The Great River Road Rally (a.k.a. GR3)
Come ride, eat and socialize with us!
Madison BMW Club's 38th Annual Motorcycle Rally. Explore the Mississippi River valley's great twisties, scenic overlooks, and unique attractions.
See for yourself in our GR3 Photo Gallery. Best viewed in full screen mode.
When you aren't looking at bikes, you are probably riding them! For the carefree, just pick a direction. If you like to do a little more planning...
Area Attractions - biking destinations, scenic outlooks, festivals, eats.
Suggested Roads - to help you plan your own rides!
When
May 18th -20th, 2012 (Fri - Sun) Early arrivals are welcome.
Where
Soldiers
Grove, WI
This small town is located at the intersections of highways US 61 and WI 131. The rally site is at Beauford T. Anderson Park (aka Veteran's Park), along the banks of the Kickapoo River on the western outskirts of town. Check out the
Rally Site Map.
What's Included
-
Two nights of shaded camping and hot showers. Early arrivals pay the nightly camping fee (around $8) at the Mobil Station on Hwy 61, or the Village Offices located across the road from there.
- Saturday evening meal served by the local Lions Club
- Rally pin to the first 250. Pre-regs guaranteed to receive.
- Unlimited coffee and lemonade
- Donuts and fruit to see you off on Sunday morning.
- Electrical hookups if needed, but you'll have to pay $15 extra to hook up an entire RV or camper. Motel and B&B options nearby.
Extra Stuff
Not everything is finalized, but here's a sampling of what we are planning:
- Food and drink options you can purchase Friday evening. Last year featured a delicious Morel Mushroom soup or brat meal.
- Stock up on carbs before your Saturday ride with an $8 'All You Can Eat' breakfast offered by a local church group .
- The Lions club will be serving liquid refreshments (read beer) and pop Saturday evening. Featuring domestic and micro brews.
- 50/50 drawing and vendors on site.
How Much
$26 if you pre-register by May 11, 2012.
$33 at the gate.
$10 kids for ages 6-10. Free - 5 and under.
Pre-Registration (2011 form below. You can use this until 2012 form is created. Just send in the correct dollar amount)
It's simple!
- Click on the link to open the form:
Pre-Registration
- Print if off and fill it in.
- Include a check for the registrant(s)
- Mail to the address on the bottom of the form by May 11th.
What if the link doesn't work?
You probably don't have the Adobe Reader software. Follow the link below to get the latest version. It's free. The Adobe Download Manager may be installed first if you don't have it.
Click here --> 
Early Bird Drawing For Pre-Rally Motel Stay! ** 2012 is not yet finalized, but we expect to offer this again. **
If your pre-registration is received by Saturday May 7th, we will include your name in a drawing for a free 'Pre-Rally' motel stay along the mighty Mississippi River in McGregor, Iowa. The winner will be contacted shortly afterwards.
Good for 1 or 2 people on Thursday May 19th, the day before our rally begins. If your schedule doesn't permit an early arrival, we can schedule it on Sunday May 22nd, as you make your way home. Visit Holiday Shores Motel for lots of pictures and info. Thanks to proprietor Marc Rhodes for making this offer possible!
Keep your tents packed and ride or explore to your heart's content. Like:
- Historic downtown McGregor, which is in your back yard
- Commanding river views at nearby Pikes Peaks State Park (free)
- Marquette Iowa's riverboat casino is 3 miles upstream
- Praire Du Chien is just across the river
Follow the Great River Road, Wisconsin or Iowa side, north to the Rally site on Friday morning! The Wisconsin ride is shorter, about 60 minutes to Soldiers Grove via Lynxville.
Contact
Katy Heyning, Judi Trampf and Sam Garst are 2012 rally co-chairs at:
rally@madisonbmwclub.org
or write to:
Madison BMW Club Ltd
PO Box 152
McFarland, WI 53558-0152
Directions
4 miles south of US14/US61 intersection
21 miles north of Boscobel, WI
72 miles north of Dubuque, IA
48 miles south of LaCrosse, WI
105 miles west of Madison, WI
Maps, other goodies
The GR3G2R2 - Great River Road Rally Great Gravel Road Ride! This map is so huge, you have to download it! (Hit F11 in your browser to view it full screen.)
Area
Attractions - Google map with bike destinations, scenic lookouts, local festivals, places to eat, etc in the Soldiers Grove region.
Rally Site - Check it out!
Mapquest - Plan a great route to the rally.
Soldiers Grove Visitor Info - Well, what are you waiting for, eh?
Wisconsin Great River Road - Pick a town, any town...
Iowa Great River Road - Believe me, not all of Iowa is flat!
Minnesota Great River Road - More Mississippi Bluff riding.
Driftless Area of Wisconsin - Guide to exploring the area.
2010 Attendees road from as far away as Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Ohio!! Use map's zoom tool for more detail.
2010 GR3 Attendees By Zip (Drills down best in Firefox. May not work with Internet Explorer)
Suggested Roads
MotorcycleRoads.com
- Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Motorcycling - Southwest region rides
Wisconsin
Western Uplands roads
SundayMorningRides.com
- Wisconsin
OpenRoadsJourney.com
- Wisconsin
WI
DOT county maps
The
Mindoro Cut
Road Construction Warning
DOT
|
