Fall Color Festival

RIde Fast. Ride Hard.

Thanks to all the participants, spectators and volunteers, the event, held Saturday, September 29, was a huge success. New this year was a women's clinic, sponsored by Trek. It was well received and sold out quickly. The connector trail was also added this year and proved to be a great challenge and a lot of fun!

Dave Mangan (TrailBlazer Dave) lead a group of Bike Patrollers who worked the entire trail system, ready to provide any medical help, if needed. Fortunately, it was a fairly uneventful race from a patrolling aspect. We really appreciate all your help not only during the event, but throughout the entire year!

Bill Gallo, visiting from Iowa, won the Grand Prize, a Full-Suspension Trek Mountain Bike. We would like to thank Trek, our proud sponsor, for donating the bike!

The Fall Color Festival is an annual event held at the John Muir trails (Kettle Moraine State Forest – Southern Unit) in Southeastern Wisconsin, to raise money for future trail development and trail maintenance. The Fall Color Festival is a great family and spectator event that offers the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and members of the private sector an opportunity to ban together and raise money to keep our trails in great shape.

Chris Kegel, president of Wheel & Sprocket, views the event as an opportunity for cyclists to form a positive, working relationship with the DNR, enhance their responsibility on the trails and provide a place for his consumers to ride. "Most of the bikes we sell are mountain bikes, and all of our customers ask for the best locations to ride them. Since the Kettle Moraine is definitely the most popular place, it requires the most maintenance. This ride is a great way to show the popularity of the sport, and everyone's desire to establish a strong relationship with the DNR. We hope this effort will open the door for the creation of more trails near the Milwaukee metropolitan area, disseminating some of the use on existing trails," said Kegel.

The History

In 1993, the Department of Natural Resources formed a cooperative agreement with various members of the cycling community, to raise $75,000 to secure future trail development. The agreement was signed by board members representing the non-profit advocacy group, RIDE (Recreation for Individuals Dedicated to the Environment), Trek Bicycle Corporation, Wheel & Sprocket and the LaGrange General Store. Thanks to our proud sponsors and all the participants, we have reached our intial goal. We continue to raise money for future trail development and to keep the trail system in great shape.

Proud Sponsors

Major sponsors of the ride include Trek Bicycle Corporation, Wisconsin based Wheel & Sprocket stores, Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association and LaGrange General Store.

To become a proud sponsor or to volunteer, contact James Wamser