Double Nickel

A section of the Capital City trail. 10/15/23 dwm

Madison received more than two inches of rain from Thursday to Saturday (October 12 - 14, 2023) which interrupted my usual Saturday ride for the first time since spring.

Sunday was nicer, so I planned to get out and get as many miles in as I could.  It was a cloudy start to the day, cool and breezy enough to create a wind chill.

After church, I got dressed to ride.  Two pair of gloves, a hoodie over a long-sleeve jersey, and sweatpants over tights.  The hood fit under the bike helmet to keep my ears warm and I was able to see in all directions.

Just before I left there was a small line of blue sky between a blanket of clouds so at the last second I brought sunglasses.  The route was familiar but I hadn't put all of them together previously.

On top of a hill on the trail.

 I headed east to McFarland, riding the Lower Yahara boardwalk into McDaniel Park, then returning to the Capital City trail until it met the loop around Lake Monona and followed it counter-clockwise around the lake until I got back on the Capital City trail on the east side of Madison and followed it into town.

 It was around that time I realized this ride could be at least 40 miles and maybe more with a detour here or there.

 For lunch I stopped at a KFC where I ate one of their chicken sandwiches, better and bigger than I expected.  As I headed toward the Badger trail, I decided a Kwik Trip stop was in order to refill my water bottle and grab some cheese sticks.

 The water wasn't working at Kwik Trip so I had to purchase water instead of their usual free refills. The cheese was a nice boost and fresh water in my bottle was welcome.

 From the store I headed to the end of the paved portion of the Badger then reversed course to the usual turn toward home.

I learned I could stuff my hoodie in a small bike bag and that I don't need all those clothes at temperatures in the low to mid 50s.  The breeze seemed to be in my face no matter which direction I headed and created its own degree of difficulty for what would have been an easy ride on a nice day.

Given that it was October 15, it was a nice day, in spite of the wind.  After the sun broke through the clouds it warmed up and it felt good to be on the bike.  It was a good ride.  It was 55 miles, getting my mileage for the year to 901, leaving me 99 from my goal.  If the weather cooperates that should take three rides or less.