Ride 22 - Finding a Window

Prior to sunrise on the trail. 8/16/2025 dwm

In the days leading up to the weekend, the forecast was thunderstorms and heavy rain from Friday into the next week.

Late Friday, I looked at the hourly forecast to see it only showed rain in the middle of the night, then disappearing until Saturday afternoon. That was the window I was hoping for.

When I got up it wasn't raining and nothing was showed on the radar or was expected in the next few hours. It was worth a ride.

The dawn provides enough light to see but not to be seen, so I used my headlight. I left at 5:55, roughly 20 minutes before sunrise. 

Sunrise over the Cannonball Path. 8/16/25 dwm

 I didn't see the sun until I crossed Seminole Highway (that's its name, it's a two-lane city street) on the Cannonball Path.

 My plan was to ride to Sun Prairie with a  pause at the twenty-mile mark to check the weather to see how open the window was.

 It was a go, so I headed up Portage Road then made my way into Sun Prairie, reaching 35-miles while on Main Street near Walmart.

 The route to Sun Prairie wasn't direct, but when I reached 35 miles, it was time to ride more like a crow flies.

From the Cap City trail next to Lake Mendota. 8/16/25 dwm 

I returned by following Main Street to Grand to Hoepker which intersects with American Parkway. From there I passed through the business park that is home to American Family Insurance and rejoined Portage to get over Interstate 90/39.

It was still sunny when I got home a bit after 10. After cleaning up, I made a short trip to buy detergent and get a Mt. Dew from Kwik Trip; as I returned home I noticed clouds on the horizon.

60 miles, in 3 hours, 45 minutes on the bike for ride 22.

The window closed at 12 o'clock.