Tag Archives: Bicycling

Great day for a bike ride

I’ve been living in my house for over two months, and my list of things to do here is still pretty long. But it was a picture perfect day in Madison, and I would have been a fool to spend such a beautiful day working in the house. So I put a snack in my bike’s saddle bag, filled up the water bottle, and headed out for a long ride.

When I was house shopping, one of the reasons I chose the neighborhood I did was the close access to the many bike trails in the area. Where I used to live, there were just too many very busy streets between decent bike trails and my condo. I would often throw my bicycle in the back of the truck and drive a ways to get to some decent bike riding. No longer. My house is just blocks away from a great trail (which can also take me to other trails).

Today I biked my longest ride of the season so far. Around Lake Monona, a side trip along the Capital City State Trail for a while, and then through the side streets of Monona, back toward home. I took no camera, no ipod — I wanted to concentrate on biking and experience the world around me on such a nice day. Even though there were a lot of other bikers on the trails, it was great to be out there, just biking.

A Lake Mendota weekend

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Last night I went with some of my family to watch Rhythm & Booms from the other side of Lake Mendota (along Observatory Drive). The fireworks display was pretty good, and it was fun being outside on a beautiful evening. While listening to the radio before the show (the display is choreographed with music over the radio), we heard the announcer say it was the “largest annual event in Wisconsin.” I beg to differ.

Picnic Point on Lake Mendota

It was another gorgeous summer day today, so I returned to Mendota, and went for a long bike ride along the lake. One of my favorite places to ride in Madison is where the bike path runs along the lake shore in the middle of the U.W. campus.

I ended up biking for most of the afternoon. I stuck to the shore as best I could, riding through where the rich people live, and made it up to the northern side of the city.

After I got home, I decided it had to be one of the best rides I’ve done this year.

Camping at Peninsula State Park

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Yesterday I returned from a camping trip to Peninsula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin. One of the reasons I like to go there is the park has 20 miles of the best biking trails in Wisconsin. When you bike along the lakeshore and through the woods on those trails you can understand why Peninsula is one of the most popular parks in the midwest. I was fortunate to have excellent weather while I was there and was able to hit the bike trails every day.

View from Eagle Terrace at Peninsula State Park

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Indian Summer

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Right now where I live we are in the middle of Indian Summer. It’s tough for me to name a favorite season, but days like today make me think it might be autumn. I was lucky enough to have the day off and with the weather being so nice, I got out my bicycle this afternoon and rode through the beauty of autumn here in Wisconsin. While riding through one of the nearby parks in the area I spotted a great blue heron wading in one of the park’s ponds. I am always amazed when I see wildlife like that in the middle of the largest metropolitan area of the state.