Saturday,
June 2nd: Afternoon Pre-ride around Madison,
a town of dual capital roles----Wisconsin’s State Capital and Capital
of cycling. Expect to be riding on a scenic paved bike path along a lake
shore, through a park, on a quiet street, or a wide bike lane. It won’t
take long to realize you are biking through a model for the rest of the
country to follow. Our loop ride for the afternoon begins and ends at
the paved Capital City Trail, right at the front door of the Sheraton
Madison on the shores of Lake Monona.
No matter what your destination, you can get there safely by bike in Madison.
And at the end of the ride there are dinner choices nearby for any desire,
followed by time to meet other riders and hear how easy it will be to
find ice cream in the week ahead.
Sunday, June 3rd: Madison to Whitewater --55
miles.
Effortlessly we find ourselves in Dairyland,
with choices of lunch at the bakery in Cambridge or Fort Atkinson. The
nice thing is there’s no one here to tell if you do both. From Ft.
Atkinson, a network of rustic roads leads us to Whitewater and thoughts
of PAW Happy Hour and a PAW dinner. Baymont Inn will be our home the next
two nights.
Monday, June 4th: Kettle Moraine Loop. Optional
routes up to 60 miles.
Longtime PAW Alums will recall the first
tour in PAW’s history going to Whitewater in 1985. It was the first
of many years of anticipated weekends. This is one of those areas that
hasn’t changed much over the years, in short, an area still great
to cycle. A place where the glacier was just friendly enough to come to
a halt after arranging the curve of the earth so as to be bike friendly.
All routes lead to the LaGrange general store where can enjoy a top quality
lunch and have your bike worked on at the same time.
Now it’s your turn to ride this blend of dairyland roads mixed with
gently rolling, rustic byways. The route is arranged in a loop to offer
choice of miles for those who want extra time in the pool, hiking on the
Ice Age trail, or browsing in town.
Whitewater is home to University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, and has a variety
of places to eat and drink plus two good bike shops.
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Tuesday, June
5th: Whitewater to Janesville --55 miles
Our adventure continues as we leave the kettles behind and very quickly
find ourselves in the heart of south central dairyland. Enjoyable riding
takes us to Janesville, another one of those Wisconsin towns that makes
biking a pleasure. Once a hard to navigate town of 59,000, Janesville
now has a blacktop path that rings the entire community as it winds its
way through parks and along the Rock River. Named after Henry James in
1835, Janesville accounts for 20% of all buildings on the State of Wisconsin
historic list. It was the site of the first Wisconsin state fair in 1851
(attended by 10,000) and the home of Wisconsin’s first female lawyer,
Lavinia Goodell (1851). The Lincoln Tallman house dates from 1857 and
Abraham Lincoln slept there two nights. But, as luck would have it, we
are headed for a newer Holiday Inn Express where you are about to sleep
more in one night than did Lincoln in two.
PAW dinner tonight at Holiday Inn Express.
Wednesday
June 6th: Janesville to New Glarus-- 58 miles.
Crossing the Rock River, we head west where we join another one of PAW’s
all time favorite routes enjoyed in the 80’s and 90’s during
New Glarus Weekend. The Sugar River Valley makes for ideal biking with
the towns of Brodhead, Albany, and Monticello offering choices for lunch,
ice cream, and snacks. The highest hills remain in the distance and are
for admiration only as we remain in the valley with only the easiest of
slopes.
Founded in 1845, New Glarus was named after Canton of Glarus in Switzerland.
In the early 1840’s, when failed crops created poverty in Glarus,
193 residents left for the New World seeking better times. They found
their way to Wisconsin and bought two square miles of land along the Little
Sugar River for $1.25 acre because the valley with its surrounding hilltops
reminded them of home. Today, Swiss architecture abounds in New Glarus,
which has become known as America’s Little Switzerland. The town
has many interesting places of Swiss origin to visit, with specialty shops,
and good restaurants, and is surrounded by both beauty and great roads
for biking. Our home tonight is the Chalet Landhaus, a prominent New Glarus
Swiss style landmark.
Dinner tonight on your own.
Thursday,
June 7th: New Glarus to Spring Green -- 60 miles
The thought of leaving New Glarus
behind is a sad one when it means the end of a good trip. But today it’s
ok because we are headed for Spring Green and using some choice routes
to get there. The town of Mt. Horeb at the halfway mark of today’s
ride makes for an interesting stop-off. The specialty shops, antique mall
with over 100 shops, a brewery with a restaurant and other spots for good
food attract visitors from many miles away. You might want to “Stroll
the Troll,” the well known Trollway on the main street where life
size mythical creatures carved from tree trunks make an unusual background
for a memorable picture.
Just west of town there are two very large mounds. One is the site of
Blue Mounds State park, the other the location of Cave of the Mounds.
Just down the road you will find Little Norway open for visitors. All
are on our route and worth a stop. Since we are nearing the longest day
of the year and have no PAW group dinner tonight, there is time to relax
and explore along the way.
Leaving Blue Mounds it’s downhill for well over a mile into the
Wisconsin River valley for an easy ride to Spring Green that will take
you right to the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor’s Center and the Round
Barn Lodge, our home the next two nights.
Friday, June 8th:
Ride, Rest, Swim, or Shop. 0 – 50 miles
As always on “layover” days there is
a supported ride departing after breakfast. But one of the reasons for
a “your choice” day is the choices here are so good. Taliesin
East beckons and if you are a Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiast you have come
to the “Wright” place.
You will find in Spring Green that there still is a town left with a few
small book shops. There are also a sprinkling of galleries, specialty
shops, and watering holes.
Spring Green is home to the American Theatre Players and the well known
House on the Rock is not far away. In the early 1800’s Spring Green
was home to the Ho Chunk Indians who now manage area casinos.
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in nearby Richland Center and spent a great
deal of time on his Uncle’s farm just south of Spring Green. In
later years he would write frequently about the magical lands of Wisconsin
and the look of the green fields and red barns as seen against a background
of hills and bluffs at the end of the valley. Bring your camera.
Saturday, June
9th Spring
Green to Madison -- 52 miles.
If a good tour has to end, it might as well be with a good route right
to the finish as is the case today. Arrival at the Sheraton Madison offers
a variety of choices, all of them good. See some of Madison you missed
before the tour, return to a good lunch spot, or stay over and enjoy an
extra day. Those who have to leave will find their highway right at the
door.
|
