Riding the Prairie

Protective fencing on bridge.

 

 Six weeks out from the big ride weather cooperated and there was time available for the longest ride of the year (so far).

 I stayed in Dane County, crossing Madison then riding through much of Sun Prairie before turning around at the high school for the trip home, 67 more miles on the odometer.

 Most of my rides in and around Madison rely on bike paths and commuter trails, this one was 50/50 between trails and time on surface streets.

 Just after 7, I hit the streets riding east to join the Ice Age trail until it intersects with the paved portion of the Military Ridge trail between Verona and Madison.

 Inside the capital city limits, I stopped at Kwik Trip for a small bottle of chocolate milk, two string cheese sticks, and a 6-pack of mini donuts for the ride.  From there, I rode a couple city blocks to the north end of the Badger State trail which I rode to a high trestle bridge (photo left) where it becomes the southwest commuter trail.

Corn higher than a bike on July 10. (dwm)

Lots of people were out Sunday, taking advantage of a cool morning with abundant sunshine.  Walkers, runners, and bikers were a common site but it wasn't so heavy to cause issues for any of us to do what we wanted.  

You could also see plenty of folks on or near the water either boating or fishing.  The trail passes the Monona Center which is a hot-spot (photo lower right) for anglers casting from shore and a couple boats anchored nearby.

From the commuter trail, I joined the Capital City trail then veered off at the Yahara River which connects Lakes Monona and Mendota until I could head east on Sherman Avenue.

The RR bridge is now part of a trail.

  Sherman is an arterial street from the northeast corner of the city to downtown.  I followed it to a business district where a McDonald's kindly refilled my water.

  That area is where I wanted to switch streets but because of traffic flow it was a better to use empty sidewalks to reach Packers Drive (named when Oscar Mayer had a plant in Madison) which took me around Truax Field.

 Here the streets double as country roads with higher speed limits and three character-building hills on Packers and Hoepker, which took me to the next trail.

A beautiful morning for fishing.

While the trail is in the middle of a developing city landscape it is sided by a park's green space and a field planted in rapidly growing corn.

The trail has no name of which I'm aware but it serves as a nice link under the four-lane highway carrying U.S. 151 through Sun Prairie to Fond du Lac.  On the other side, I returned to the streets of the Sun Prairie.

Sun Prairie's Main Street downtown is bustling with a mix of retail and residents, even on a Sunday morning.

My goal for the ride was 60 miles, so I rode through downtown, following the streets to the high school (a second one is under construction) where I was confident the return trip would get me to 60 miles.

Streets wound through the prairie and the East Towne Mall area of Madison before I reluctantly turned left on East Washington Street.  It was fine, I suspect due to the early hour, and I found my way back to the Yahara River where I crossed the bridge (pictured above left) that took me around the east and south sides of Lake Monona where I transitioned back to the Capital City trail which took me home.

It felt good to get the mileage and the time (4 hours, 30 minutes) on the seat and under the wheels.  My overall pace is slower than my usual but be enough for a long two-day ride.  There is still plenty of time to prepare and get the bike ready to go the distance.

All photos shot by author July 10, 2022.