It wasn't exactly an early start this morning. I guess Jim and I had a few too many fine Wisconsin brews last night - Ha !
This is a very cool Tiki that Jon's brother Mark carved for Jim. Beautiful !
My first day's bicycle route heads straight west, with almost the entire 55 miles on bicycle trails !
Ready to go? Don't forget the sunscreen!
The first photo stop for a sign in the neighbors yard was only two houses down from Jim's. I've got a feeling there's going to be a lot of photo ops on today's ride!
This is a sad memorial for a local youngster who made a bad decision on this bridge. Godspeed Erik.
The bicycle trail heading out from town was absolutely gorgeous ! It wound all around Lake Monona and went onto the outskirts of Madison.
I stopped at a little playground on the lake, where you can look across and see the Madison skyline and state capital. I saw a mother duck and duckling, and I played on some of the Motorcycle playground toys.
There are bike stands like this all over the city. Visitors can just put in their credit card and ride off to the next bike stand. Pretty neat!
Which bike doesn't belong in this picture?
I waved to a father and son out fishing in a beautiful wood canoe on the lake.
Here's a nice little café where I stopped for a latte and vegetable bagel.
They were remodeling the candy store next door, so no chocolate for breakfast today.
Here's a cool Bicycle Shop built right into an old train station.
It's a beautiful day, with the whether in the low 70s and lots of people using the trails around Madison.
I saw many nice apartment buildings right on the trail, with massive bicycle racks outside them. Madison is a serious bicycle town !
It's a Hummer !
I saw four or five of these Little Free Libraries along the trail today. What a great idea!
I think today's Prospects are pretty good !
There were also several neighborhood gardens along the trail today.
This is a really cool idea ! It's a bicycle stand with workshop tools and air pump right on the trail. This one is dedicated to Red Vogts, a local bicyclist.
Crossing this highway, I spotted the Schwinn corporate headquarters across the highway. Trek bicycles also has its corporate headquarters just outside Madison, in Waterloo Wisconsin.
Here's a neat old panel van outside a business along the trail.
You got to pay if you want to play. Deposit your four dollars right here !
After about 12 miles of the beautiful bike trail around Madison, I got to the military Ridge bike trail for the rest of today's ride. This trail is 40 miles long with only 2 miles paved. The rest is hard packed crushed limestone.
Anyone want a free snowblower ?
These planets signs were all along the trails today. This one says I finally reached Uranus ( insert joke here ).
Here's a beautiful little waterfall, part of a water reclamation and restoration facility.
This is what a touring bicycle should look like - HA !
There are lots of pretty flowers growing right along the gravel trail today.
Here I am at the rest stop in Riley. There were about seven or eight little trailheads like this along the trail. The further I got from Madison, the fewer trail users there where. By the end of the day it was just me, riding all alone on the gravel with the birds and squirrels and chipmunks.
Oh boy, only two more miles to Dodgeville. As beautiful as today was, the gravel trails get a little tiring after about 10 or 15 miles. I was really happy to reach my destination !
I got a room at a nice, cheap hotel and went downtown for a delicious barbecue dinner. What a great first day on the road. See you tomorrow !
