Trail Guide #1-- Monroe WI. Cheese Trails

Ah Monroe. Th easiest trails I know. I think it might even be easier to ride there than here on the farm. The trails are nice and wide. They are mostly flat with only a very few slight hills. They were built on top of an old railway line. Sometimes, in between trail groomings, the old railroad ties come up through the gravel trail. Speaking of grooming, the trails are groomed. I've had to ride around the graders. There are a lot of reviews on the internet that claim the trails are in extremely rough condition all the time, and I have simply not found this to be so. Maybe they are rough on a Sunday evening after a weekend of hard use, but in general they are nice and smooth. The gravel trail material often causes the trail to be dusty unless there has been a very recent rain.

See all that dust? Ick. It doesn't even look as bad in the photos as it was.
Goggles and dust masks of some sort are a must.

My favorite part of the trail is an old railroad bridge not far from the Monroe lot just past Browntown. It isn't only a functional tool of transportation, but a work of art. If you find yourself there, take a moment and enjoy it. Find the roses.

Austin and his dad examining the bridge.

If Austin and I make an early enough start we can start in Monroe and ride all the way to the end of the trail in Mineral Point. We can usually make Darlington by lunch time, where we stop and eat at Annie's Bar and Grill. They have rather good food for a decent price. We head on to Mineral Point after lunch, stop there to get fuel, then turn around and head back to Monroe. By the end of the day we are happily exhausted.

Mineral Point Railway Museum.

If we get a later start we like to park in South Wayne, but you could easily park in almost any town along the trail. The community in the area is rather supportive of ATV business. This is probably also a good place to mention that the Cheese Trails are multi-use trails. Trails are not only open to ATVs, but to off road motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. It is definitely not uncommon to come across people who are taking an evening walk down the trail. It is very important to slow down and safely pass. Keeping the trails open to everyone and being respectful of other peoples hobbies should be everyone's priority.

These trails are quite popular, and are very busy on weekends. Not only should be you be wary of other people on the trail, but watch out for the DNR. They make lots of stops along this trail, so be sure to have all of the proper "paperwork" in order. ( Have your sticker and your license plate ready!)

The Cheese Trails are great for families with smallish children or a quick day trip. The trails are easy enough for beginner riders, but anyone can appreciate the chance to ride through the Wisconsin countryside. Just don't expect anything super challenging or exciting.

My First Post

So here it is! My first post on my new blog. I've been thinking about starting a blog specifically devoted to ATV's, but never really had a very good reason.

Recently, my boyfriend Austin bought a Can-Am Outlander Max 1000 Limited. (Go big or go home, am I right?) We were both sick of getting all ready to go on a trip really excited to have a great time, and end up coming home in a bad mood from all the arguing we did on the trip. It just isn't comfortable doubling up on a race quad no matter how you do it.

The brand new quad, still in the parking lot at the dealer.

Now, you might be asking yourself,"Why don't you ride by yourself?" You're probably right. I should be riding by myself. I'm just not really comfortable with foot shifting a quad. I ride the farm quad, a Honda Rancher, all the time, but it is quite hard to turn and super uncomfortable on the trails. I did give it an honest go in Black River Falls, WI., but it just didn't work out.

Anyway, now that we have a quad we can both ride comfortably, we are both determined to ride more often, and go on crazy adventures, even if it is just the two of us. We've already taken it to Monroe, WI., a few times to ride the Cheese Trails and get used to the machine, and I have to say, I'm really excited about what is in store.

A photo from behind Austin as we rode down the trail.

We have a trip planned in two weeks to Black River Falls, WI. to ride the trails there for a couple days over Austin's weekend. (I say Austin's weekend, because his days off are in the middle of the week.  It's a little goofy.) I hope to be writing some posts in the mean time about how I'm preparing for the trip.

 I'm interested to know how other people out there prepare for their ATV trips. What do you think is necessary to take with you? What kind of gear do you use?