3 Days by Bike…
Published June 14, 2011 | 
We began our 3 day bike trip through rural west-central Wisconsin in a downpour. In fact it rained on and off much of the first 2 days with the sun waiting to show its face until the morning of our very last day. You may think that’s a bad thing, but in truth biking in the rain can feel better than biking under a hot sun. The heavy clouds and a wet landscape also add color and shadow to an environment that would have otherwise been lost in a white summer glare. There were sections of the trail that seemed more like they were winding their way through Panama than the heart of cow country. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to take in Wisconsin’s amazing Elroy-Sparta and 400 Bike trails. Continue reading
Posted in Cycling, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation | 
400 trail, biking, Elroy-Sparta Trail, wisconsinChanging Gears
Published June 9, 2011 | 
Tomorrow we being a three-day cycling adventure through the heart of Wisconsin beginning on the Elroy-Sparta trail, then continuing on the state 400 trail. The Elroy-Sparta trail is converted railway that covers about 32 miles of rural Wisconsin. The show stoppers on this trail are the 3 tunnels cut through Wisconsin hill country, the longest being nearly a mile in length. The tunnels are over 100 years old now. Originally they were dug from both ends and the workers used hand tools, horses, mules and oxen to remove the freed rock. Slowly over the years, water seepage causing erosion and leaving mineral depots have made the tunnels look less like historic railways and more like ancient caves. They are cool, dark, damp, spooky and amazing! Continue reading
The Quiet Earth
Published August 19, 2009 | 
Omaha / Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters / It’s the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in / And get your money back at the door
– counting crows
It became downright spooky when we arrived in the community of Elroy, WI early Sunday afternoon. Elroy is where the stars, or I should say the bike trails align. The 400 Trail, The Elroy Sparta Trail & The Omaha trail all meet in this little town. It’s here where the Elroy Commons, a renovated train station with gift shop, showers and bike rentals, stands as a gateway to about 100 miles of beautifully maintained bike trails. It’s here where we found out there were no restaurants, no shops of any sort and not a car on a road or a person on a sidewalk. Not even a cliché dog barking in the distance. Having just watched a flick from New Zealand called, “The Quiet Earth”, the day before, we had the spooky feeling we’d arrived on set.
Beyond Boundaries
Published July 20, 2009 | 
Years ago while paddling along out on Devil’s Lake we came across this young couple who were out paddling as well. We learned then that they were a bit new to kayaking and actually lived nearby in Reedsburg, a community about 15 miles from our home here in Baraboo. Now, as often happens when you meet people in passing, we sort of dropped out of touch. It wasn’t until yesterday when we were out riding on the 400 bike trail that we realized that they were now married and owned an outdoor shop right along the trail.
400
Published June 29, 2009 | 
Yesterday we drove about 15 miles west to explore the 400 Trail. The 400 is an old train track that had been converted to a bike trail some years back. You can’t say the trail is marketed very well. The website is devoid of the facts I wanted to know more about. The woman at the chamber of commerce and trail head office seemed surprised I’d wanted to purchase passes at all. I found myself clarifying repeatedly that there was a fee and I needed to pay it. I doubt many do. There were only about 4 cars in the lot on this particular sunny Sunday. Which I guess was just fine. We had it mostly to ourselves. Continue reading
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