First Annual Tour de Chequamegon Bikepacking Trip

First Annual Tour de Chequamegon Bikepacking Trip

The mud is still clinging to my bike, dirty clothes linger in the truck box and I just pulled a three day old ham and cheese wrap from my Revelate frame bag.  Although life goes on and I may not have been able to clean up from the weekend's adventure, I can't stop thinking of what my fellow riders were saying as we rolled into Cable , WI last Sunday; I wish the ride wasn't over! 

Last weekend, Fyxation and the Wisconsin Bike Fed hosted the first annual Tour de Chequamegon bike-packing/gravel trip and it was a resounding success. Riders traversed diverse terrain and wove their way through the remote roads and trails of the Chequamegon National Forest on a route that covered over 100 miles. Seasoned off road touring riders and those new to gravel grinding all found something to enjoy on this route.

The Chequamegon National Forest encompasses over 1.5 million acres and supports diverse wildlife, including re-established elk herds, winding gravel roads, epic single track and un-improved two-track trails. 

Easts Twin Lake Chequamegon National Forest - Day 2 Tour de Chequamegon

The Tour de Chequamegon is designed as a minimally supported bikepacking trip where riders are expected to carry their camping gear, repair tools, ride fuel and water. Each day started with a group breakfast that we provided that included oatmeal, fruit and plenty of Colectivo coffee so that everyone was fueled up for the ride. Once the riders left camp and hit the trail, Fyxation and the Bike Fed would meet riders each day with mid-ride lunch and to check in on any mechanical issues that may have arose. We were also prepared to do mid-trail repair if needed and had a support vehicle trailing behind to offer any extra assistance. 

After the days ride, the group was met at camp where a warm fire, hot food and cold drinks awaited. On the second night of camping, as temperatures dipped into the low 30's, we were joined by a neighboring camper that graced us with acoustic guitar and song, even taking requests!

Drying our riding shoes around the campfire at East Twin Lake

Dave Schlabowske of the Wisconsin Bike Fed led the ride each day, navigating by GPS on the route scouted earlier in the year. The complete route can be found on ridewithgps.com. Nick Ginster, Fyxation's co-founder, stayed near the back of the pack to make sure all our riders were accounted for and to offer mid-ride technical support, food and water.

Dave Schlabowski packs up on a cool morning at East Twin Lake

Riders were challenged each day with the diverse route that included hard pack gravel roads, two track flooded by recent rains and even a single track section that kept us in the woods and off paved roads.

The bikes on the trip were as diverse as the riders. We had a fat bike contingent, 29+, touring bikes and of course we brought the Fyxation Crusher which was designed with this gravel grinding in mind. The Crusher decked out with Revelate bags and 40c Clement Xplor tires proved to be nimble enough for single track and light enough to keep pace on hard gravel roads.

Fyxation Crusher gravel bike

We would like to thank everyone that participated in the inaugural Tour de Chequamegon and look forward to next year's ride. This year we limited the group to around 20 riders, but next year the plan is to grow the ride but still keep it to a manageable group size. So if you're looking for a great way to get into bikepacking, gravel grinding or just want to enjoy the incredible scenery and fall colors join us in 2017 for another adventure in the north woods! Keep an eye on ridefyxation.com for more details and our full image gallery.

Brickhouse Cafe Cable WI


1 comment

  • Nick Kovacs

    We love the CAMBA area and are new to gravel riding. This sounds like an awesome way to explore the north.


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


You may also like

We've just received a huge shipment of fixed gear bikes and they are currently in stock in all sizes and colors. We normally wouldn't post an update about getting a shipment of fixies here in our warehouse but with the way the bicycle supply chain is this year, it's cause for celebration. The fixed gears that we got in include our hi tensile steel Pixel and our 4130 chromoly Eastside...

It's been a while since we posted an update on our blog and we thought we'd dust things off with a quick update about the supply chain mess that everyone is hearing about...

We've been working on these bad boys for a while and they are finally ready. Our new Matador track cranksets are in stock. The number of options for high quality track cranks has really dropped the last few years as larger players like SRAM have discontinued some popular options...