2026 Rally Location Ideas

[pdedse]

I've been hoping for a rally in the Driftless area for a few years, ever since I got a chance to ride thru there in 2022 while working on completing my quest to ride all of the lower 48.  However, I realize how far this would be for a lot of our recurring rally members. Heck, it's pretty far from me, although I'd bet offroad would give me a lift if I rode the 5 1/2 hours to his house lol. Its a shame really because the area is really a lot of fun to ride in, and a lot different from the areas we normally rally in.

I had Wisconsin on my radar for this summer as part of my (aborted) trip to Syracuse.  Who knows, maybe a second go-around.  I've got my 100 year old mom waiting for my next visit to Illinois.  "Our-Kansas" (corrected pronunciation) is just south of family I have in the original Kansas and Missouri.  Just dreamin' out loud, so to speak.

[Cormanus]

Cons
- Pretty likely that no one will attend.

For some of us misanthropes that's not necessarily a con.

[misterprofessionality]

My instinct, if you want to make Driftless a successful event, is to start lobbying the canadians and northwestern/central riders that normally would not make it to our East Coast events right now. I know how our history with trying to attract new riders has gone, but Look at Kingsport: we had three new faces commit to the event! Even though one had a mechanical failure that prevented him from coming in the end, three new faces is more than we've had in a long time. What i'm saying is, it's possible to pull new people if you talk about it enough and get it in front of the right folks. Even better if those of us with towing capacity offer to shuttle people who don't have the same ability from far away. For example, I can carry three bikes and IF SCCBrider still wants to come I would ferry him up to WI. That's one more participant to make the event more lively. If we all made sure our trailers were full on the way up we could assuage a lot of the distance anxiety created by a location like New Glarus.

Then you've got the north central or central folks that normally couldn't make it to an event like this. Obviously we don't exactly have throngs of users in Kansas or the Dakotas, but WI could certainly be the best possible bet for users in the PNW and Canada. Now, obviously, We can't just rely on those people to show up magically. It's going to take a campaign of harassment the likes of which this forum has never seen. Bribery. Embezzlement of Rally funding. Government kickbacks. Whatever it takes.

Alls i'm saying is, it's not IMPOSSIBLE to do a Wisconsin Rally. It's just the kind of thing that would take a different kind of effort than the kind I put forward in Kingsport. I had to bust my chops to gather information and plan the rally, but the location did all the work for me in terms of attracting participants. Wisconsin is the other way around. The key to making that work is the marketing budget.

Also Pdedse you have teased coming to all three of the rally suggestions posted so far. You are now obligated to come. Sorry. Them's the rules.

[the Ferret]

For me Glarus is about 1 1/2 hours and 150 miles closer than Eureka Springs ..9 vs 10 1/2 hours. Pikeville Ky just under 4 hrs and 189 miles.

[MagnaRider]

If we did Wisconsin/midwest next year I would definitely join!

[misterprofessionality]

That's an easy layup! lol

[pdedse]

...  It's going to take a campaign of harassment the likes of which this forum has never seen.  Bribery.  Embezzlement of Rally funding.  Government kickbacks.  Whatever it takes.
...
Also Pdedse you have teased coming to all three of the rally suggestions posted so far.  ...

Bribery, you $ay?

[emptysea]

One thing I think we’d need for a successful Driftless rally is buy in from the “go fast” folks. There’s plenty of great routes up there, but not the same skill tests that mountain roads provide. Commitment from those guys (you all know who you are) will go a long way to making this work. While I think there’s something for everyone there, I’m not a good rider and might not have the same perspective on the area as better riders might have.

[misterprofessionality]

One thing I think we’d need for a successful Driftless rally is buy in from the “go fast” folks.  There’s plenty of great routes up there, but not the same skill tests that mountain roads provide.  Commitment from those guys (you all know who you are) will go a long way to making this work.  While I think there’s something for everyone there, I’m not a good rider and might not have the same perspective on the area as better riders might have.

Haha i wouldnt worry about that.  A lack of Hairpins is not something that deters the go fast folks. Hairpins dont help us go fast, they make us slam on our brakes. The only thing I want from a ride is to spend as little time as possible on the center of my tires.  Radius turns and S-curves do that perfectly well.  Repeated Hairpins can actually result in less confident flow.  My ideal road (and i think many would agree) looks like this:



but hey, tantalize us. draw up a route you would want to do and post a link here. i'm interested in what you would do up there because i have zero idea which way to point my maps to even begin.

[MagnaRider]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tfyGzDEiyUufRBpN6

This is a route in my neighborhood that we take often. You follow the St. Croix River on the Minnesota or Wisconsin side. Gorgeous views, a couple of areas go through deep twisty roads between canyons/forest. This route can go all the way down the Mississippi and gets more interesting the further south you go towards the driftless region.