Anybody going on Grabaawr??

[Kirt Bowman]

Just sent in my payment looks like a great ride.

--
Kirt Bowman
24/20 v-rex r-30 vision

 

[Nanc]

Yes... my sister and I are both doing GRABAAWR this summer. I don't know if you've ever done it
before, but it is one of our favorite tours. Here's the link to the webpage I made from my sister's
journal from last summer. http://members.cox.net/nanc143/grab2002

~ Nanc 1999 Vision R44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana

 

[Larry Varney]

It is a good ride. I rode it a couple of years ago. Some pretty country up there, and a challenging
hill on Old County Route C on the last day, almost within sight of town.

Kirt Bowman wrote:
> Just sent in my payment looks like a great ride.
>
>
> --
> Kirt Bowman
> 24/20 v-rex r-30 vision
>
>
>

--
Larry Varney Cold Spring, KY http://home.fuse.net/larryvarney

 

[Jim V.]

I hope to do it next year. I'm doing SAGBRAW for the 3rd time this year, again after doing RAGBRAI
the week before

Jim Vincent RANS Screamer - Vision R50.

 

[Rodney Kuehl]

Nice travel diary. Thanks. I noticed the website has the 2002 route. The entry form says the
overnights are Rhinelander,, Wausau, Wis Rapids, Mauston, Portage and Spring Green.

Isn't the wind normally out of the west that time of year?

I'd really like to go. Is this a new route? Do most folks tote their own camping stuff or call Bubba
or the Shuttle Service? Any suggestions? TIA.

Rod Kuehl RANS V2 Challenge Wizard Riverview, FL

"Nanc" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Yes... my sister and I are both doing GRABAAWR this summer. I don't know
if
> you've ever done it before, but it is one of our favorite tours. Here's the link to the webpage I
> made from my sister's journal from last summer. http://members.cox.net/nanc143/grab2002
>
> ~ Nanc 1999 Vision R44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana

 

[David Martin]

The entry fee includes daily trucking of your gear to the next night's location, so you do not need
to carry your gear on your bike. Check out the website www.bikewisconsin.com for official info. I
"credit-card camped" last year and used the shuttle service, so I do not have first-hand knowledge
of the luggage system. I will gain that this year as I missed out on the social activities by
staying in motels. After a trip through Glacier Nat Park last summer, I was reminded that the wind
is the flatland biker's mountains. I just wish "downhill" was more fun. Hope this helps, DCM Tour
Easy '02; Fold Rush '03

On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:20:56 GMT, "Rodney Kuehl" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Nice travel diary. Thanks. I noticed the website has the 2002 route. The entry form says the
>overnights are Rhinelander,, Wausau, Wis Rapids, Mauston, Portage and Spring Green.
>
>Isn't the wind normally out of the west that time of year?
>
>I'd really like to go. Is this a new route? Do most folks tote their own camping stuff or call
>Bubba or the Shuttle Service? Any suggestions? TIA.
>
>Rod Kuehl RANS V2 Challenge Wizard Riverview, FL
>
>
>"Nanc" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> Yes... my sister and I are both doing GRABAAWR this summer. I don't know
>if
>> you've ever done it before, but it is one of our favorite tours. Here's the link to the webpage I
>> made from my sister's journal from last summer. http://members.cox.net/nanc143/grab2002
>>
>> ~ Nanc 1999 Vision R44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana
>>
>

 

[Nanc]

> Nice travel diary. Thanks. I noticed the website has the 2002 route.
The
> entry form says the overnights are Rhinelander,, Wausau, Wis Rapids, Mauston, Portage and
> Spring Green.

GRABAAWR switches every other year between two basic routes. This summer's route will be the towns
that you have listed.

> Isn't the wind normally out of the west that time of year?

The prevailing wind is usually out of the southwest. However, the first year I did GRABAAWR (1996)
we had a tailwind all week.

> Do most folks tote their own camping stuff or call Bubba or the Shuttle Service? Any suggestions?

Most people use the regular luggage service provided by the tour. In the mornings, you pack up your
gear and load it onto one of the two 18 wheelers. Your belongings are taken to the next overnight.
By the time you arrive the luggage is unloaded behind each semi (unless you are an early arrival..
then you help unload the semi!). It helps to mark your bag with something distinctive (especially if
you use a black bag) to make locating it a bit easier.

On occasion you'll see people traveling self-contained, but that is very unusual. You really only
need to carry what you need for the day. Most days there is an organized lunch stop. We often stop
at these, but other times we stop at a local grocery store and buy lunch from the deli instead.
Breakfast and supper are provided at each overnight. Though you do have to pay for your meals, they
are very reasonably priced... and convenient.

Many people camp on the gym floor each night, but most schools are not air conditioned, and
therefore we find camping outdoors much more pleasant. And, of course, as David mentioned... some
folks stay in motels rather than staying at the school at all.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

~ Nanc 1999 Vision R-44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana

 

[Kirt Bowman]

great travel log I like the rain pictures that captures the mood pretty well, You said none of the
schools are air conditioned that is a drag what is the weather like, how hot? Are the mosquitoes
really bad?

Kirt

"Nanc" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Yes... my sister and I are both doing GRABAAWR this summer. I don't know
if
> you've ever done it before, but it is one of our favorite tours. Here's the link to the webpage I
> made from my sister's journal from last summer. http://members.cox.net/nanc143/grab2002
>
> ~ Nanc 1999 Vision R44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana

 

[Nanc]

> great travel log I like the rain pictures that captures the mood pretty well,

I'm glad you got a chance to look at it. I do wish I could have captured more of the rainy day, but
I didn't risk taking out my camera when I didn't have any cover.

>You said none of the schools are air conditioned that is a drag what is the weather like, how hot?

I didn't say none of the schools... I said not all of the schools have air conditioning. But to be
honest, the only school I can think of with A/C this summer will be the overnight at Wisconsin
Rapids. There may be others, but that is the only one that comes to mind.

The weather can vary greatly. Usually it is no colder than the 50s in the morning with highs in 80s.
We have had days that were quite hot (mid to upper 90s) and humid, but we generally don't notice how
hot it is while we are on our bikes. There are also opportunities to stop and swim many times during
the week. Temps have been colder and hotter in years that I have not taken part.

>Are the mosquitoes really bad?

Mosquitoes have never been a problem on any of the previous GRABAAWR's that I've done. There have
been times that the mosquitoes were bad when we stopped near wooded areas during the day (especially
if ducking into the woods for a bathroom break), but I don't recall there being a problem at any of
the school campuses. Of course, we usually head into our tent at about dusk when mosquitoes
generally tend to become more active.

~ Nanc 1999 Vision R-44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana

 

[Tom Sherman]

Kirt Bowman wrote:
>
> ... Are the mosquitoes really bad?

The mosquito is the State Bird of Wisconsin.

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

[Ron Friedel]

GRABAAWR was very hot and humid a couple of years ago, but maybe someone from Louisiana wouldn't
have been bothered so much. We visited with friends on the ride in Hartford, Wisconsin and couldn't
imagine the discomfort of those people trying to sleep in tents outside. And it was like that for
most of the week.

We led seven of the SAAGBRAW tours in Wisconsin in the 80s and the weather can be almost anything.
One constant was that it usually rained on Wednesday. About 10 years ago, on the start of a POWWOW
tour on June 21, there was an overnight killing frost and we saw dead corn when we came back to the
start 5 days later. And this was in Watertown, between Milwaukee and Madison, in south-central
Wisconsin.

Ron Friedel

"Kirt Bowman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> great travel log I like the rain pictures that captures the mood pretty well, You said none of the
> schools are air conditioned that is a drag what is the weather like, how hot? Are the mosquitoes
> really bad?
>
> Kirt

 

[Nanc]

> GRABAAWR was very hot and humid a couple of years ago, but maybe someone from Louisiana wouldn't
> have been bothered so much.

I did GRABAAWR in 2000, but not 2001. I'm not sure which year you are referring to. We did have some
hot weather in 2000, as I recall, but I don't remember it being so hot at night that we had trouble
sleeping. Although I didn't ride GRABAAWR in 2001 (I rode Northwoods to Capitol instead), I do
remember it being quite chilly the first day. I don't remember the weather for the rest of that
week. My sister, btw, is from Wisconsin and has never lived in the south. I was aware that I might
be acclimated to the hotter weather, so I was using my sister's ability to handle the heat when I
answered the question about usual temps. I do agree; however, that it CAN be mighty hot at that time
of year. I just notice the heat much more when we stop riding than I do while we are riding.

> We visited with friends on the ride in Hartford, Wisconsin and couldn't imagine the discomfort of
> those people trying to sleep in tents outside. And it was like that for
most
> of the week.

I still believe that it is much more uncomfortable (too hot) inside in the gyms when the schools are
not air conditioned.

> About 10 years ago, on the start of a POWWOW tour on June 21, there was an overnight killing frost
> and we saw dead corn when we came back to the start 5 days later. And this was in Watertown,
> between Milwaukee and Madison, in south-central Wisconsin.

I'm also familiar with POWWOW's Fox Valley Tour. We did that ride last summer the week prior to
GRABAAWR. Here's our tour journal from that ride: http://bentley61.tripod.com/foxvalley/index.html
(We threw this website together quickly using a canned site builder so it has some advertising... we
never got around to making the "real" webpage.)

~ Nanc 1999 Vision R-44 USS Gonzales, Louisiana