Dan on Bike

Today I headed southeast towards Lake Wingra. The route included the Southwest Commuter Bike Path (an old rail trail), the UW Arboretum, the Wingra Creek Bike Path, the John Nolan Bike Path, the Brittingham Park Bike Path, and a quick run around the State Capitol building.

Once again, I was amazed at how well the routes were marked. There was even a bike route detour posted. Can you believe it?!

I’m not sure how long the Southwest Commuter Bike Path is, but I only traveled a short section – due to my limited time available. The surface is smooth, and the riding was easy. There is a nice bike bridge over the busy US12.

The UW Arboretum is a great park in the middle of the city, and it contains Lake Wingra. There is no through auto traffic allowed (except on Sundays), so the road was clear for bikers and joggers. And there were many of us. I also came up on a turkey hen and her brood of poults.

The Wingra Creek path is another great ride, with several small bridges, and a nicely maintained creek bank on the south side. John Nolan was just as good as it was yesterday. The Brittingham Park path was heading the opposite direction I had intended to ride, but it looked inviting.

This was a small problem when I left that trail and start back east to find the Capitol Building. All of the roads were getting busy a 7:45, so I took a somewhat serpentine path along secondary streets to make my way in. I took what should have been a neat auto-timer photo of me on the steps of the building, but the camera focused on me as I pressed the button, not on where I stood for the photo. The shot is out of focus and overexposed. Oh well!

Miles Ridden: 17.8
Total This Year: TBD + 433

My first ride in Madison, WI this morning was a trip around Lake Monona (counter-clockwise). I started on the John Nolan Bike Path, through Olin-Turville Park, along Waunona Way, down a very busy street, across Olbrich Park, past the convention center, and back to my hotel.

Even with the occasional lack of markings, I did pretty well finding my way. I only got lost twice, and the trail seemed to find me. There was one place where the trail map showed the choice of a 6 or 7 block detour or an optional sidewalk. I tried for the sidewalk, but ended up on a busy 4 lane road at the beginning of rush hour. I was about to give up and turn around when the detour came back to my route.

Madison seems to have a great bike trail and bike route system. There are quite a few signs, plus I bought a map at a local bike shop. I’m planning tomorrow morning’s route right now.

There were many riders out on the trails today, and I also saw quite a few adults riding to work. (By adults, I mean 30’s through 60’s) The guys were dressed as I do when I ride to work – Dockers with an ankle band, dress shirt, and dress shoes. I wish that West Lafayette had that kind of commuter crowd.

Miles Ridden: 13.9
Total This Year: TBD + 415

I’m driving up to Madison, WI for a conference today. The University car has a big trunk, so I am able to take my bike along. I noticed all of the great riding opportunities here last year, so I excited about trying them out.

I tried to find some bike routes on the web, but I didn’t find too much, except for a 48×60 PDF map. I wasn’t able to find a way to print it.

I’ll take some pictures to post, along with descriptions of the rides.

This story on CNN explains why Oregon hasn’t increased its percentage of obese residents like most of the country has:

What makes Oregon different is its emphasis on urban design, which encourages outdoor activities like biking to work, the study’s authors said.

Ten percent of Portland residents pedal to the office on a system of bike paths that crisscross the city like arteries

I need to ride to work more!

I wanted to ride to work today, but I had a meeting at the Ross Building at 8:30. For those of you not familiar with the Purdue campus, the Ross Building is across town from the rest of the campus, and the route climbs a major hill (at least for a rider like me). I can climb it without too much difficulty, but I was worried about arriving in a big sweat.

Instead, I took a quick power ride around campus, including a ride up and down the Wood St. Garage and around the Stadium. I stood up for most of the hills and tried riding fast on the level parts.

After I got home, I talked my wife and daughter into going out for a quick ride. As we were leaving, my daughter says “My bike is leaking!” Turns out her front shocks dumped all their oil on the driveway. She rode anyway, but the shocks were bottomed out and the brakes were rubbing, squeaky, and ineffective. (Serves me right for buying Chinese made crap!) Unfortunately, my wife was afraid of the (light) traffic, so we only covered a mile and a half.

Miles Ridden: 11.0
Total This Year: 401 + TBD

Lasting just over an hour (at least at my pace), this route rolls past a farm that allegedly houses several llamas. Since I’ve never seen them out when I go by, I’m going to have to take the word of family and friends who have.

Start on Division Road and head west to 400W. After climbing the ‘wake up’ hill, continue north to Jackson Highway. Take the Highway northwest to 600W. A sharp left will lead south (past the llama farm) to SR26.

This is where the llamas should be
A quick jog east on SR26 leads to 550W. Turn south and coast down the hill to Division Road.

Bunnies and duckies?
Pedal east to the South River Road intersection and continue east to 350W. Take this road north to Division Road and turn east to return to Newman Road.

This little cottage looks to be vacant

See more photos from the Llama Route here and here.

UPDATE: And here to see actual llama photos!

As I mentioned on Friday, I need to find some new morning rides. Today, the neighbor and I combined some familiar roads in a new way to shake things up a bit.

We started west on Division to north on 400W. We turned left onto Jackson Highway and headed northwest. At 475W, we hung a right and traveled up to US52.

US52 has a wide paved shoulder, so we were able to ride side-by-side back to 400W. Heading south, we rode to Lindberg Road/200N and turned east.

At Klondike Road, we turned south. This road was a little busy at 6:40, so we jumped off at Drury Lane. This is a little subdivision road that loops around to SR26. The scariest part of the ride was SR26 east to Sharon Chapel Road (250W). Sharon Chapel heads south to Newman Road, where we rode southwest to Division Road and home.

I’m not sure if this will become an official route, but it was a good change of pace.

After a quick shower, I rode to work along the usual route. Unfortunately, the head cold I’ve been fighting since Friday made me wonder if I would be able breathe on the way home. My wife picked me up on her way home from the store.

Miles Ridden: 11.1 (part 1) + 3.5 (part 2) = 14.6
Total This Year: TBD + 390

The reason I’ve had all of these TBD mileage totals is because I never recorded the distance of the Llama Route back on June 7. Today I followed the same route to determine the miles. As usual, there were no llamas to be seen.

The weather was nice, and although I’ve been fighting a slight cold, I felt pretty good throughout.

The construction zone on Division road was bumpy. The crews seem to be grinding down the places where the new pavement meets the bridges so that they can apply the top coat of asphalt. On one bump, I lost my blinky light.

Halfway down 350W, I came upon a futon mattress on fire. What an odd way to dispose of it.

Miles Ridden: 13.2
Total This Year: TBD + 375

The Granville Bridge Route and the River Road/Campus Route are two good before work routes since I can ride each in less than an hour. Unfortunately, I seem to be falling into a bit of a rut. (I could probably design a new route using 400W or Klondike Road with a similar distance. I’ll work on that.)

This morning, I took the Campus route again, and I brought the camera along to get a shot of the trombones I saw yesterday. No such luck.

However, as I circled around Ross-Ade stadium, I noticed that one of the gates had been left open. So, I rode into the stadium up to the seating area. I snapped several shots of the empty seats.

Ross-Ade Stadium

Pavilion
Later in the morning, I was in a meeting being held in the Shivley Club (the first visible level of the pavilion). The team was having practice on the field. At lunch, we watched the groundskeepers fill the divots, roll the bumps, and mow the grass.

Miles Ridden: 10.1
Total This Year: TBD + 362

The River Road/Campus Route called me this morning. Campus is still pretty quiet this last week before classes. There are a bunch of Freshman running around attending orientation events, but not this early.

At the Class of ’39 Fountain, there was a gathering of trombone players (no picture). I’m assuming it was a section rehearsal for the All American Marching Band. The first home game is in a couple of weeks.

Miles Ridden: 10.0
Total This Year: TBD + 352