I’ve been using the Placemarks feature on the mobile Twin Cities Bike Map to locate puzzle clues for new CrossRoads Puzzles. Note the orange pins around Randall and Underwood Streets in the Fairgrounds.

The pins turned into clue locations in the State Fairgrounds CrossRoads puzzle. Placemarks can be easily exported from your mobile map and imported into another PDF map on your phone. In my case, I imported them into my GIS mapping software and used a smaller scale to show more detail.

This image shows pins around the Stone Arch Bridge. Those Placemarks form the base for the Stone Arch Bridge CrossRoads, which is under development.

Bikeverywhere is proud to announce “CrossRoads,”  a new game for bicyclists.  CrossRoads incorporates the best of geocaching, crossword puzzles and scavenger hunt, and it’s all done on a bike.

The rules are easy: Find the map clue on the mobile CrossRoads map. Toggle your phone to the CrossRoads Puzzle to check the clue, then look around. The answer may be a sign, natural feature, a bench or part of a piece of artwork. Enter your answer in the CrossRoads puzzle and move on to the next clue.

It’s that easy, but don’t rush off to the next clue. CrossRoads is as much about exploring as it is about finishing a puzzle. Each CrossRoads is designed to show you around and maybe introduce you to a few things you didn’t know existed.

Try our first puzzle at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds has over 20 tree trunk carvings. Find them using the CrossRoads map, then check the clues for the correct answer in the puzzle. Get started at the Fairgrounds CrossRoads page on Bikeverywhere.

This is a new game, so I’m looking for feedback. Contact me with suggestions, comments and feedback.

Enjoy the game.

Doug Shidell

Interested in bike touring, but not ready to take on the full journey? Try the Madison to Devils Lake overnight. It’s only 35 miles one way, so if you pack the wrong gear or the weather turns bad, just call a friend or family member. They’ll be less than an hour away.

This route takes you down paved low traffic roads through farm country and small woodlots, crosses the Wisconsin River on the free Merrimac Ferry and ends at Devils Lake State Park, one of Wisconsin’s most popular state parks. Spend the day lounging on the beach, swimming or hiking, then return the next day. Ambitious riders can extend the tour by visiting Baraboo, WI, home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus World Museum.

Madison to Devils Lake State park

I’ve been creating route maps for the United Performing Arts Fund’s Ride for the Arts bike ride since 2010. The rides, from 5 to 66 miles long, begin at the Summerfest grounds on Milwaukee’s lake front and follow the Lake Michigan Shoreline. If you plan to be in the Milwaukee area on May 31, take in this fun event. Post-ride festivities feature jugglers, classical musicians, jazz, theater and other groups supported by the fund

This year, like last year, I created a mobile version of the route maps to supplement the print version. The mobile version was submitted to Avenza this evening and should be ready to download by Friday. It’s free and even if you don’t plan to ride in the event, the map will give you routes that can be enjoyed any time of the year.

While you’re at it, check out the mobile Milwaukee and SE Wisconsin Bike Map for routes around the entire Milwaukee area plus the scenic roads in rural SE Wisconsin.

The Madison and Dane County Bike Map has gone mobile. Now you can get all of the bike trails and bike routes from the paper Madison and Dane County Bike Map on your phone. The map works with your phone’s GPS system, so you can plot out new routes, tag favorite places, add photos, and store your rides.     Try the 2011 version for free or buy the 2015 edition and get free updates throughout 2015.

Madison, Wisconsin has bicycling dialed in. Where else can you find a bicycle round about, “Bike” crossing lights at intersections, the uniquely urban State Street connecting the University and the State Capitol and Bicycle escape routes to get you into the country? Dane County is the perfect complement to Urban Madison. Head west into the Driftless Area, a land of challenging hills, small scale farms, trout creeks and wooded hillsides, all connected by a network of paved, low traffic roads.

This is a city that loves bicycles and the 4^th edition of the Madison and Dane County Bike Map reflects the changes and improvements that the city has made to encourage even more cyclists to ride even more often. Whether you live in the area, or plan a visit, the Madison and Dane County Bike Map will become a trusted companion on all of your rides.

I checked out the Bug Line Trail the other day. It was recently paved between Merton and Menomonee Falls–a big improvement over the old unpaved trail which seemed intent on returning the nature. At the eastern end, two blocks of street riding (shown on the Milwaukee map) takes one to a trail along the Menomonee River, passing by the falls themselves. This trail ends at Fond du Lac Avenue, but a trail is under construction next to FDL Avenue that will connect to the branch of Milwaukee County’s Oak Leaf Trail that runs next to Bradley Road.

“It’s not much,” she said as she placed 26 cents on my count sheet. I looked up, startled.
“No! No!” I blurted out. “That’s not why I’m here. I’m a volunteer, counting pedestrians and bicyclists.” I waved my count sheet toward her, babbled something about counting her as she crossed the bridge, and put the money back in her hand. She was a high school kid. This was a popular panhandling corner. My babbling protestations probably convinced her that I needed both the money and a good social worker, but she took the change and walked away, with one quick glance back toward me.

This was my second year as a volunteer for the annual Minneapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Count. I expected it to be mildly boring since I wasn’t in a hot spot for cyclists, but this was already the second encounter. Moments earlier a young woman on a bike asked if I had “air,” meaning a pump to inflate her slowly leaking front tire. I did, but asked that she watch for bicyclists and pedestrians while I worked on the bike. “Are you doing this as some sort of experiment?” She asked.

After the donation incident I watched a cyclist as he approached the “screen line,” the invisible line across the road where the count takes place. He crossed the line. I made a tick mark on the count sheet. Then he made an abrupt U-turn in the middle of the bridge, crossed the screen line again (I made another tick- those are the rules), hopped his bike over the curb and stopped about two feet from my lawn chair. “Don’t’ tell my boss I did that.” He said.

I had no idea who this guy was, making it unlikely that I would tell his boss about a bicycle U-turn in the middle of a bridge. And I couldn’t imagine why his boss would care, but I promised I wouldn’t tell. The whole incident became clear when he explained that he was following up on bike/ped counters. Did I need anything? Any questions? Would I like a granola bar? I suppose if you are an employee of the city, working under the bicycle coordinator, you would want your boss to believe that you are a model urban bike rider.

That should have been enough for any two hour stretch, but an older gentleman crossed the street with a purposeful gait, came up close and said “Are you Doug?” It turns out that we worked together at a local bike shop 30 years ago, and hadn’t seen each other since. He recognized me as he was driving by and stopped to find out what I was doing on this popular panhandling corner. I assured him that I didn’t need money and had already turned down a generous contribution of 26 cents.

Spending a week in the Madison, WI area doing update research for the Madison and Dane County Bike Map. I’ve spent the last couple of days researching the eastern half of both Dane County and the city of Madison. Madison area cyclists rightfully focus on the western side of the county, because of the incredible driftless terrain, but the last few days remind me that the eastern half has an entirely different kind of beauty. Dotted with small lakes and large marshy areas, the landscape is serene and spectacular at the same time. The wetlands and open prairie attract Sandhill Cranes, whose call has serenaded me each morning and evening at my campsite in Lake Kegonsa State Park. The terrain is a nice blend of moderate hills and small rollers. Far more moderate than the hills to the west, but not flat and never boring.

The highlight so far was a detour onto the gravel service roads of Cherokee Marsh Conservation Area. I found a boardwalk that plunged deep into the marsh along the Yahara River, north of town, and a small wooden dock that ended in a cluster of cat tails and giant lily pads.

Spending a week in the Madison, WI area doing update research for the Madison and Dane County Bike Map. I’ve spent the last couple of days researching the eastern half of both Dane County and the city of Madison. Madison area cyclists rightfully focus on the western side of the county, because of the incredible driftless terrain, but the last few days remind me that the eastern half has an entirely different kind of beauty. Dotted with small lakes and large marshy areas, the landscape is serene and spectacular at the same time. The wetlands and open prairie attract Sandhill Cranes, whose call has serenaded me each morning and evening at my campsite in Lake Kegonsa State Park. The terrain is a nice blend of moderate hills and small rollers. Far more moderate than the hills to the west, but not flat and never boring.

The dam at the outlet to Lake Kegonsa was a favorite stopping spot on my travels through the area.