Day 31 Madison, Wisonsin (100 miles)

Something about Maidison:
Madison is the capital of the state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As of the 2000 census, Madison had a population of 208,054. Madison was created in 1836, when former federal judge James Duane Doty purchased over a thousand acres of swamp and forest land on the isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona with the intention of building a city on the site. He named the city Madison for James Madison, the 4th President of the U.S. who had died on June 28, 1836 and he named the streets for the other 38 signers of the U.S. Constitution. Downtown Madison is located on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona.


Wisconsin State Capital Building

Toady's Weather Forecast for Madison:
Max Temperature 86 °F
Min Temperature 65 °F
Dew Point 64 °F
Wind Speed 4 mph ()
Max Wind Speed 9 mph
Visibility 10.0 miles

Chuck said the morning started out a little on the cool side and was misty, just like the previous mornings. The sun did finally come out in the afternoon and it ended up being humid and in the high 80's. The morning started out on hilly country roads with the bikers dropping down below the fog and then rising above a sea of it. Then they were on busy highway 14 again for about 40 miles, but the road had a good shoulder most of the way. Traffic was steady and noisy. About 20 miles from Madison, where the bike store is, Chuck kept on highway 14. The rest of the riders got off and rode the rest of the way into Madison on back roads. He said part of highway 14 was being paved and hadn't dried yet, so the riders kept sinking into the road. He said that he had to get off his bike at one point it was so bad. It was like trying to ride through quick sand. Chuck said that Madison is a very bike friendly city, with lots of bike only lanes. He said once he got to the University that there were lots of bikes parked on campus. He said that he didn't see that many people out on bikes though. I said that the students must have left their bikes there for the summer. He said that the dorms were very nice with air conditioning and wireless Internets.