The Northern Tier Tour begins as from South Dakota we’ll cross into southern Minnesota and ride the sometimes rolling landscape northeast to the Minnesota River. Then due east crossing the Mississippi River into La Crosse, Wisconsin. We are now officially in the East!! The terrain really begins to roll up and down in rural Wisconsin. We’ll pass by real small town America. The farms and the fields, the animals and the environment, the rolling hills and valleys make for super cycling. The route will take us past the tourist mecca and Wisconsin riverside town of Wisconsin Dells. We’ll continue the roll to Fond du Lac, just south of Lake Winnebago, and make the final rolling push to Manitowoc on the shores of Lake Michigan. Here we’ll take a day off the tour.

Plenty to do on the off day in Manitowoc but hurry, at noon we’ll board the 410’ SS Badger and leave Wisconsin behind. A relaxing four hour cruise across Lake Michigan will land us in the Michigan town of Ludington. Off the boat, explore town before heading over to this evenings motel. Now it’s off to cross Michigan by bike! We will stick to the country roads, smaller cities and towns as we take a straight shot across this very flat farming region. Ending up in Port Huron, we will cross the border and go “INTERNATIONAL,” as we hop the Bluewater Bridge and cross into Ontario, Canada. Welcome to Canadian Hospitality!! We will continue to cycle very flat rural Canadian farmland and head over to London, Ontario. The next day we’ll continue the trek to Brantford, birthplace of Wayne Gretzky. We say goodbye to our Canadian friends in a spectacular way as we cross the Rainbow Bridge over Niagara Falls, and cycle back into the United States.