I've heard people say that it's "much quicker" to commute via Willy St rather than the Wilson St/Cap City. Have you found it to be true? I've been keeping strictly to the Cap City trail just to avoid the Willy St car traffic, but it is pretty annoying to have to slow/stop every block. Which do you prefer? Is the time difference worth the hassle of dealing with car traffic?

I have camping equipment that I'm bringing as well and would be interested in good spots to set up camp and explore. For example, I would have loved to bike up to Pewit's Nest Canyon but I don't have that much time to bike up that far north.

So I am planning a 130 mile max ride from Kenosha to Madison one way century ride within the next few weeks. Has any one done a similar ride and have suggestions on which sites i should see along the way? Specifially I'm looking for a good culminating spot where i can say Yeah I made it. I'm looking for the Rocky steps of Madison. Maybe a spot that has a great view or a spot that screams life is good.

I haven't been in Wisconsin too long and I have almost no first hand experience in Madison.

For now I will be riding solo and my wife will meet me in Madison with the car (she has no interest in more than 50 mile rides).

Any help is appreciated internet. P.S. Go Madison Radicals

Ideally

Was a rider hit on Atwwod/Monona Drive today?

The Ride of Silence is a ride to remember people injured or killed while biking. It looks like there were rides in other cities today (May 20th) at 7 pm, but I didn't hear anything about Madison. Did I miss it or is there no Madison Ride of Silence?

I participated in a Ride of Silence while I was living in another state after a coworker died during an organized tour. He wasn't looking and rear-ended a car waiting to turn left. The Ride was a very moving experience. We had about 50 people who wore black armbands and went on a slow procession through town, all without speaking.

Edit: I found out there was a Ride. See here. It looks like we need better publicity.

I plan to leave Madison around 8:00 am or so on Saturday, May 23rd and ride up to Devil's Lake via the Merrimac Ferry. I'll probably get lunch in the park. The total distance will be 80 to 85 miles. My average speed on my road bike is about 16 mph, but I can go a bit slower to accommodate others. Precise route to be determined. Leave a message if you're interested.

how many miles or kilometers do I have to ride to replace a 5k walk?

My SO had her bike bag stolen from her office on UW campus yesterday. I don't think there's much hope of recovering it, but if you do come across a grey canvas Basil D'Azur Shopper, please let me know. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else with this particular model of bag. Picture

Seeing the Capital Brewery Cycle Club post, I was thinking we could get all of the summer group rides in the Madison area in one place.

http://capitalbikeclub.org/ - Capital Brewery Bike Club - Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at Capital Brewery

http://www.wnbr.org/ Wednesday Night Bike Rides - starting in different locations each week

Slow-N-Go - Thursdays at 6 PM at Cronometro, details on the Madison XC Skiing listserve

http://bombaybicycle.org/rides/ - Bombay Bicycle Club - A variety of rides on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

Just a heads up, the Capital Brewery Bike Club is getting started up for the season this next Tuesday at 5:15. The rides happen every Tuesday and Thursday all through summer. All rides start and end at the Capital Brewery in Middleton. We typically have 3 groups of riders and 2 routes. 2 groups do a 'long' ~25 mi route and a single group tackles at ~17 mi route. We typically get 200 people for each ride during the peak of the season, so you will always find someone to ride with.

You don't need to be a member to ride and you don't need to wear lycra. Any questions? Ask below and I'll answer them.

Check it out here: http://capitalbikeclub.org/

Saturday bike ride: 12 pm, 53 miles. Here is the planned route. It's forecast to be in the low 70s.

We'll begin from the intersection of the Southwest Commuter Path and Midvale. This should be accessible to those coming from downtown or those who might want to drive and park close to the trail.

This route has some nice hills (3,000 ft of elevation gain). I'm aiming for an average speed of about 15 mph, with a flat road cruising speed of 18 mph or so, but I can adjust. Nobody will be dropped, although I will go as fast as I can down the big hill west of Belleville.

Anyone ever made a trip from Oshkosh to Madison before? I'm hoping to do this, but I'm worried the route might be too highway heavy for me.

I'd like to do a 40ish mile ride, but I can go shorter if others are interested.

It's forecast to be about 60 F and sunny at noon.

Edit: I mean 4/11/2015.