The Sparta Trail
2015
The Sparta Trail is considered the first rail-to-trail in the United States and continues to be one of the most popular trails in the country,
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There are three rock tunnels (you need to bring lights because they are so long)... there is five small towns along the way and the trail crosses through wetlands, prairies, farmland and forests.
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After the ride you and celebrate at Wisconsin Dells water parks.
MINNESOTA - Tour de Pepin
2013
Tour de Pepin is one of the Midwest's most unique cycling tours.
Riders have the option to ride a 32, 50. 70 or 100 mile route.
Riders travel through captivating terrain and historic river towns along the Mississippi River.
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This ride has become a spring tradition for TEAM ROTR
IOWA - RAGBRAI
2012
This was the first year we attended RAGBRAI as a bus team.
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We started out not knowing what we were doing and only had 18 riders and 1 support crew member.
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RAGBRAI is now an annual event for TEAM ROTR!