Certainly Not Flat
17 FALL 2023 VOL . 05 / ISSUE 01
SNOWGOER . COM 18 wondered aloud during a trailside stop . Riding here is fun , but you ’ ll want to watch your speeds , as there are a lot of off-camber corners where , for example , the trail turns left but the bend of the land is downhill right , with a tree or rock on the outside of the corner .
In general , though , the trails were incredibly well marked . In traditional Wisconsin style , all intersections featured big signs telling what towns or trailside stops can be found in each direction .
We gassed up in the town of Taylor , where we ran into a local Amish resident and his buggy . We politely watched him cross , then decided that our version of horsepower was significantly more
fun than his . We motored on , pressing farther south on the intriguing trails .
Certainly Not Flat
The rest of our day was more of the same , as we enjoyed every bit of the interesting landscape . In the western part of the county , the trails are mostly on private land , meaning local clubs are instrumental in gaining land access , grooming , marking and maintaining the routes .
That night we crashed at what then was called the Best Western Arrowhead Lodge ( now the SureStay Plus by Best Western ), where we enjoyed an excellent meal plus stumbled across the live comedy show of national act Jeff Gerbino . It turns out that this particular Best Western was at the time a stop on a Midwestern comedy tour and hosted big-league talent quite frequently . If you ’ ve never seen live comedy , it ’ s a mustdo experience .
The next morning we were up before the sunrise and ready for another ride . We hooked up with two local club members back in Hixton and ran a couple of spur trails that followed creeks and rivers , including one area where open , flowing water added some color to a day that was marked by overcast skies and very flat light .
After turning another walletful of gasoline into fumes and memories while running over a couple trillion snowflakes , it was time to head for home . On our last trailside break , I asked our host club members if they were natives of the area .
“ No ,” one man said , “ we retired here . I used to farm down in Illinois .”
“ Oh really ? You ’ re a flatlander ?” I teased .
“ Yeah , well , we like it here now ,” he replied .