2026 Ride Details

Ride Details

About the Ride:

Swiss Cheese & Spotted Cows (SCSC) is a 5-day loop tour that begins and ends in Sauk City, WI.  We’ll meet Friday evening, June 26, for packet pickup and dinner, then roll out on Saturday, June 27 to begin our bicycling adventure.  With a tour size capped at 50 people, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to connect with your fellow cyclists with no long waits for food or restrooms.

Lodging:

The tour is hotel-based, with comfortable, well-located accommodations selected for convenience, walkability, and a welcoming atmosphere after a full day of riding.  Five nights of lodging are included in the tour fee, beginning Friday night (the night before the tour begins).

Overnight locations are Sauk City (1 night), New Glarus (2 nights) and Madison (2 nights).

Luggage Transport and Support:

A support vehicle will transport your luggage to each overnight town.  Each rider may bring one soft-sided bag or duffel bag weighing no more than 35 pounds. If you’re traveling with a laptop, we’ll carry that safely in the front of the vehicle.

SAG support and mechanical assistance will be available throughout the tour, so all you’ll need to do is ride your bike!  To help ensure a smooth experience, please have your bike tuned up before arriving.

Food and Drink:

The tour includes all five breakfasts and three dinners.  Four mornings feature full, hot breakfasts, with one morning’s breakfast provided by a hotel.  Each day you’ll have opportunities to stop for snacks and/or lunch in the small communities we visit (on your own).  While we don’t offer formal rest stops, we do carry a generous supply of chin-drippin’ peaches and bananas to keep you fueled along the way.

Before dinner each evening, we’ll gather for a casual happy hour featuring local craft brews at a nearby establishment (drinks are on your own).

Mileage & Terrain:

Daily mileage and elevation details are available on the Routes page. The terrain is primarily rolling, with a mix of flatter stretches and hillier sections interspersed throughout.

This tour is best suited for riders of intermediate ability and above who are comfortable climbing (and descending, too!).  It is not recommended for beginners.
RWGPS electronic route maps will be provided for navigation.

E-Bike Policy:

• Only Class 1 and Class 3 pedal assist e-bikes are allowed on the tour.  No e-bikes with a throttle are allowed.
• Due to the rapid expansion of e-bike offerings and the specific resources required to repair this technology, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to repair all e-bikes.
• E-bike riders are responsible for charging their own batteries and should be aware of the range and capacity of their battery and conserve use throughout the day as needed. E-bike riders may want to carry an extra charged battery with them on the route.
• E-bike riders will need to bring their own charging cables, cords, extra batteries and other equipment to keep their bikes charged for each day’s ride.
• E-bike riders must be able to lift their own bike into the SAG vehicles if they require mechanical support. Please know the weight of your bike; not all SAG vehicles will be equipped to accommodate heavy e-bikes. A depleted battery is not an acceptable reason for requesting SAG support.
• The tour is intended for experienced cyclists who are self-sufficient on a multi-day tour and require limited support. Riding an e-bike is not a substitute for riding experience. The e-bike policy is intended to allow experienced riders who are looking for a little extra assistance to continue to enjoy their sport. For these riders, the pedal assist is normally used occasionally on a ride to get up a big hill or against a strong wind.

Getting to the Ride:

The tour starts and ends in Sauk City, WI. If you’re flying, the nearest airport is Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) in Madison.

Public Health Policy:  

Your safety, the safety of other riders and the safety of the communities in which we stay is our highest priority. Swiss Cheese & Spotted Cows (SCSC) will require participants to follow federal, state and local public health laws and guidelines as deemed appropriate by government officials, insurance requirements and/or SCSC staff including but not limited to infectious disease protocols, sanitation requirements, and food preparation. 

It is the shared responsibility of both the organizers and participants to maintain a sanitary and healthy environment during the tour.  If you feel sick at any time during the event, immediately notify a staff member and isolate yourself from others. Stay home if you test positive for, or are recovering from, COVID-19, the flu or other contagious illness.

Price:

The tour price is $1,360 per person based on double occupancy for registrations received on or before April 30th.  Beginning May 1, the rate increases to $1,400.  If you prefer your own room, a $450 single supplement will be added to your fee.

Registrations received by March 15th will receive a free shirt in a color of your choice.
The trip fee includes five nights lodging (Fri-Tues), 5 breakfasts, 3 dinners, Swiss entertainment in New Glarus, farm and dairy tours, baggage transport to each night’s destination, RWGPS route files, SAG & mechanical support, and all the scenery and fun you can pack in! All other fees are on your own.

Payment may be made by credit card or check.  A $40 processing fee applies to credit card payments.  If paying by check, payment must be received within 7 days of submitting your registration.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations by Rider

Cancellations received on or before April 25 will be refunded the full trip fee minus $150. Cancellations received between April 26 and May 25 will forfeit 50% of the trip cost unless we are able to fill your spot, in which case you will receive a refund of the full trip fee minus $150. Cancellations received after May 25 will forfeit the entire trip fee. All cancellations must be submitted via email. We do not cover or refund any foreign exchange fees or exchange‑rate differences associated with cancellations.

We encourage riders to consider purchasing travel insurance, including coverage for trip cancellation and unexpected medical needs while traveling. Some policies also offer assistance with transportation to appropriate medical care if an illness or injury occurs during the tour.

Cancellations by Swiss Cheese & Spotted Cows (SCSC)

We may cancel or reroute the tour due to the occurrence of any force majeure event or credible threat thereof, including but not limited to any act of God, government action or inaction, fire, earthquake, acts of civil or military authority, casualty, weather, flood, war, terrorist attack, epidemic, pandemic, public emergencies, insurrection, civil unrest, strikes or other labor activities, environmental conditions, or any other similar cause beyond the reasonable control of Swiss Cheese & Spotted Cows (“Force Majeure Event”). SCSC will attempt to refund as much of the ride fee as possible, which may be $0. The closer it is to the date of the ride, the less SCSC will be able to refund.