Riding the Ridge

Going west on the Ridge trail.

 It's been a while since I rode to Mt Horeb on the Military Ridge State Trail.

 The reason I've stayed away was the trail's condition in several spots where sand was used to fill in holes or low-spots.  If you ride through sand at any rate of speed there is a good chance to fall.  When the sand is in the shade it's practically invisible, which is scary.

 It was time to try again.

 I headed west on the trail from Verona's Main Street.  The old railroad line cuts through the middle of town. In places there are still businesses backed up to the former track but in 2023 it borders backyards, parks, and the new high school.

 The school was jumping Saturday as dozens of buses lined the street after unloading athletes ready to run the school's cross country route which goes through an old forest.

It was pretty quiet when I went west, on the return trip a race was in progress, runners were cooling down on the trail, and fans were coming and going as one race lead to another.

Dogtooth Daisies line portions of the trail.

After the school, the trail passes under the four-lane highway carrying U.S. 18 and 151 twice before paralleling the rushing traffic most of its way to Dodgeville (42 miles west of Verona).

Both sides of the trail west of town are busy with five to six-foot tall wildflowers begging for attention from birds, bees, and people toting cameras.

The former rail-bed is packed earth and crushed limestone with a few places where asphalt was used.  It was in decent shape.  There are going to be occasional gopher holes you need to look for; when you don't the sudden duh-duh is a rude awakening.

The trail passes Riley, a dot on the map that's home to a popular restaurant known for its home-made pizza, and Klevenville, much larger than Riley and still aspiring to be a village.

Trees line the trail much of the way.

 It's around Klevenville the trail begins a long, gradual climb to Mt. Horeb.  It's enough to be noticeable but not so steep to slow progress, however the steady nature of the climb makes it nice to level out downtown in the Troll city.

 On this ride, that's where I turned around and enjoyed the improved trail conditions while the downhill pushed my speed into the upper teens.

 Thank you to the Friends of the Military Ridge trail; the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; and whomever helped improve the ride.  This recent experience makes me want to take it further west to see how it rides from Mt. Horeb to Dodgeville.

 Photos by David Mossner, 9/2/2023.