The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Wisconsin's Door County

September 2nd to September 11th

Ride Director: Frank Hanson
Ride Co-Director: Linda Kimball
Report by: Fran Maddock

My sisters and I were excited to experience a BAC tour together for the first time. Two of us drove from the Detroit area with 3 e-bikes and the third flew in from Maine. Throughout the trip we were known as “The Three Sisters”. The rest of the 24 riders arrived from across the country by car and by plane. We gathered at the Green Bay Hampton Inn for a welcome meeting, happy hour, introductions, and our first Wisconsin history lesson from co-director Linda. Each night throughout the trip, Linda provided interesting information on the area. Her knowledge and enthusiasm for Door County was contagious.

The hot topic of conversations on the first night was the weather forecast for the morning. The radar showed several fast-moving storms, and everyone tried to estimate their departure time. Our ride leader's expertise with various weather apps was most helpful. After the meeting, it was a short walk to our first group dinner at Angelina’s in Green Bay.

Thankfully, the rainstorms passed through overnight and most departed around 10-ish after a complimentary breakfast in the hotel. We rode 44 miles to Sturgeon Bay where we spent 2 nights at Stone Harbor Resort. Three optional rides of varying lengths were provided for the layover day and it was nice to have the freedom to choose. 

Every night at our social hour, Frank provided restaurant options for breakfast (when not included), lunch and dinner for the next day before Linda shared fascinating stories of the area. Social hour healthy snacks included veggies, local cheeses, crackers, and pretzels along with beer, wine and soda. To enhance our riding experiences, Frank provided photos of items to look for along our routes. The Three Sisters were the first to find one of the items and were awarded a special prize from Linda.

After Sturgeon Bay, we rode 43 miles to Ephraim and stayed 2 nights at Village Green Lodge (now the Wilder Inn). While there, we experienced our first Wisconsin Fish Boil dinner. We didn’t know what to expect. The process with the outdoor fire and large kettle was a surprise and remains one of our favorite memories of the tour. The dinner itself was delicious. Once again, our ride leader provided optional rides for our second day in Ephraim. We chose the ride to Sister Bay, for obvious reasons.

After Ephraim, we rode 34 miles for 2 nights at Ellison Bay’s Parkside Inn. The farther north we rode on the Door County peninsula, the smaller the towns. Ellison Bay was charming. On our second day there, we rode to the ferry to Washington Island for biking on the island's lightly traveled roads.

The ride south from Ellison Bay back to Sturgeon Bay was 48 miles of zig-zags through the center of the peninsula. We had our final group dinner at the Stone Harbor Resort. The next day, we rode back to Green Bay where Packer fans were arriving for a big game the following night. We said our good-byes upon arrival as some of the group were departing that day.

Overall, we found the terrain to be a bit hillier than expected. The wind proved to be a factor, as well as the unexpectedly cooler temperatures. We later learned that Door County experienced the area’s coldest first week of September on record – and they’ve been keeping records since the 1880’s!