A refreshing cup of coffee is a great way to start the day, or so I’m told. In our case, a camp-mug shot of beer helped get our bikepacking riders hyped up to visit the Good Land. With its rich history of brewing, each Milwaukee beer sample we served set the scene for our northern destination. We got on our bikes and departed from The Perfect Cup in Ravenswood under sunny skies. We rolled out towards the North Shore Channel Trail which would bring us most of the way to Gillson Park.
The Gillson Park amphitheater was a perfect venue to reflect on the North Shore and its fraught history with alcohol. From dry campuses to a lively speakeasy scene the neighboring area had a love-hate relationship with beer for well over a hundred years.
From there Sheridan Road, a well-loved cycling route, led us to Moraine Park where we discussed the importance our great Lake Michigan has on brewing. Its mineral content is a key ingredient to the beer in our region. With a brief rest and a Schlitz, we were on the Robert McClory trail heading due north to Wisconsin. Papa Marco’s, a classic Out Our Front Door restaurant, hit the spot for lunch!
The Kenosha County Bicycle Trail took over for the Robert McClory Trail and welcomed us to Wisconsin. When we exited the trail south of Kenosha we were met with a wall of dense fog. Despite the ominous gray void, it was a nice sunblock for a few miles along the gentle curves of Lakeshore Drive.
The Simmons Bath House in Kenosha has been closed for decades until this year, and they launched days early just to host us. This oasis on the beach will eventually house a beer garden, and the free popcorn they gave our group was a perfect snack. The Tudor revival bath house sits in an area historically teeming with pike and Potawatomi who would have fished for them.
Meryl, our host at the Bath House and Kenosha/Wisconsin historian, enhanced our history lesson with some context around the European settlers to the region. They were primarily Calabrian Italians, Germans, and Danish in origin. The people who came here were farmers familiar with colder regions and dairy farms, which is a precursor to the dairy history in Wisconsin, as well as the Danish Kringle treat known to so many. Meryl let us know that it can “serve one to twelve”.
The MRK trail brought our group of twenty or so cyclists to our home for the next couple of nights at Cliffside Campground in Racine. At camp, we established our fire, served up taco bowls, and took in the clear starry sky before bed.
Did you know Milwaukee is hilly? I do now! Riding into our ultimate destination the next day, Milwaukee, felt a bit like a hill-training exercise for some of us Chicago residents (myself included) used to flat land. The hills provided an incredible view of the Milwaukee skyline as we rolled through Bay View. A few more hills, a bit of city-biking, and soon enough we were in beautiful downtown Milwaukee surrounded by its iconic cream-colored brick. Lakefront Brewery was an idyllic stopping point for our crew and we were happy to get sausages, pretzels, fish, and a nice cool beer (or two) for our lunch stop.
The Marsupial Bridge gave us a unique view of the brewery on our way out to Eagle Park Brewing; a smaller brewery that had a large variety of beers with some big flavors. The New Barons Brewing Cooperative gave us a variety of choices for outdoor entertainment and libations before we made our way back to camp with a quick photo-op at the “LOVE” sculpture in Veterans Park. Beer-boiled brats with sauerkraut, a dip in the lake, and PBR helped us all relax and unwind for our second and final night at camp.
With a gift of our excess beer to our neighboring campsites we were ready to roll home on our third and final day. The self-titled "Lincoln Square Dads" left us a bit early to head off on their own journey home, and the rest of the group stopped by the Eco-Justice Center, our next-door neighbor at the campground. They let us say “hi” to their alpacas, goats, chickens, and cat. We greatly appreciated their affordable firewood station the previous couple nights and the work they do to educate people on the environment!
Our group was impressed by the charming downtown of Kenosha. Anna’s on the Lake provided the coffee and snacks while the adjacent harbor provided the views.
