Adventure Cycling has been working with the US Department of Transportation to develop a system of marked bike routes across the state. One of the proposed routes would run from Winona Minnesota to the Lake Ferry in Milwaukee, using mostly bike trails to cross Wisconsin (including the Great River Trail, the LaCrosse River Trail, the Sparta-Elroy Trail, the 400 Trail, and the Glacial Drumlin Trail. (Some time ago, I posted a description of much of this route on my web site.)

For discussions of the overall project click here for the US Department of Transportation and here for Adventure Cycling. It appears from a map of the proposed system that the proposed Wisconsin segment is part of proposed route 30, which will run west through Minneapolis to beyond Billings and east, after cross the lake, to Detroit.

A number of states, particularly in the Northeast now have marked and numbered long-distance bicycle routes. In the 1970s, Wisconsin pioneered with two routes, one from LaCrosse to Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, and the second running north from LaCrosse to Lake Superior. At some point these routes were abandoned as attention turned more to developing bike trails, particularly on abandoned railroad lines.

Upper Midwest riders have recognized the incredible roads of SW Wisconsin for decades, but in the last few days the word has gotten out to a wider population. In its bid for the 2014 Olympics, Chicago’s Olympic Committee picked a route around Blue Mounds State Park, west of Madison for the challenging terrain and the low traffic roads according to the New York Times. Chicago lost out, but cyclists can still ride the route. For a complete guide to the roads in the area, check the Madison and Dane County Bike Map.

Another national publication, Adventure Cycling, featured Trempealeau County, along the Mississippi River as another cyclist’s destination.

A new section of bike trail stretches between the UW campus and Highland Ave. The trail starts just west of Babcock Hall (a great place for ice cream or sandwiches) and roughly runs north of and parallel to the railroad tracks.

Middleton’s Pheasant Branch Trail has recently been paved between Century Blvd on the east and Airport Rd on the west. The trails north of Century Blvd in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy are still mostly unpaved but in good condition for road bikes. West of highway 12, the northern-most branch of the trail becomes unpaved after crossing under Airport Rd, ending at Capital View Rd.

The trail crosses the stream a number of times. The first time I rode the trail, one had to ford the stream at the crossings. Then bridges were added, but adventurous riders can still try the fords.

Two new sections of the Starkweather Creek Trail in Madison were recently opened. The first section connects the Capitol City Trail at Marquette St. with the recently-constructed bicycle bridge over Washington Avenue. The second section includes a bridge over highway 30 to connect two the trail shown on the map north of Washington Avenue with another existing trail to the north.

A new bicycle trail along highway 151 helps link Madison and Sun Prairie. This trail would appear in the upper right-hand corner of the Madison map. Traveling from Madison the trail starts where High Crossing Blvd ends at American Pkwy and follows the southeast side highway 151 to connect with O’Keefe Ave which leads into Sun Prairie.

Registration is now open for the 2010 Wisconsin Bike Summit sponsored by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. This year the summit will feature special guest Andreas Rohl, head of the City of Copenhagen’s Bicycle Program. Copenhagen is considered by some to be the world’s most bicycle friendly city.The Wisconsin Bike Summit also offers multiple education sessions on a variety of subjects including encouraging our kids to walk and bike through Safe Routes to School programs, building Bicycle Friendly Communities and expanding Wisconsin’s off-road bicycle recreational opportunities. Click here for more details and to register.

It’s been two years in the making, but we’ve finally added Jefferson County, Wisconsin to the list of Bikeverywhere maps. With the addition of the Jefferson County Bike Map it is now possible to ride from the western edge of Dane County to the shores of Lake Michigan using Bikeverywhere maps. And you don’t have to do it all on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail. Skirt the southern edge of the county to connect to Racine or Kenosha. Visit Lake Koshkonong, then follow the Rock River until you feel like turning east again. Cut across the county at a diagonal, mix it up between bike friendly roads and the Glacial Drumlin Trail. Or make a tour of the Rock River and conquer some drumlins. Jefferson County turns out to be pretty interesting on its own, so consider making it a destination.

The Jefferson County Bike Map has been researched by Milwaukee Bike map researcher Bruce Thompson and developed to the same standards as the Milwaukee and Madison Maps. The routes are laid out on low traffic, scenic towns roads and county highways. The primary difference is that the Jefferson County Bike Map is a downloadable pdf file. That makes it a less expensive alternative to the paper maps, and you can reprint the map as often as you wish.

You can view the Jefferson County Bike Map in the Shopping Cart.

As a special introductory offer, the Jefferson County Bike Map will be reduced by $1.00 to just $5.00 from now until the end of 2009. Now’s the time to start planning that city-to-city bike trip, or a close to home get away into rural beauty of Jefferson County.

I saw them two miles into my homebound commute; father and son, fully loaded with panniers and asking directions. The guy on the street wasn’t very helpful. He only knew the autoroute to their destination. I was going that way, so I volunteered to lead them.

Before we’d ridden a mile I knew they needed more than a shop. They were tired, a bit cranky, lost and carrying camping gear, but faced with an expensive motel stay because there was no way they would get out of the city before dark. I volunteered our backyard for the night. It’s exactly the sort of thing that others had done for me on my long ago trip to Portland, Oregon.

By chance, they were riding west from Portland. their destination was a friend’s house in Vermont. Too far into the ride to carry the novelty of the adventure and too far from the end to feel the accomplishment, they were at a mental low point, and the normal tensions of parent and teenage son were heightened. It would have been great to hear travel stories of wonder and parent-child bonding, of cherished memories and life changing experiences, but that wasn’t for this night. Dad needed someone to talk with and son needed “space” and rest.

What we could offer was an ear and a respite from the road. We fed them cheese and crackers until the large pizza arrived, then followed up with a couple of large scoops of ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. They took hot showers and dried off with the thickest towels we had. We listened as Dad unloaded his travel blues while the boy slept. In the morning Dad woke up early and worked on the bikes in our basement bike shop as son continued sleeping. I made a pancake breakfast for Dad, but son chose to get another hour of sleep.

I gave Dad a copy of the “Twin Cities Bike Map,” marked the location of shops for picking up the gear he needed and highlighted the route out of town. Then I hopped my bike and went back to work. It was a small respite for the travelers and a break from the daily grind for me. For them, I hope they form that bond and settle into a close friendship as they continue their travels.

For me, I’ve made a down payment on a debt. I can never directly repay those who helped me on my cross-country trip. The best I can do is pass the favor to another traveler. I’ve done it once. I still have a couple more to go before the debt will be fully repaid.

Maps are dynamic. Bike routes change, new trails get built and old ones extended. Some trails get shut down, temporarily, because of nearby construction or because the trail itself needs an overhaul. Well post the updates here, then provide a permanent, one-top page for all of the posts within each of the metro areas covered. If you want to see what’s chqnged since your copy of a map was printed, click the links below. If you have update information that we should know about, please email us by using the contact form here.

Madison Map Updates

Milwaukee Map Updates

Twin Cities Map Updates