Madison, Wisconsin -A City in Quiet Turmoil

The next morning we left the Rochester area and headed east on Highway 90. At the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin we were surprised to see the Mississippi River.  Actually it is the upper Mississippi that we cross as we enter the city of La Crosse.  We stopped at the Visitors Center to see what there was to see and do in Wisconsin.  Wisconsin is known for its cheese factories and I would have love to stop at one, but they would have taken us off our beaten path.  This is also Amish country and that again would have been interesting if their hamlets were not so far out of our way.  Another point of interest was the Laura Ingalls Wilder society in the city of Pepin.  The Little House in the Prarie was one of my favorite books and I was glad to see where the story came about.

We also noted how important bike trails are to the state of Wisconsin.  We picked up a trail map and found that there are trails all across the state.  Actually, there are four trails: Great River State Trail, La Crosse River State Trail, Elroy-Sparta State Trail, and "400" State Trail.  The trail is 101 miles from Marshland and ending at Reedsburg. There are three tunnels that go under freeways or through mountains.  The trail is for fast travel with the surface made of fine limestone.  We took the brochure and put it in safe keeping for future ventures.  

We were eager to get on our bikes and do some riding.  When we got into Madison we found the Sheridan Hotel and got settled. We then changed into bike ware and got a map from the desk showing a bike route that passed our hotel and continued by the Lake Mendota.  It followed the lake trail and then went into the city through residential areas and back to the lake again.  We got on our bikes and drove out.  The trail was very popular with bikers and commuter traffic.  The difference is that bikers always wear the cute, colorful outfits and commuters wear what they are going to wear for work.   

It was beautiful day and the ride was terrific.  Riding by the lake we went by the beautiful avant garde Performing Arts building and by several county buildings with architecture from around the turn of the century.  The lake was a lovely pale blue and several fishing boats were out hoping of a catch.  The trail then led us into the city.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of repair going on and we had to stop and walk our bikes around the detours until  we finally got on the trail again and started riding.  There is a saying that when things go bad and you can't do anything about them, you go out and plant a garden.  Well, there were plenty things going wrong with the educational system in Wisconsin, and plant a garden, they did.  We rode next to a community garden that went for blocks.  These gardens were well cared for with plenty of vegetables and lots of flowers.  We saw several people planting and weeding and keeping them in great shape.  

 We left the gardens and followed the trail to a more rural area or perhaps a preserved area.  Here there were lots of trees and the trail meandered in and out of forest and thick vegetation.  It opened up to a community park with tennis courts and the lake house where you could rent kayaks and paddle boards.

We went over and chatted with the Life Guard who suggested a different route to use on the way back.

We had gone completely across the lake and we could see the capital building and the performing Arts  building from where we were.  The lake looked inviting and we would have taken a dip but the prospect of riding with wet clothes wasn't appealing.  We thanked the Life Guard and made our way to our new  path.

We went to the corner of the park and make a sharp left turn and went directly up the hill.  We were carving our own trail here and found the ride most interesting. The houses were all very unique.  They reminded me of houses in Palo Alto. Each had its own charm and lovely garden in the front.  In the gardens we found signs throughout the area asking to repeal the present governor, Rick Walker.  Most signs were pretty civil but some showed the frustration this state is going through with its governor. Time will tell how the next election will go.  We were facing a similar distaste in our own state of Florida.   

We followed the road near the lake until it got us back to the trail that we were on when we started.  Now we were on familiar ground and we set to peddling faster as we felt invigorated riding near the lake again.   This was a wonderful day of riding and we will remember Madison for making this bike trail a useful one for everyone.