Overnight, mixed gravel and highway motorcycle camping trip - on a 200cc SCRAMBLER!
When you think of covered bridges, you likely envision New England, or maybe “The Bridges of Madison County” (novel and movie, set in Iowa.)
It is a "secret" that my home state of Wisconsin also features two covered bridges. One of these is near my old “stomping grounds” in the Northwoods, hidden down a “Rustic Road” in the Chequamegon National Forest. This scenic location isn't really a secret, just overlooked by most down-state residents and tourists.
The Smith Rapids Bridge was built by the engineers of the U.S. Forest Service in 1991.
This beautiful lattice-work bridge is located on Wisconsin's Rustic Road 105 in the heart of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The bridge spans the South Fork of the Flambeau River and is adjacent to the Smith Rapids Picnic Area. Beyond the day-use area there is a USFS campground.
This is a unique campground with sites that include parking areas for horse trailers, hitching posts, and direct access to the adjacent Smith Rapids Saddle Trails.
I lived nearby for many years and took the unique covered bridge for granted. During the long Wisconsin winters, I had the designated horse-riding trails all to myself and spent many days training sled dogs in the deep snow.
Now I live in central Wisconsin and was looking for an excuse to ride the quiet backroads in the national forest and enjoy an overnight motorcycle camping trip.
I plotted a route to the Smith Rapids Bridge and packed for a S24O. This would be a short, Sub-24 hour Overnight.
I gassed up my KPM200 scrambler and hit the road. The route first followed a series of lesser-traveled county roads until crossing over onto the gravel roads in the Chequamegon National Forest.
My 200cc KPM200 “scrambler” is a true ALL-road motorcycle.
I comfortably ride the state highways and paved county roads, which have posted speed limits of 55 MPH. (My 200cc scrambler tops out at just over 70 MPH, downhill with the wind!) For road riding, the scrambler is equipped with a windshield, a comfy seat, and tubeless tires.
The 200cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine is plenty powerful to maintain highway speeds, but also sips gas at an average of 70 miles per gallon, giving me a very comfortable range of over 200 miles.
My “little” scrambler is much more comfortable on the highway than the taller dual sport or heavier, more powerful “adventure” motorcycles that I have owned!
As soon as I turn off the pavement onto gravel roads, the lightweight scrambler really proves its versatility.
The small but efficient engine makes for a lighter motorcycle. The center of gravity is lower, “planting” the cycle on the road surface which continually shifts from sand to crushed rock to “gravel” that’s more like marbles. The dual sport tubeless tires provide traction with slightly more ground clearance than the stock street tires.
Most of my gravel road riding is at a casual 25 to 40 miles per hour, loafing along in third or fourth gear. If I only rode these gravel roads all day at this slower pace, I’m sure my mileage might climb closer to 80 MPG!
Ride and explore all day for less than $5.00. That’s CRAZY!
When I owned larger 650cc and 800cc “ADV” bikes I never rode any faster on dirt or gravel. In fact, in loose gravel and sand, I was much less confident on the top-heavy motorcycles. Plus, these larger cycles encouraged me to carry too much gear which didn’t help the riding on sketchy road surfaces.
I’m convinced that on a typical “scramble” that mixes paved and gravel roads I can ride as fast on the smaller and lighter scrambler than bigger bikes. Sure, I would be no match on the freeway – but I DON’T ride freeways anymore.
Maybe you don’t enjoy mixing it up on the freeways with semis and texting drivers, either?
(Don’t misunderstand I’m NOT comparing my 200cc scrambler to dual sports that are designed for demanding single-track TRAILS. I don’t ride trails, do jumps, or wheelies. I ride paved and gravel ROADS.)
The county roads in north-central Wisconsin have little traffic, although there are plenty of semis hauling crops, feed, and gravel during road construction season. But once I cross onto gravel roads, the traffic evaporates.
On rural Wisconsin gravel, it is unusual for me to pass another vehicle once per hour.
Usually, the best riding is straight down the center of the road. Sometimes, when facing washed out sections or after the grader has just passed by you need to ride the smooth line along the LEFT road edge. There’s NO one around to care! (Just don’t take blind curves on the left!)
These gravel forest roads pass scattered farms and hunting camps. In the National Forest, except for pockets of private property along some of the lakeshores, there are hundreds of square miles with no permanent inhabitants. Dispersed, free camping is permitted – but I was headed to the USFS campground.
As I neared my destination at the Smith Rapids Bridge, I turned off a short stretch on Highway 70 onto Rustic Road 105.
Wisconsin started designating these Rustic Roads to encourage leisurely travel through the state's scenic countryside. Today, there are 126 designated Rustic Roads spanning approximately 760 miles through 61 counties. Every Rustic Road is unique, but all are lightly traveled and span natural areas.
I didn’t start my ride until early afternoon. By the time I reached the bridge and campground, I was ready for supper!
I made a loop through the small campground and found that I had the entire area to myself – which was not surprising on a weekday afternoon.
This is one of the benefits of the S24O: When my schedule allows a getaway and coincides with perfect weather, I can hit the road, with minimal planning! A midweek outing is ideal.
In this case, I only packed food for supper and breakfast the next day, plus snacks for lunch on the ride back home. For multiday tours I carry my gear in a small set of panniers. For this one-night outing, I didn’t even fill my 30-liter soft top bag, along with a stuff sack for my camping kit. A change of clothes and some tools and I was packed.
After making a loop of the campground, I decided to “camp” in the vacant picnic shelter.
I unpacked my gear and started my Thermacell to drive away the clouds of Wisconsin mosquitos hatching in the nearby wetlands. The picnic shelter provided two tables to unpack my gear and a spacious canopy. I wouldn’t need to string up my tarp tonight!
My style of motorcycle camping and touring is called “MotorBikePacking”.
I also enjoy the occasional bicycle camping adventure. “Bikepacking” is applying light backpacking practices to bicycle camping. #MotorBikePacking is touring with the same basic packing list that you would use for bicycle camping, only carried on your motorcycle.
If you can travel across the country or around the world with minimal gear on a bicycle, why carry over one hundred pounds of STUFF on your motorcycle?
LESS is MORE! Travel lighter, more efficiently when MotorBikePacking!
This discipline also opens up the possibility to enjoy carefree travel on much smaller motorcycles.
I used to own 1,200, 1,500, and 1,700cc motorcycles. MANY riders have now completed the Trans-American Trail, Backcountry Discovery Routes, tours of the U.S., Europe and more on 250cc dual sports (me included!), “mini moto” motorcycles, and even scooters.
Compared to a dual sport bike, my light scrambler is a luxury tourer!
MotorBikePacking, like #bikepacking and #backpacking, prioritizes weight and bulk. I rely on menus that include a combination of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods that I prepackage, including some “no-cook” meals. On travel days, my “cooking” requires only adding boiling water to the prepackaged food.
On this S24O, I enjoyed a “walking taco” supper. (See the related article.)
I had prepackaged freeze-dried diced chicken along with taco seasoning and peppers in a freezer vacuum bag. After adding boiling water, the food was reconstituted in 15 minutes. To this hot mix I added crushed Fritos to complete my spicy, tasty dinner. Desert was a few handfuls of trail mix, heavy on the M&M’s!
Here is a video of the Smith Rapids Bridge, the Forest Service campsite I enjoyed, and my packing and meal plan for this S24O:
After my supper, I walked to the picnic area to refill my water bottles from the old hand pump. The mosquitos drove me back to the protective “bubble” provided by the Thermacell under the picnic shelter. Within a few minutes I had my bridge hammock suspended in the shelter. I also prepared my “overnight oats” for breakfast.
This was an easy day: 105 miles from home, with about half consisting of gravel forest roads to my “private” campground along the rapids on the Flambeau River.
With darkness approaching, I pulled out my Kindle for some reading. As the sun set, my eyelids got heavy, and I retired to the shelter of netting protecting my hammock bed. Inside the hammock, I enjoyed a soft air mattress and a light down top quilt. While I pack a small headlamp, I rarely use it and just go to bed when the sun goes down.
Each morning, the routine is the reverse of the evening. It pays to develop habits for efficiency.
Some campers take FOREVER to set-up camp, and even LONGER to break camp. First of all, if you learn to pack LESS, there is less to unpack! Second, pack whatever you will need first on top - that is, last. In my case, it’s a change of clothes from my heavy riding gear. When you repack, the last out gets packed first.
Think ahead. When you get to camp: First in, last out. In the morning: Last out, first in.
My breakfast was waiting in the morning. I had soaked my oats overnight, and only needed to add powdered, freeze-dried milk and more water. But I also wanted my morning coffee, plus some additional hot water to clean my dishes. About one ounce of denatured alcohol is plenty to heat up the water needed. (See also the related article with full details.)
While waiting for the water to boil, I stuffed and packed my top quilt, air mattress, and hammock.
After breakfast, I cleaned and packed my small cook kit. While the tiny alcohol burner was cooling, I changed into my riding gear. Then I packed my tools, clothes bag, and the remaining utensils. My raincoat is packed last before closing the roll-top bag.
With everything securely strapped down, I was ready for another day of SCRAMBLER riding!
My first stop was another forest service campground in the area, one that I hoped to visit for a Fall fishing trip. Returning to my route, I rode towards Park Falls to top off my gas tank and fill my own tank with a Kwik Trip coffee and apple fritter!
I never get tired of stopping for gas and getting a receipt for less than $5.00!
For the return trip home to Marshfield, I continued west along the Flambeau River before turning south through the national forest. After turning off the highway, the route south was mostly fast gravel roads. Once again, I rode for many miles between each vehicle I encountered.
Here are a few views of my scrambler ride through the National Forest, including a stop at Big Falls on the Jump River:
Continuing south, I passed the Winter Sports area at Perkinstown and connected for a few miles with the Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Trail. I followed this route on my 450cc adventure bike last year, and also on a bikepacking trip back in May. After Perkinstown, the Chequamegon National Forest ends at Highway 64 – and then it is a mix of highways and gravel town roads the rest of the way home.
It was close to 2:00 PM by the time I made it home – almost exactly 24 hours since I left the day before.
This S24O would cover 275 miles, one night of #hammock camping, and over 125 miles of gravel road #scrambler riding. Within a half hour, my KPM200 was unloaded and my camping gear stored for the next window of great weather and a few open days on the calendar.
Conclusion: Don’t limit your motorcycle camping “adventures” to trips that require a week or more.
There is MUCH to be gained by including as many S24O’s as possible into your schedule. Every mile of riding, every camp meal, and every sunset is a memory you will not regret. I would much rather squeeze in an S24O every few weeks than limit my ADV riding to only one trip per year.
Practice makes perfect! Use short trips to refine your skills, fine-tune your motorcycle, and expand your knowledge of local routes. You can also haul your motorcycle to the start of short overnight rides, further expanding your range.
Keep your motorcycle and camping gear prepped and ready to go. Make packing lists, then pare down the list after each trip to necessities. Add in any items that you forgot or exchange new/better/lighter gear.
Remember: LESS is More! Travel lightly but travel more often!
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