Ride 9 - Highway 12

Heading back. 5/31/2025 dwm

  The last day of May was a good one for riding. The smoke in the atmosphere, which is coming south from Canada, was higher in the atmosphere so air quality was good and there was a nice amount of sunshine.

  Nine rides in and I've not repeated any of the trips; but in the process of getting in or out of town I do cover some of the same paths along the way.  

 I've taken this trip a number of times because going up and back is just a shade under 40 miles, so it doesn't take much along the way to round-up to an even number of miles.

 This trip was mostly heading north then heading back. I started on county highway M to Middleton then joined a bike path that was built adjacent to the four-lane road that carries U.S. highway 12 from Madison to Sauk City. 

 The path follows the contour of the highway with up-hills and down-hills and offers a lot of beautiful scenery as the city views are replaced with farms, trees, and valleys.

The top of South Pleasant View Rd. 5/31/25 dwm

It's a beautiful ride. The only drawback is because it's next to a highway with cars going to highway speed, it's rare to hear the sounds of the countryside.

There is a short section where a berm separates the trail from the road where I heard birds in the trees.

In a few years this trail should get busier when a bike bridge across the Wisconsin River is finished and a path is completed between the south shore of the bridge and where the trail ends now at Rauls Road.

The bridge should be done in 2026, when a path connects it to the current one it will make it easier and safer for more cyclists to make the trip.

Ride 9: 40 miles, 2 hours and 37 minutes. Miles this year: 405

A sign in Greenway Station. 5/31/2025 dwm

Wild flowers growing next to the bike trail. 5/31/2025 dwm