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Drifty Fest – Aug 6th, ~3-8pm

Can’t do the drifty? Come for just the easy part… the finish line beers. It’s like just eating the frosting off a cupcake. You can be this happy too. RSVP below. Cheer on the Finishers What is Drifty Fest? It’s the finish line party at the end of the Drifty. Beer, Food Trucks, Live music and adventure tales. The honor and glory that comes with finishing the Drifty is unmatched in the world of adventure sports. It’s like winning the Gold medal in the decathlon, finding Atlantis, and receiving a hug from your second favorite grandparent, all at the same time. Come help us celebrate the ridiculous...

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Day 7: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Seven: Saturday August 6th Day Seven of the Drifty means you’ve made it. Well, almost. Just a short ride left to go. Some teams even stretch and get into Madison a day early to spend more time in the city. But generally most teams are riding into the finish party today on various groomed gravel bike trails that lead into the state capital city. If you ride in from the south you have to go through New Glarus and Paoli. They are experiences you won’t soon forget. Either way, you’ll arrive at the finish party at Karben4 in Madison. Unless you’re the first ones there (not recommended)...

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Day 6: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Six: Friday August 5th It’s Day Six of the Drifty and that means you are now a seasoned long-distance bike operator. By now you know how to change a flat tire, fix a broken chain, and even what a derailleur is. Another full day of biking today. Really another chance to explore Wisconsin and get yourself into some interesting situations. You are continuing to ride East, working your way towards the Madison area but the route is completely up to you. Some teams will be biking towards Richland Center on north route, towards Dodgeville on the river route, or towards Monroe on the south...

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Day 5: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Five already! Depending on the weather you probably are waking up in your tent/hammock (that’s a debate for a few beers) to another bucolic Wisconsin summer morning. You go to stand up for the first time and experience “Jello legs”. Feels good though. Regardless of the general route you chose you’ll be on some of the best biking roads in the Driftless Region. The southerly route is generally a bit more populated which means more road traffic. The northerly route is a bit more remote and has less traffic. Either way you’re bound to pass by plenty of places to buy beer, candy, firecrackers,...

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Day 4: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Four: Wednesday August 3rd Day four means transition day. Depending on where you ended the previous night you only have a little bit of paddling to do before you arrive at transition point two near Wyalusing State Park. If you made camp around Wauzeka that means maybe 15 miles left. If you ended up closer to Bridgeport then it’s only another 8-9 miles. Sun is out today. Plenty of sunscreen and how are there so many damn bald eagles!? You notice the river is changing quite a bit. It’s getting a lot wider and slower. You think to yourself, “but why”? Your teammate yells back “this...

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Day 3: Seven Days of Drifty

Day Three: Tuesday August 2nd Woah day three already? Do you even remember your work passwords? Believe it or not this is your last full day on the river. Tomorrow you are hopping back on your bike. By now your paddlin’ arms should be nice and warmed up and your catalog of sea-shanties well-rehearsed. You’ve got “paddle the most remote stretch of the lower Wisconsin” on your to-do list for the day. Even more bald eagles and turtles. Probably some river otters. Definitely not many humans. Once you pass Port Andrew/Blue River there’s only one bridge for the next 30 miles. But that’s...

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