Storm Damage closes several state trails, rangers occupied at Capitol

Brigit Brown, State Trails Coordinator at the DNR, sent out the following info about sections of some state trails being closed due to storm damage from Wednesday.

Our staff is working on getting all the debris from the storms cleared, but we've got a fair amount of storm damage around here and just a handful of staff to deal with a pretty large area. We're pulling in folks from all around, but we've got a number of our rangers who have to work security at the capitol, and damage at other properties that has to be dealt with. Anyway, we're working as hard as we can to get everything cleared, but as of yesterday, parts of the Badger, Sugar River, and Military Ridge are closed. We put the word out (press release) yesterday through our "official" channels, but that's not to say that the news has reached everyone (or even many).

There are two crews right now working to get Military Ridge open. They'll continue to work through the weekend (if needed) to get it done.

Please know that there are several wash outs on the Military Ridge that we won't be able to fix right away but as we're clearing debris, we're marking the washouts with cones (some are holes, some not so obvious soft areas).

-Brigit

Note that, although people are desperately needed to clean up after a major storm, some of the DNR folks are up at the Capitol, occupied as palace guards.

I can't blame the DNR for this. They are being called out to work where their bosses - the Governor and the Legislature, or maybe the DNR Secretary - tell them to go. It just illustrates that how screwed up the situation at the Capitol is, once again.

Seminole Hwy vs. Badger Trail: Why not use the path?

Recently, the Wisconsin State Journal ran a letter asking why bicyclists aren't using the Badger State Trail, which in some areas runs next to Seminole Hwy, instead of the road. This seems to be a common question, "There's a path right there. How come the bicyclist isn't using it? Why are they on the road? Isn't it safer on the path?"

Here is my answer:

Many of the riders you see on Seminole Hwy are going too fast for the path. Paths are not just for bicyclists, but also walkers, joggers, kids on bikes, dog walkers, and slower recreational cyclists. So if you want to go fast, either because you are in a hurry - like so many motorists - or because you are trying to get your heart rate up, the road is the proper place to bike. In the same way motorists cannot drive 55 on many narrow roads with poor sight lines or other, slower users, bicyclists should not be going 20-25 mph on the path, even when there is no one on it.
The bicyclists on the road also may not be coming or going to a location that makes the path a logical choice. Leaving the Arboretum, you use Seminole Hwy to cross the Beltline and get to many places in Fitchburg. The path crosses in a different location. Much as a bicyclist might ask, "Why is the motorist not on Verona Rd?"
The road is only unsafe if the motorists do not wait until it is safe to pass the bicyclist. I have been riding on Seminole Hwy for 20 years, and the only problems I have are when drivers are in too much of a hurry, and cannot slow down until there is a gap to pass.
All these perceived conflicts could have been avoided if Fitchburg had added bike lanes all the way down to Whalen Rd a number of years ago. But they said, "There isn't that much traffic. Bicyclists and motorists can share the lane easily." So now we have bicyclists doing exactly what the planners suggested, and the motorists being upset by that action. 

Dane Co. PARC grants will improve bicycle access

There is an article in the paper with all the grants from the Partners for Recreation and Conservation program, and the headline emphasizes the Verona soccer facility, but there are several bicycle-related grants as well, and I thought I'd emphasize them here.

There are three bicycle-related items on the list. Quoting pieces of the article:

The village of Oregon was the third $250,000 grant winner, for a new bicycling trail from Oregon to the Badger State Trail, about four miles to the west.
$100,000 for the Dawley Park bicycle hub and $3,300 for bike lane signage and marking on County D and PD to the city of Fitchburg.
$32,050 to the Friends of the Arboretum for restoration of the Grady tract and green prairie, bike access and trail improvements.

Also note that the recipient communities or organizations must match the grant amount, so they definitely have some skin in the game.

The Arboretum project is the only one that I am really familiar with. The director of the Arb called me last month to talk about this, and I told him how great this would be. It looks like the plan is to have a few accommodations off the new Cannonball Path where it passes the south side of the Arb. Water, bike racks (no bikes on the Arb trails!), a shelter, picnic table, information, etc. would allow path users a pleasant and convenient place to stop and enjoy the area.

In addition, this would add another entrance to the Grady Tract - the portion of the Arb south of the Beltline. Right now, the only official entrance is off Seminole Hwy, in the far NW corner. There are a number of places along the eastern side, near the apartments, where people enter the Arb, but these are often no more than places where the fence has been cut, and the Arb staff and scientists are not happy with the situation.

As to Dawley Park and the other Fitchburg improvements, I had to look up Dawley Park to find the location of this "bicycle hub."

Dawley Park is the area bounded by Seminole Hwy on the east, the Badger Trail on the West, the Cap City Trail on the north, and some development on the south. It is on the south side of the Cap City Trail from Dunn's Marsh. I'm not sure what they are planning, but there is no question this area is a hub for bike routes. The new Cannonball Trail will run north of Dunn's Marsh, so there will be a point where the Badger, Cap City, SW, and Cannonball will all be within a few hundred yards of each other.

Maybe someone from Oregon can chime in on where this new path will be from Oregon to the Badger Trail, because I don't see an old rail line that is ready to be converted. It's certainly possible that they are starting from scratch, but that generally means acquiring easements. On the other hand, maybe they don't really mean "trail," and instead mean "route," as in a signed on-road route with bike lanes.

Either way, It will be a nice addition.

What would be even better would be if they could figure a way to get the Badger Trail connected to Sun Valley Parkway (it currently runs under the road, and there is a pretty major elevation change.) This would allow families and less experienced bicyclists to get to Paoli without going over Sayles Trail. For those who haven't ventured past the paved portion of the Badger Trail - which ends at Purcell Rd - the next place you cross a road at grade going south is a little road called Henry Rd in Basco, almost 3 miles to the south. From this point, you are dumped onto Hwy 69, not what most trail users would chose.

A ramp from the trail up to Sun Valley Pkwy, and maybe bike lanes/a paved shoulder on the road, would provide good. safe access for less experienced cyclists all the way to Paoli. What a boon to businesses in Paoli!

Maybe someone from the village will work on that.

A winter Sunday in the Arboretum

One of the great joys about living in Madison is the opportunity to get outside and enjoy nature, year round, even if you live in the heart of the city. One way to do that is to visit the UW Arboretum. Every Sunday there are two nature walks, one for adults, and one for families (that is, kid-friendly.) They may take off a Sunday around Thanksgiving or Christmas, but other than that, they run them in all weather and seasons.*

The last walk I went on was a couple two Sundays ago, and it was sunny with calm winds, so despite the temperature in the 20s, it was quite enjoyable to be outside. These walks give me a reason to get my butt out of the house on a wintery Sunday, when it is far too easy to hang around indoors all day. If there is snow, I'm eager to XC ski or snowshoe, but when there's no fresh snow, it's nice to have someone willing to lead a walk.

The topics of these walks vary quite a bit. Some that I have attended were focused on glacial features, prairie plants, spring ephemerals, Indian mounds, fungi and mushrooms, fall prairie plants, and wetland environments. Some of the naturalists are experts on birds, others on plants, and others on insects, but all have a wide variety of interests and knowledge, and they try to answer questions as best they can. The people going along on the hikes often can answer the questions as well, since these hikes tend to attract people generally interested in the natural environment.

The most recent hike was much less focused on a particular topic, and we went only a short distance to Longnecker Gardens to generally check out winter conditions. We looked at some animal tracks, talked about the birds and animals that can be seen in winter, and kept an eye out for anything else that happened or came by. Winter is a great time to get to know trees by their shape, since most are bare of leaves and it is very easy to see the branch structure. Unless you are used to looking at trees, you tend to think of evergreens as conical, and other trees as having a straight, thick trunk branches splitting off and getting smaller as you go up. We sort of think of a tree as being a stick with a fluffy crown of leaves. That's how kids draw trees, right?

But from across an open area like Longnecker Woods, and without the leaves, you can see the structure of the trees, and see how some are tall and skinny, others a more chaotic jumble of branch sizes, and still others having multiple trunks coming from the ground.

You can also see the birds and animals in the trees much more easily. Red tail hawks are very common in the Arb, and they love to hunt the snowy areas with only scattered trees. Twice we say a hawk swoop down from a tall tree along the edge of the gardens, but we didn't see wither one catch anything. It also seems to be easier to hear the bird calls, since there is less ambient noise in winter, and the sound isn't muffled by the leaves. While our guide was talking, I kept hearing a bird calling over the ridge, but of course, it stopped as soon as I asked if anyone could identify it.

But we did get a great treat a few minutes later, when a call came ringing over the snow from the edge of the forest. It was almost like a laughing sound, and as a matter of fact, some humans laughed on the other side of the gardens just after the bird had finished calling. They sounded like they were echoing the bird's call. I had heard the call before, but couldn't quite place it. From the volume and distance, we figured it was a pretty good sized bird, not a chickadee or nuthatch-sized. “I think that might be a woodpecker of some sort.”, I suggested. Finally, one of our group spotted something up in one of the tallest trees on the forest edge. With the small binoculars our guide had in his pouch, we took a look. Red head, definitely woodpecker-shaped. It was a pileated woodpecker!

So despite the winter, I recommend the Arboretum walks, whether you go on the longer adult walks or the shorter family walks. I have never failed to learn something, and it's just nice to be outside in the woods with a few like-minded souls.

* Our guide said that the two weather conditions that will cancel the walks are lightening, and temperatures significantly below zero plus wind. He said that earlier this year he took a walk with two brave souls when the temperature was around 40 degrees, and there was horizontal, pouring rain. He said they had a great time just watching things blowing around out on Curtis Prairie.

Madison families out on bikes - at night!

Last night, as I rode home from a city meeting on a beautiful, warm summer night, I noticed how many families were out on bikes in downtown. It was already dark, and yet here were kids and parents biking around in the middle of the city.  (Most of the kids were in the 9-13 year old range I'm guessing: old enough to ride their own bikes, but still willing to be seen with mom or dad.)

What a great scene, on so many levels.

Families feel comfortable in downtown and want to be there. That is not true of all American cities, but Madison has a thriving nightlife, not just for college students, young professionals, or the Overture crowd, but also for parents with kids.

Madison is a safe place for kids to ride a bike, and parents are riding too. Sure, I'm not going to send a six-year old out alone, and the downtown can have some pretty confusing traffic situations, so older kids need to be supervised, but biking is a normal and safe way to get around as a family.

That's due to not just engineering - paths, bike lanes, painted markings, etc - but also the entire culture of biking in Madison. In many parts of the city bikes are a normal part of the street scene. That means that a bicyclist sees others out there and doesn't feel like a freak. Drivers are used to seeing bicyclists and understand how to share the road. New bicyclists or the timid know that there are others that bike and can ask advice.

Biking at night is even considered normal and safe. Lots of people bike during the day and in warm weather. But a large number of people won't venture out after dark or in less than ideal weather. But last night the downtown was buzzing with people getting around by bike at night. The families are likely to have lights, because parents that take their kids to downtown by bike tend to be experienced bicyclists. That means they know how important lights are. We wouldn't drive at night without lights. Why would we bike at night without lights?

Now, if we could only convince the 18-30 year old crowd to use lights as well. But that's another blog post.

Traveling: Fancy hotels? Eh, but yes, I'm a food snob

When I travel, for adventure, business, or just to get out of town for the weekend, I'm not particular about the sleeping accommodations. I don't spend a great deal of time in my room, so what do I care how pretty the room is, or who designed the lobby? I'm just going to go to sleep, take a shower, and leave the next day. If there is a TV I might watch the news or some drama. Wifi is a bonus, so I can check email and get info for the trip the next day, but not really necessary. Other than that, I just don't care.

I'm much pickier about my food and beverages, however.

Bicycling changed Dave's life. What about yours?

Today I  want to link to another friend's great blog post on how a mountain bike saved his life. Dave Schlabowske is the "bike czar" of Milwaukee, and someone I consider a friend. We worked together back when we were both at Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, and I always found Dave an interesting guy and fun to be around.

He's one of those people that has had several careers that don't seem linked at all. I'm like that a bit myself, but that's another blog post.

What I love about this his story, laid out in the link above, is that owning and riding a bicycle transformed his life, physically, professionally, and mentally. He found his calling, or maybe his second calling, changed career paths, and made some changes in his life that he feels literally saved his life.

We never know what decision today will take our lives in a different direction or have deep meaning years down the road. Bicycling has certainly led me to where I am now, and I have heard many stories from others about how it has changed their lives as well. That's why I love to help others learn to ride their bikes comfortably, safely, confidently.

Later today or tomorrow I'll have a link to a class I'm teaching in mid-July. It's a class I've taught many times before, but this time it's a women-only class. If you want to feel better riding your bike; if you want to be able to bike around town without worrying if there is a path; if you want to be able to enjoy your bike more, let me know.

But for now, I'm just going to link to Dave's great post. I have a bad cold (how is that possible when the weather is so nice?), and can only manage short bursts of productiveness.

Snowsheing at Festge County Park

Today's adventure was snowshoeing at Festge County Park, just west of Cross Plains. I'll need to check my map, but the terminal moraine - the Johnstown Moraine - either runs through the park or very close by.

For those not familiar with the glacial history of Dane County or Wisconsin in general, this is where the latest glacier that covered most of the state and upper Midwest stopped. To the west and south of this linear feature, the glaciers never altered the landscape. This area, called the Driftless Area, is hillier than the rest of Wisconsin; there is a more regular drainage pattern for the streams, and the scenery is unlike anything else in the state.