Jim Winkle's Bike Rides from Madison, Wisconsin

Mt. Vernon park

Below are some nice rides that build up to a century ride. And here are some tips for long-distance biking and tips for adjusting your bike for comfort.

These rides start from our house on Emerson St. Most of these rides require a state trail pass to make it easier to get out of Madison. These use Google Maps, which unfortunately doesn't know about bike trails (sign the petition), so I approximated the trails with roads. All rides are straight out and back unless noted. Many of these are lovely rides, especially the longer ones. There are generally restrooms and water at the halfway point.

• Verona, 21 miles, totally flat once you're out of Madison. Anyone for lunch/coffee at Tuvalu?
• Paoli Pump, 30 miles, few hills. The quintessential Madison ride. Same as the New Glarus ride below, but take Sayles Trail all the way to Sun Valley Pkwy, and turn right. The pump water tastes terrible, so bring plenty of your own.
• The Oregon O (loop), 31 miles, few hills. For four extra miles, go to Paoli.
• Mt. Vernon, 38 miles, few hills. Cars go fast on G, but there's a pretty good shoulder and good visibility. Cue sheet.

• Mt. Horeb tricycle troll

  Mt. Horeb, 48 miles, some hills. Anyone for mustard at the Mustard Museum? (though I heard a rumor they're moving to Middleton... not sure when.) Cue sheet.
• South of Stoughton, 51 miles, some hills.
• New Glarus, 55 miles, few hills until you get near New Glarus, then a long hill and then a steep hill. Cue sheet.
• Brooklyn (with loop), 55 miles, few hills, loop is quite flat.
• Devil's Lake State Park, 64 miles, long-ish hills; great ride! Park in the little lot on Pheasant Branch (point A on the map). Bring a swimsuit and towel if it's hot. Free admission on a bike. If Crystal Lake road is closed, go straight on Gluth Rd., turn left at Hwy 60, and then follow the cue sheet at Oconnor. Cue sheet.
• West of Mt. Vernon (loop), 67 miles, hills. Some of this route is untested, especially the western loop, and in 2oo9, Moscow Rd was gravel (so just take F to 78 in Blanchardville). It's 40 miles before lunch and water in Hollandale, so bring a snack. 50 mile option: Instead of turning onto Urness (which was gravel in 2oo9), continue on Hwy K for about 3 miles into Hollandale.
• Brooklyn and Beyond (loop), 71 miles, some nice hills, steep but short. Brooklyn is the last water stop. Cue sheet.

• Rock River

  Rock River Ramble (with loop), 76 miles, some hills. Lunch on banks of the river. Water after lunch at Gibbs Lake Park, the second entrance (not the bridal path). Bonus: the oldest (and smelliest) pit toilets in the state! Options: 30, 38, or 51 miles.
  • 30: Instead of turning right on Lake Kegonsa, continue on Rutland Dunn Townline for 0.3 mi and go straight on Lake Kegonsa Rd (not right on Rutland Dunn Townline).
  • 38: Instead of turning left on A, turn right on A for 1.4 miles, slight left on A for 0.3 miles, and turn left on Starr School Rd.
  • 51: Instead of turning right at Riley, continue on Stebbensville 0.3 miles and turn left on McGinnis.
  Cue sheet.
• Folklore Village, 92 miles (46 miles one way), some nice roller-coaster hills. Here's their website to see if there's anything going on.

• On the full century, you might need to stop here and say a prayer

  Here's the century (with a half-century option) that I did in Sept, 2009; both are loops.
  • Century, 106 miles. A spectacular ride, this century covers some of my favorite roads and has everything. There are nice roller-coaster hills (nothing huge), cool valleys, ridges with great vistas, some beautiful old stone houses, country churches and schoolhouses, historic cemeteries, meandering creeks, assorted farm critters, rock outcroppings, and even a UFO! It's really quite nice. Cue sheet.
  • Half-Century, 57 miles. The first 34 miles and the last 12 miles are exactly the same as the century. It's a nice ride too, though it misses some of the more spectacular scenery that's further west. This ride sees the UFO, too. Cue sheet.
• Another Century Ride, ~100 miles, a work in progress.

Other rides

You'll generally need to drive to the start of these rides.

• Wednesday nite bike rides, quite hilly and fun rides through scenic rural Dane County.
• Bombay Bicycle Club, many, many rides, starting in and out of town.
• Manitowoc Metric Century, 59 miles, few hills, the start is 13 miles from the Lake Michigan cabin.
• Jim and Bonnie's 2009 bike tour. We didn't ride all of this, so some is untested.
  • Part I: The Crawford County Climb, 86 miles, days 1 - 3. A gorgeous ride, especially day 1. Morovits Hollow Rd is gravel (so is Walker)... they're working on getting it paved, and it has a dreadful uphill at the end. Hwy 35 along the Mississippi and Ferryville were a bit of a disappointment... few businesses open (perhaps because of the recession). Next time we'd go a different way, perhaps Hwy 27 (which is a ridge road). Make sure you get the wonderful biking map of Crawford County.
  • Part II: Vernon Vistas and Valleys, 105 miles, days 4 & 5. We never made it to Wildcat Mountain, stopping instead in Viroqua. We took Cty Hwy J back to Soldier's Grove, and River Road into Gays Mills (contrary to the map, it goes all the way).

Contact me if you have questions or suggestions about any of this.