Crawford County busy with cycling, art Festivals, run also arrive with changing colors
Apple-loving cyclists who are also fans of art produced in the Driftless Area of Crawford County are in luck.
Over the next few weekends, they’ll have their choice of activities including the Kickapoo BRAVE (Bluffs, Rivers And Valley Event) Bicycle Ride, which offers loops out of Gays Mills ranging from a dozen to more than 100 miles; the Driftless Art Festival in Soldiers Grove; and the Gays Mills-based Apple Festival. There’s also the Mississippi Mud Run in Prairie du Chien, plus the Ferryville Fall Fest and Market in the Park.
Eric Frydenlund, Crawford County’s tourism coordinator, said colors are starting to turn in southwest Wisconsin and that autumn is a great time to visit the area. He said as many as 100 riders have taken part in the BRAVE ride in recent years.
It was started a decade ago to coincide with the first day of the art festival, he said. The bike ride is held on Sept. 16, while the festival is spread over two days, Sept. 16 and 17. The Mud Run and the Fall Fest are also on the 16th, while the Apple celebration runs Sept. 22-24 in Gays Mills.
Though the region is known for its steep hills and bluffs, BRAVE ride coordinator Stacie Burright said the 17-mile, outand-back route along the Kickapoo River from the Stump Dodger Campground, 388 Railroad St. in Gays Mills, to Soldiers Grove, is flat for the most part and suitable for families and infrequent riders.
“Most of the roads around here, though, are hilly,” said Burright, who lives in Reedstown. “In fact, it’s hard to find roads that don’t have hills, which is why the ride to Soldiers Grove is nice. But this is the Driftless Area, after all, which didn’t get flattened during the last Ice Age.”
She said all the rides are of a cloverleaf variety, meaning they start at Gays Mills, loop out into the Crawford County countryside and come back in.
One of them covers more than 40 miles as it goes up and over the sometimes steep ridge that separates the Kickapoo River drainage from the Mississippi River Valley, she said.
Another one goes out to the town of Seneca and back, covering about 30 miles, she said. Gays Mills serves as the way station with refreshments, but there will also be food and water stops along the routes, as well as sag wagon support for riders who need aid, she said.
“The hilly roads can be challenging, with some grades as steep as 15%, climbing several hundred feet over a quarter of a mile,” she said. “If you were to do the entire 100 miles by combining all the loops, you’d have gained 10,000 feet.”
She said the routes have been laid out on the best, most-recently paved roads, many of which are lightly traveled.
“So you won’t be riding over cracks,” she said. “And on some of the roads, you might not see any vehicles at all for long stretches.”
Frydenlund, who lives in Prairie du Chien and describes himself as only an occasional cyclist, said riders are encouraged to head to Soldiers Grove after they finish their spins through the countryside to view and perhaps purchase works made by Driftless painters, potters, woodworkers, weavers and metalsmiths. In addition, they can listen to music from local musicians while tasting wines and beers made by area vintners and brewmasters at the gathering.
More information: BRAVE costs $50 for the ride and $60 if cyclists want to camp overnight. The entry fee includes $10 in BRAVE bucks that participants can use at area sponsors, as well as a BRAVE T-shirt and gift bag.
Registration begins at 6:30 a.m., with the tours beginning at 8 a.m. A postride after party will run from 2 to 5 p.m. at the J&J Restaurant on Main St. Acoustic guitarist and singer Ann Christoffer will perform from 2:30 to
4:30 p.m. See kicka poobraveride.com.
The art festival also has a juried art show, with participants competing for a variety of awards. It will be held in Beauford T. Anderson Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 16 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 17. Socialized dogs on leashes are welcome. See driftlessareaartfestival.com.
Gays Mills will host its annual Apple Festival Sept. 22-24. It opens at 9 a.m. Friday with a flea market at the Crawford County Fairgrounds, 17725 State Highway 131, and concludes at 1 a.m. with music and dancing on Main St. The highlight of the day will be the coronation of the festival apple queen at 7 p.m. at 212 Main St.
Other activities on Saturday and Sunday will include a pancake breakfast on both days, fun runs (and walks), a volleyball tournament, library book sales, horseshoe contest and kiddie carnival. Sunday’s highlight will be the annual Apple Fest parade, which starts at 1:30 p.m. and proceeds down Main St. See gaysmills.org/ applefest.
If you can’t make it to the Gays Mills gathering, the Shihata Apple fest will be held the next weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Shihata’s Orchard, 51543 Limery Road, Prairie du Chien. Activities there will range from wagon rides and pumpkin painting to firing an apple sling shot and picking your own apples.
For other things to see and do in Crawford County, see driftlesswisconsin.com. Getting there: Gays Mills is about 170 miles west of Milwaukee via I-94 and Highways 14 and 171.