Ride 14 - North - South

Climbing the hill out of Middleton. 6/23/24 dwm

 It's been hot, humid, and rainy in south Wisconsin which cut down potential ride days. I rode last Wednesday (6/19/2024) morning before rain fell in the afternoon.

 My latest opportunity was Sunday after church, a day after several storms swept across south Wisconsin with at least four tornadoes touching down and doing damage. Our area got heavy rain but was spared damaging winds and hail.

 Judging which direction to go and what route to take was influenced by the weather. A cold front passed through Wisconsin pushing the storm in front of it, delivering cool breezes in its wake.

It helps knowing the general direction the wind comes from but you can't count on it. A wind out of the north meant a north-south ride would be a slow ride going out but faster coming home.

Heavy rains created a mud slide. 6/23/24 dwm

Last time I went mostly north was April 14, the main feature of the ride is a path that runs alongside U.S. Highway 12 from Middleton roughly 9 miles before it ends at Rauls Road. (Good news, work is planned for an old railroad bridge over the Wisconsin River to make it a bike and pedestrian bridge, which will likely encourage officials to connect it to where the path ends now.)

You can't compare this trail to many around Wisconsin because it is mostly a commuter path, designed to get you from one place to the next. There are nice views of farms and hills but the noise from cars and trucks at highway speeds makes it more utilitarian than idyllic.

 The two times I stopped were close together. While they are an invasive species, the day lilies blooming in many a roadside ditch are pretty to photograph (photo left).

 The heavy down-pour Saturday impacted the trail in one place where soil washed down a hill, dumping a lot of mud across the trail. In places it was two inches deep. I walked my bike through the grass to keep the bike clean and avoid slipping or losing momentum, getting stuck, or muddy.

 It was tougher going up than back but again, the aerodynamics of the recumbent saved me having to work as hard as riders on upright bikes.

After making the turn for home, it was a fast trip with one stop for photos. This north-south trip is an efficient way to put on some miles. I logged 37 on trip 14, an average of 14.9 mph and 541.5 total miles.