Riding to the Sun

Stay on a bike long enough and you go places you've never been before.

So it was Saturday morning.  I left home with a general goal of riding to Sun Prairie (that's the Sun to which the title refers) and rack up close to 60 miles.

After 7 miles, I stopped at Hubbard's Diner for breakfast on their terrace near my trusty bike.  Oatmeal, a warm biscuit with Strawberry Jam, and chocolate milk filled me up and fueled the rest of my trip.

From Hubbard's I went north and east out of Middleton to Highway Q for the ride around the north side of Lake Mendota.  Most of the road has a generous five foot paved shoulder so the passing traffic isn't a bother.

At the northeast corner of the lake (below right), Skipper Bud's Marina was busy with boat owners anxious to get on the lake for such a gorgeous day.

From there I took a series of roads to Highway 113/Northport Road which rides past Warner Park and a few retail stores.  Before I knew it I was on Packers Avenue (named for the Oscar Mayer plant) which quickly transitioned to almost highway like conditions.

I took an exit ramp, found a sidewalk heading the way I wanted to go and it was good.  Until the sidewalk abruptly stopped quite a ways from where I wanted to go.

After a short distance of riding against traffic on the far edge of a shoulder, I came across a bike path. It was heading the general direction I wanted, so I followed it.

Starkweather Creek Bike Path passes The Bridges golf course and through neighborhoods before arriving at Madison College (formerly known as Madison Area Technical College).

While I had a sense where I was in Madison and which direction to head; this was a part of town I've not driven through previously.

It's a large and pretty campus performing an important role in the community.

East of campus was another new intersection.  I decided based on the direction I thought I needed to go and it turned out to be correct.  So, on I went around East Towne Mall heading to Sun Prairie.

With new roads and routes tucked in my brain, I followed familiar roads home.

My goal with these rides is improving speed and hill climbing.  It's incremental progress.

June rides offer the experience of lush green colors and the taste of summer heat.  This one filled the bill - 58 miles in a little more than 4 hours in the saddle.  Among the notable sightings during the ride - a garter snake slithering across the bike path and a Ferrari at a stoplight heading across town for a gallon of milk (it could be, right?).

And... I didn't fall off the bike while wearing my shoes!