Alex Lemann
Member
Hello!
Last week I rode across Wisconsin on my 2020 S40 with my brother and cousin (both on DFs). We rode from Milwaukee (where I live) to La Crosse in 4 days, staying in B&Bs and hotels in the classic credit card touring fashion. In La Crosse we took Amtrak back to Milwaukee. Most of the ride was on rail-trails, with the big exception of two lane country roads to get us from Madison to Reedsburg.
The S40 performed beautifully. It was my first major adventure on the new bike and I loved every minute of it. I was comfortable the whole way and tried not to gloat while my brother and cousin applied chafe stick to their nether regions at every opportunity. I did get a pretty nasty little patch of bruising/scraping from the ventisit seat rubbing on my left shoulder blade. Not sure how to avoid that in the future.
Most of the rail-trails we rode were unpaved, but they were super comfy on my 650Bx42mm Rene Herse tires. Also great were panniers mounted to my low-rider rack, where I could grab snacks and even charge my phone without stopping. A final gear note: I picked up a click stand before the trip and it was fantastic. Highly recommended!
Re Amtrak: I didn't find a ton of info on this before the trip, but my bike just barely fit into the standard Amtrak bike box. It was about an inch too long but I managed to get it closed with a slight bulge and nobody raised an eyebrow. I did have to remove the seat, in addition to the pedals and handlebars. I imagine it would be slightly easier without fenders, and slightly harder (maybe impossible) with 700c wheels. Taller riders would probably need to slide the bottom bracket backwards as well. My large chainring doesn't stick out past my front tire.
Happy to share more specifics about the route, our stops, etc. if anyone is interested!
Last week I rode across Wisconsin on my 2020 S40 with my brother and cousin (both on DFs). We rode from Milwaukee (where I live) to La Crosse in 4 days, staying in B&Bs and hotels in the classic credit card touring fashion. In La Crosse we took Amtrak back to Milwaukee. Most of the ride was on rail-trails, with the big exception of two lane country roads to get us from Madison to Reedsburg.
The S40 performed beautifully. It was my first major adventure on the new bike and I loved every minute of it. I was comfortable the whole way and tried not to gloat while my brother and cousin applied chafe stick to their nether regions at every opportunity. I did get a pretty nasty little patch of bruising/scraping from the ventisit seat rubbing on my left shoulder blade. Not sure how to avoid that in the future.
Most of the rail-trails we rode were unpaved, but they were super comfy on my 650Bx42mm Rene Herse tires. Also great were panniers mounted to my low-rider rack, where I could grab snacks and even charge my phone without stopping. A final gear note: I picked up a click stand before the trip and it was fantastic. Highly recommended!
Re Amtrak: I didn't find a ton of info on this before the trip, but my bike just barely fit into the standard Amtrak bike box. It was about an inch too long but I managed to get it closed with a slight bulge and nobody raised an eyebrow. I did have to remove the seat, in addition to the pedals and handlebars. I imagine it would be slightly easier without fenders, and slightly harder (maybe impossible) with 700c wheels. Taller riders would probably need to slide the bottom bracket backwards as well. My large chainring doesn't stick out past my front tire.
Happy to share more specifics about the route, our stops, etc. if anyone is interested!
