Bicyclists receive 320-mile award

Bicycling friends Michael Smith and Dave Kuntzelman headed out a on Rock River Trail biking adventure this spring, May 5-9, 2021. They started in Rock Island and rode to both headwaters in Theresa and Waupun!  They sent their report to us and we sent them their 320-Mile Award. Learn more about earning the 320-Mile Award 

Here’s their comments about their journey:

Bike packing trip upstream to both headwaters. Starting in Rock Island we rode to Theresa, around the Horicon Wildlife Refuge to Waupun and ended in Johnson Creek. Approx 380 miles in 4.5 days. We camped in Prophetstown, Ft Atkinson and Horicon, and stayed at one of our houses in Rockford.

High lights include: Empty country roads, reinvigorated downtowns, river views and seeing the size of the Rock continually decrease, sunset and coyotes and birds at Dorothy Carnes park, meeting other cyclists and travelers, Horicon Wildlife Refuge, and all the off-road trails that Wisconsin had to offer.

Low lights include 20mph headwinds for 160 miles, sharing Rte 2 from Dixon to Oregon with cars at highway speeds, and colder than expected temps. But hey, that just makes for better campfires!