Three days out of RAGBRAI. No more waiting in endless lines for anything. No more worrying about possible collisions with other cyclists. No more high-priced everything. RAGBRAI is fun, but it is nice to be back to fairly normal touring again.
The first two days of riding after the end of RAGBRAI were relatively short and relatively easy. The 30 mile ride from Clinton, IA to Savanna, IL was on the Great River Trail, although I think the name of the trail should be "The Great (the river is somewhere to the west) River Trail. Nice ride, but for the most part it was just less traveled roads, not the path-adjacent-to-the-river-providing-wonderful-views. The second day's ride, 47 miles to Freeport, IL, was on a more heavily traveled highway. Lots of rolling hills and less bike lanes. We stopped for lunch in the small town of Shannon, and was told of a back road that offered better riding and less traffic to Freeport. This route made for a much more enjoyable ride. I was thinking it would be wonderful if there were a website listing secondary roads that are appropriate for touring ... maybe I will try to develop such a site ... probably not.
We are learning the value of asking locals for riding advice. This morning, while leaving Freeport and searching for the Jane Addams Trail, Kim talked to a gentleman by the name of Tiger. Tiger owns a bike shop, and races recumbent bikes (he showed us pictures he carries in his wallet of his racing days of 20 to 30 years ago). Tiger led us out to the trail, which made for a much easier start of the ride. The Jane Addams Trail is a 13 mile long rail-to-trail path that connects with the Badger State Trail (rail-to-trail leading to Madison, WI). So today's 74 mile ride to, and through, Madison was primarily on a traffic-free path. A wonderful ride indeed.
Included on the Badger State Trail is a 1200' tunnel, which is pitch-black for most of the length of the tunnel. As we were entering, two touring cyclists were coming out of the tunnel. We had a nice chat with the couple, and shared some information, etc. Always nice to talk with other touring cyclist.
The crushed rock trail gave way to a nicely paved trail about 8 miles out of Madison. This trail led directly into the heart of Madison, and was a joy to ride. I have not seen so many cyclists using a trail in all of my travels. It is so nice to have a dedicated trail, rather than having to share a road with cars and trucks. After leaving the trail, we rode east on a major road ... but the bike lane was about 10' wide, so very low stress factor.
I recognize that Tucson is making great gains in improving bike travel infrastructure, but this town is tops in my book. I also read in USA Today that Madison is one of the top places for "seniors/retirees" to live. Bet it gets cold, tho ...
Tomorrow we head to Milwaukee on another rail-to-trail. Should be another wonderful ride.
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