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Brian E. Clark | Chicago Tribune
As an avid cyclist, Dave Cushman considers himself lucky to live in Madison, Wisconsin, which calls itself the biking capital of the Midwest.
“I moved to Madison when I was 18 to go to the university and never left, in part because the city and its environs are so good for cycling,” said Cushman, who grew up in Glenview.
With more than 200 miles of bike paths, this college town of about 270,000 is ranked one of the top five bike-friendly cities in the country by the League of American Bicyclists. Cushman can roll down the street from his home on Madison’s west side, hop on the Southwest Commuter bike path and connect with the Badger State Trail and then follow that route south 40 miles to the Illinois border, which connects with the Jane Addams Trail.
For something shorter, he can pedal through the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s 1,200-acre arboretum, spin along the south side of Lake Wingra and then loop around Lake Monona — much of it on bike paths — before heading home after a total of 30 miles.
On the way, he’ll be rewarded with excellent views of Madison’s cityscape. He can also stop midway at the Biergarten at Olbrich Park for a cooling beverage, a giant pretzel with Dusseldorf mustard, cheese curds or even a chocolate chip cookie.
But Madison certainly isn’t the only place in the Midwest to ride on bike trails. Illinoisans can find hundreds of miles of routes — many of them on old railroad lines — to pedal in their own state as well as in Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and other parts of Wisconsin. Here are a few of the best routes.
If you’re a fan of our solar system you might want to try Planet Trek Dane County, a nearly 50-mile round trip from Monona Terrace in downtown Madison west to Mount Horeb. This scale-model trip begins with a sundial on the Southwest Commuter Trail in downtown Madison and shifts to the Military Ridge Trail.
The distances between the planets have been shrunk 200 million times, so you’ll encounter Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, two gas giants named Jupiter and Saturn, and two ice giants named Uranus and Neptune — plus a giant asteroid called Ceres and the diminutive Pluto — all at the appropriate distances from each other. When you get to Mount Horeb, refuel at the Grumpy Troll Brew Pub before heading back to Madison.
The Elroy-Sparta State Trail dates to the 1960s and was one of the earliest rails-to-trails projects in the country. It connects five communities and features three famous tunnels — two that are 1,600 feet and the third stretching 3,800 feet. There are restrooms, drinking fountains, camping areas and concessions at the endpoint towns, and in between at Norwalk, Wilton and Kendall. Further connections can be made via the 400 State Trail and the Omaha Trail in Elroy and the La Crosse River State Trail in Sparta.
In far north Wisconsin, along the border with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail System offers riders more than 52 miles of paved trails connecting the towns of St. Germain, Sayner, Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters and Mercer. It runs through the Northern Highland American Legion Forest along clear lakes and over rivers via bridges. The trail has a number of rest areas with picnic spots and restrooms. There are also several campgrounds on the trail and resorts and motels nearby.
The Hawkeye State is best known for RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is run each July. It attracts over 20,000 riders and rolls about 500 miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River over a week. But it’s almost entirely on roads.
For some trail riding sans cars and trucks on the east side of the state, try the Heritage Trail, which rolls 29 miles from Dyersville, home to the “Field of Dreams” movie set in Dubuque County on the Mississippi River.
The Cedar Valley Nature Trail is also on the east side of the state and winds 69 miles from Evansdale to Ely. Part of the path follows the Cedar River and goes through a verdant landscape of cottonwoods, elms, native grasses and wildflowers.
On the Illinois side of Mississippi, the 62-mile Great River Trail is based in the Quad Cities and is part of the Great American Rail-Trail, which is still under construction but will eventually span 3,700 miles and cross 12 states from coast to coast. The Great River Trail runs from Moline north to Savanna and passes through Fulton, which has 22 European windmills.
The 19-mile Jane Addams Trail begins at the Wisconsin border, follows the route of the old Galena and Chicago Union Railroad and ends in Freeport. It’s named for the Chicago social worker who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for her work with poor, immigrant families. The trail goes through her hometown of Cedarville.
At the southern end of the state, the 55-mile Tunnel Hill Trail begins in Cypress, ends in Eldorado and features one dark tunnel and two dozen trestle bridges.
For something closer to Chicago, try the Cal-Sag Trail, which runs from Lemont in the west and Alsip in the east almost entirely on the banks of Cal-Sag Channel and the Calumet River.
If you like visiting cool college towns, head south to Bloomington, Indiana, and hop on the 3.1-mile B-Line Trail, which passes by art murals and connects with several other trails, including the Bloomington Rail Trail, the Clear Creek Trail and the Limestone Greenway.
In Michigan, the 22-mile William Field Memorial Trail between Hart and Montague is on the west side of the state, south of Ludington, and flows past miles of orchards, farms and forests.
Farther north, the Leelanau Trail connects Traverse City and Suttons Bay. It flows along Grand Traverse Bay and offers lovely views of sailboats on the bay as well as cherry orchards, farms and grape vineyards.
The 21-mile Sleeping Bear Dunes Heritage Trail winds through Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and its towering 450-foot sand bluffs. You can rent a bike in Glen Arbor, which also has grocery stores and restaurants.
For more information on hundreds of other trails in the Midwest and around the country, visit the Rails To Trails Conservancy website at railstotrails.org.
Brian E. Clark is a freelancer.
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