Once more, we just want to remind you that YOU are important in making the city a better place to bike and to help others feel comfortable on the city streets and paths. Speak up about what you care about; talk to city staff, your alder, your employer, the management of the places you shop, or other decision makers. Help us out by volunteering and donating. And be an example to others, like maybe being a model of how to get around by bike. (See below for an upcoming chance.)

Although we still have warm weather coming up this week, we can all feel the chill creeping into the air. But not only is it not time to put your bike away, it’s actually time to start thinking about how to equip yourself and your bike to ride all winter.

We are busy planning the Winter Bike Fashion Show, and just in case all our blog posts and Facebook messages have escaped your notice, remember to mark your calendar for Saturday, Nov 2 at the High Noon from 1:00-4:00 pm. Invite your friends, especially the ones who think you are nuts for biking in the winter. Or maybe you are winter-bike curious? This is just the event for you. And it’s family friendly.

BUT‚Ķ. We will need models! Would you be willing to share your wisdom? Show off your favorite cold weather clothing trick? Talk about fat vs studded vs skinny tires? Explain how your route changes –⁠ or doesn’t –⁠ when there’s ice and snow to deal with? No experience needed. Just fill out this form, and we’ll contact you. (It says the deadline is Sept 30, but if you are interested, just let us know.)

And if you want to help us with the event, your input and time would be quite welcome. We are an all-volunteer organization, so drop us a note if you want to help with this event or any other aspect of the organization.

Last week

Have you ever seen that velomobile cruising around town? The State Journal ran a story about Nick Hein, the owner, so now you can read all about the vehicle and the man who pedals it.

Another bicyclist was severely injured by a hit-and-run driver, this time on the 900 block of South Park St. Unfortunately, this part of the road does not have bike lanes, despite what the article says. There are sharrows in the right lane, but that treatment is completely inadequate for such a high-volume road, where drivers often far exceed the 30 mph speed limit.

This past Saturday, the city sponsored a Bike and Talk Action Workshop to discuss how to more safely get around the south side and what improvements need to be made to make the area safer. Maybe they talked about the lack of bike lanes on Park St?

The week ahead

Monday

Another open house to gather ideas for a plan for Law Park will be held 6:00-7:30 pm at Badger Rock Neighborhood Center, 501 East Badger Rd. Since this is an important walking and biking corridor for all of us, your input is important. There have been five open houses, and this is the last one, so if you can’t make this one and still want to provide input, email city staff at LawPark@cityofmadison.com.

Wednesday

Two miles of the Cap City Trail will be closed for resurfacing. The section that will be closed is between Fish Hatchery Road and Seminole Highway. Work is expected to be completed sometime in November. More information is available in this State Journal article.

If you are curious about cyclocross or want to practice, stop by Badger Prairie County Park, 4654 Maple Grove Dr, Verona, from 5:30-7:00 pm. A series of practices are happening now through the end of October. There is always a beginner and intermediate option. More information about what to expect and the groups putting it on is available on the Madison Bikes Community Calendar.

Also Wednesday is the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (MPO) meeting at the Water Utility Building, 119 E Olin Ave, from 6:30-8:30 pm. The MPO allocates all the federal transportation money for the entire metro region, and this month they will be approving the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), that’s all the projects that might get funding for the next five years. This is done every year with a new TIP, but it’s an incite into where your money is being spent. The MPO will also have a presentation on the bus rapid transit planning study. Want to see the materials for any of this? You can find them here as a PDF.

For more information….

More information on road projects and upcoming events are available from the city via the Bike Madison weekly update put out by the city Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator. This weekly email s much more detailed information about specific construction, detours, and official city business. Thanks for Renee Callaway for keeping up informed.

And if you have a anything to add to the Madison Bikes Community Calendar, send us an email.

Do you appreciate the weekly updates and work that Madison Bikes is doing to improve the city for all ages and abilities? You can donate to support our work.

Before we get into the Monday Updates, two quick reminders:

• Our board of directors call for applications is still open. If you’re interested in joining our board, fill out this application form, or contact heather@madisonbikes.org to ask questions — or come to our Community Meeting on Monday night (see below).
• We’re also still looking for models for the Winter Bike Fashion Show. Applications close a week from now, and so if you want to share you knowledge about riding in the cold, this is your chance! No modeling experience required; we welcome and encourage all body types and physical abilities, and applications from people of color, LGBTQ+ models.

Also note that phase 2 of the repaving of the Cap City Trail has now been scheduled. The segment between Fish Hatchery Rd and Seminole Highway will be closed starting October 2. More info on the Dane County Park page.

Last Week

The Youth Global Climate Strike was the big event last week. News reports speak of over 1000 participants in Madison, some young, some not so young. Some of those participants got to the Capitol Square as a Critical Mass ride. It’s been a long time since there has been a Critical Mass in Madison, but turnout was good and a big group of people rode their bikes from Olbrich Gardens down East Washington Ave to the Capitol. It looks like there is some interest in future rides and there is now a dedicated Facebook page.

This Week

Are you interested in being involved with organizing our Winter Bike Fashion Show? Help us work on a project that would expand winter bike path maintenance from 5 to 7 days a week? Or just want to know more about Madison Bikes? Then you should come to our Madison Bikes Community Meeting on Monday night. We’ll be at Bendyworks (106 East Doty Street, Suite 200) from 6-8 pm. If you plan on coming, please shoot a quick email to harald@madisonbikes.org.

Also on Monday night is Bike Fitchburg’s monthly meeting. On the agenda will be a recap of their Take Me to the Border fundraising ride. 6:30-8 pm, Fitchburg Public Library.

Wednesday is a busy day.

The Transportation Commission has their regular meeting. On the agenda:

• Expanding the current Snow Emergency zone: This is good news for biking. Parked cars often impede snow clearing close to curb, which then narrows the space available for biking.
• Relocating the intercity bus terminal
• Adding speed humps on Lake Edge Boulevard between Maher and Major

It’s cyclocross season! Whether you’re cross-curious or are already a ‘crosser but want to improve your skills, the weekly cyclocross workshop series by Madison Parks and partners is for you. This week, the workshop is happening at Olbrich Park on Wednesday from 5:30-7 pm. Free and open to all.

If you’d rather stay indoors, come to Union South for a free screening of Anthropocene, a “stunning sensory experience and cinematic meditation on humanity’s massive reengineering of the planet.” First come, first serve; doors open at 6:30.

On Thursday, you have another opportunity to go to a Bus Rapid Transit Open House. Mayor Rhodes-Conway really kicked off her Metro Forward campaign last week, and bus rapid transit is a key component of her plan. The open house will be a good opportunity to learn more and ask questions. Madison College, Truax Campus, Room D1630, 1710 Wright Street, 6-8 pm

We at Madison Bikes believe that to enable more people to bike, we need to have a seamless network of low-stress bike facilities, covering all of our neighborhoods. The south side is one area where that network has many gaps that need improvement. As part of the update of the South Madison Neighborhood plan, the city’s bike/ped coordinator Renee Callaway is hosting a Bike and Talk Action Workshop on Saturday: “bike and talk about how to make it easier, safer, and more fun to get around on the south side. […] this is a way to show city staff the best and not so great places to get to on bike. Bring your bike as there will be a group ride to start the day. If you prefer not to bike with the group join the workshop at 2:30pm back at the Goodman South Library. Inside if weather is uncooperative. Sat, Sept 28, 1 –⁠ 3:30pm. RSVP here.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Editor’s note: Apologies for making our Monday Update a Wednesday Update this week. If you’re interested in supporting our Update team, send an email to harald@madisonbikes.org.

Last Week

On Saturday a person riding a bike, Kay Larson, was killed on a Madison area road. This time on West Broadway, which is a Dane County highway just south of Monona, at about 1:40 AM. The Police Report states the bicyclist was riding erratically prior to the crash. Although Broadway has bike lanes, they are in poor condition and littered with debris–some of it even quite large–making it difficult to not ride somewhat erratically to avoid it. It is legal to take a lane past the debris and bad conditions, however it would present further risks to bicyclists especially with traffic regularly going 10 miles per hour over the already high 40 mile per hour speed limit, and distracted and drunk driving being a constant problem. Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to Dane County to better maintain bikeways on their roads.

Last week’s heavy rains have also flooded a part of the Military Ridge State Trail. The flooded section is an underpass of US-151 just west of Verona that the DNR knows chronically floods because of the permanent installation of a depth gauge. You can take an alternate route around the flooded section using Nine Mound Road and a paved path near the Epic campus.

This Week

On Monday and Tuesday, Madison Bikes and the City hosted a delegation of elected officials, state, regional, and city planning staff from all around Utah. Bike Utah, the statewide bike advocacy organization had organized the trip to promote biking and allow the delegation to learn from Madison’s bike successes and challenges. We had a great time showing them around on a guided tour on BCycles and hearing outsiders’ perspectives about our city.

Wednesday,September 18

From 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at Badger Prairie County Park there is a free Cyclocross Practice opportunity. Badger Prairie County Park is located at 4654 Maple Grove Drive in Verona. The free cyclocross practice is sponsored by the Capital Off-Road Pathfinders, L5, Neff Cycling, and Madison Parks.

The third Law Park Community Workshop is being held at 6 PM, this time at the Madison’s Central Library, located at 201 W. Mifflin St. in Madison’s downtown. As mentioned above, you can learn more by heading over to the city’s Law Park Master Planning process web page. You can also fill out the public survey or send in your thoughts via email to LawPark@cityofmadison.com.

Also at 6 PM, there will be a free Flat Fix Class held at the University Bicycle Resource Center in the Helen C. White Garage (Lot 6) at 600 N. Park Street just across from the Memorial Union. Learn how to fix a flat tire with confidence by bike advocate India Viola. Bring your own wheel to practice with or look on with another student. You can bring your own tools to learn with if you like, otherwise tools will be available. Free Planet Bike Blinky light set to the first five (5) students.

Thursday, September 19

The Transportation Policy and Planning Board is meeting at 4:00 PM in room 215 in the Madison Municipal Building at 215 Martin Luther King Boulevard. There’s an item on the agenda regarding a Winter Bike Maintenance Policy Update and Budget Ask that might include an action item, so feel free to send an email to the board in support of improving bike route maintenance in the winter. Link to the full agenda.

Friday, September 20

At 9:00 AM the Global Climate Strike is taking place. Students and workers alike will strike to protest humanity’s continued dependence on fossil fuels. You can read about the strike in Madison here, or read more about the Global Climate Strike on their Facebook Events page or their website: ycatwi.org/sep20

As part of the Global Climate Strike there will be two Critical Mass Rides to Support Climate Action. At 11 AM the ride will go from Olbrich Park to the top of State Street, and at 7 PM the ride will go from the top of State back to Olbrich Park. If there are fewer than 25 people the ride will follow Willy Street and if there are more than 25 people it will follow East Wash. Read more about it on their Facebook Events page.

Saturday, September 21

Saturday is the 21 anniversary of the creation of Surly Bikes, and to celebrate Revolution Cycles is hosting a Sub-24 Hour (S24O) ride/bike-camping trip from their shop to Sandhill Station campground in Lake Mills. Meet at Rev Cycles at 12 PM, and the ride will start shortly thereafter. You will need to supply your own bike (doesn’t need to be a Surly), camping gear, and food.

Sunday, September 22

The Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cup Waterloo starts at 12 PM. The event will be at Trek’s headquarters at 801 W. Madison Street in Waterloo and will be free to attend. This is the largest cyclocross event in the U.S. and promises to be a lot of fun. Family friendly and a festival atmosphere. Read more about it at their Facebook events page.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes.

Photo credit: Dan Stout

UPDATE: Application deadline has been extended to 10/7

We’re looking for Madison Bikers of all ages to share their expertise in dressing for winter weather! Madison Bikes is excited to host the 2019 edition of the Winter Bike Fashion Show on November 2nd from 1-4 pm at the High Noon Saloon. As a volunteer model, you’ll come dressed in your own gear, walk the catwalk, and share some of your personal tips for winter riding to encourage others to ride more this season.

Photo credit: Rob Streiffer

You don’t have to be a year-round cyclist to apply, it’s cool if you’re new to riding in the cold, and no modeling experience is required. Are you a summer cyclist who’s found a good way to extend your commute into the late fall with a few extra layers? Do you have a teenager who manages to get around town by bike with very little specialized gear? Are you a parent who has figured out how to keep your kids warm for weekend adventures on the bike path? We want to showcase winter biking and winter bikers in all their many forms!

Photo credit: Dan Stout

Application deadline: Monday Sept 30th.

We’re looking for:

• year round bikers to show off their biking clothes and bike gear
• Shoulder season (late fall or early spring) riders to show off their biking clothes and bike gear
• Adults and kids (both kids who ride their own bikes, and kids who are transported by bike)
• Gear for winter biking and demo bikes- how do you adapt your bike for winter riding?
• We love DIY solutions that make it easy and inexpensive to giving winter biking a try!
• We strongly encourage people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ winter riders to apply!

To apply, please complete the following questions and submit to Nicole at winterbike@madisonbikes.org by Monday Oct 7.

1. When/where/why do you bike in the winter?
2. What do you wear on a typical winter ride?
3. What’s one change you’ve made to your clothing and/or biking setup that’s made it more comfortable to ride when it gets cold?
4. Do you have a winter biking story that may motivate others to ride in winter?
5. What is your favorite thing about riding in winter?
6. Optional: Attach a photo of you in your biking clothes and/or you with your bike that we can in promotions for the Winter Bike Fashion Show

Photo credit: Rob Streiffer

Monday Update: Board Open House and more!

Ribbon cutting at the new Blackhawk Trail Extension that is now officially open. A video tour of the trail can be found here.

This Week

Wednesday

The Transportation Commission will meet from 5:00 pm –⁠ 7:00 pm at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Room 207, Madison Municipal Building. Read the agenda here.

Practice your cyclocross skills. Capital City Offroad Pathfinders, Madison Parks, Neff Cycles, and L5 are offering weekly clinics in parks around town, both for newbies to cyclocross and more advanced riders. This Wednesday they’ll be at Olin Park, starting at 5:30 pm. More details.

CORP Movie Night will be6:00 –⁠ 9:00pm at Capital Brewery and Bier Garten. Darkness is coming sooner, and with that the Annual Fall Movie Night returns to the Capital Brewery Beer Garden. This year they’re going back to the roots of the sport; Klunkerz is a documentary about the folks we have to thank for getting us off-road; check out the trailer.

Tickets are $15 presale or $20 at the door. More info here.

Thursday

Board Recruitment open house happens at 6 pm at Delta Beer Lab (167 E Badger Rd). Have you ever been curious about what it is like to be on the board? Come chat with us and find out more! More info about the event is here.

Applications are now open, you do not have to attend to apply. The deadline to apply is October 5th. You can email heather@madisonbike.org if you have any questions.

Let’s start this weekly update with some fun pictures: As our board member Grant pointed out, our Badger Band is a biking band!

If you ride past the band practice field at this time of year, you’ll see tons of bikes parked there. On my way back from work, I hung around a bit and took pictures of the band members biking themselves and their instruments back home.

More shots here.

Happy Labor Day!

I’m going to have to take it slow today: Bombay Bicycle Club hosted their Wright Stuff Century as a fundraiser for Free Bikes 4 Kidz yesterday. I did the 64 mile route on the tandem, and after all those hills I’m pretty sore and tired. But it was a great event, benefiting a great local bike charity! Thanks to all the volunteers that made it happen.

Photo credit: Karla King/Bombay Bicycle Club

If you’re reading this early and have energy for some manual labor, go to the trail building day in Cross Plains:

The CP trails are riding great and our locals are getting the itch to finish the remaining west loop and turn the out-and-back in to a full loop. We will be renting an excavator the weekend of Labor Day and are looking for helpers to hand finish behind our equipment crew. No experience necessary and family members are welcome. We will supply hand tools and refreshments, but please bring your own gloves, water, and bug spray.

Starts at 9am, more details here.

On Wednesday, you can practice your cyclocross skills. Capital City Offroad Pathfinders, Madison Parks, Neff Cycles, and L5 are offering weekly clinics in parks around town, both for newbies to cyclocross and more advanced riders. This Wednesday they’ll be at Badger Prairie County Park, starting at 5:30 pm. More details.

Also on Wednesday, the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board is meeting. The big item on the agenda is the public hearing on the Draft 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program for the Madison Metropolitan Area & Dane County, a.k.a. the TIP. This is an important document that lays out the budget for all regional transportation projects in the next four years. Unfortunately, it is a long and rather unwieldy document, which makes it difficult to digest and comment on. You can find it in all its 123-page glory here. The meeting takes place at the City-County Building, Room 351, 6:30 pm.

The event I’m most excited about this week is on Saturday morning: It’s the ribbon cutting for the new Blackhawk Path segment in Shorewood Hills! This is a great addition to our low-stress bike network, as you no longer have to ride on Marshall Court and make awkward right/left crossings at University Bay Drive. Come and celebrate at 9 am at the University Station mall. And in the meantime, check out our video of the new path:

If you want to test fancy mountain bikes, you can join Giant Bicycle for two demo events this weekend: At Quarry Ridge on Saturday from 9-4; and at the Blackhawk Trails on Sunday between 10-4. Click the links for more details.

Finally, the Fair Share Coalition is looking for volunteers for Bike the Barns. Sign up here.

It’s Liv, over at FairShare again! I’ll keep this short: we are still looking for folks to fill up volunteer slots for FairShare’s Bike the Barns, on September 15th. With up to 800 riders, 4 farm stops (each with live music, farm tours, and food), and an after party featuring 7 local food vendors, there are a lot of hands that go into making this event a success.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.