The early onset of snow and suitably cold temperatures has flipped the script on many winter activities. The nordic skiers are in heaven with roller skis safely tucked back in the closet. All nearby downhill ski slopes are open and race teams are practicing. Neighborhood ice skating rinks are being staged, hoping for a few extra cold nights. This past Sunday, the snowmobile trails had their earliest opening in at least 15 years. And the winter bicyclists are just rolling with it.
A few winter riding tips and etiquette–
- Take the lane earlier than you need to. Use flat palm down to signal traffic behind you to slow down.
- You’ll find yourself on sidewalks more often; that’s fine, but remember that pedestrians have full priority there. You need to go slow, yield, and communicate. You may need to dismount or wait to safely pass pedestrians or other riders.
- Please at least have a studded front tire, especially if you bike on streets. Traction and control are well worth the $50 investment.
This Week
If you have a moment, take this survey on a future MadBAT skills park at Carpenter Ridgeway Park in the Hawthorne-Truax area: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CarpenterRidgeway
This Tuesday at 6:30pm the Common Council meets. Few agenda items impact bicycling directly, though bike-adjacent issues like Cottage Courts, Elver Park area development, and Pontiac Trail (the street, not a trail) reconstruction.
This Wednesday at 6:30pm is the Board of Park Commissioners. One item of business is a path connection from SW Commuter Path to Zook Park, discussed below.
This Saturday at 10am is the annual Santa Rampage at Breese Stevens field! Dust off that santa or elf costume and oil that reindeer. It’s a ticketed event with all proceeds benefiting Wisconsin Bike Fed, an organization working year-round for bicycling across the state and inside the State Capitol.
Whiskers on kittens…
Last week we featured the Winter Bike Fashion Show interviews about “Your favorite thing about winter biking.” This week, Harald has put together a more pragmatic video of people’s LEAST favorite thing about winter biking:
I think unplowed paths are par for the course since winter biking requires a far more fortitude on the part of the rider. Overall, I think the City does a great job, and don’t mind when they don’t get everywhere before I do. But I’m also not shy about using the City’s “Report a Problem” form when I encounter something egregious, especially when it impacts those who may be expecting a clear ride.
E-Motos
Thanks to Madison Bikes’ board member Katie for pointing me to the New York Times Sunday Magazine article “Are E-bikes out of control?” It is long and very well-researched. As you read it, you might think “it’s only a matter of time until it happens in Madison.” Bad news — more than half of recent bike fatalities in the Madison area involve e-bikes. We’ll cover this topic more in coming months.
Are you in the market for an e-bike, perhaps as a holiday gift? The simplest way to ensure you’re buying a safe, responsible product is to avoid anything with a throttle. Stick to a class-1 e-bike and you really can’t go wrong. They are only made by reputable companies, and they are often sought out by reputable riders.
Zook Park
As mentioned above, a Board of Park Commissioners agenda item this week may establish a connector path from the Southwest Commuter Path to Pontiac Trail via Zook Park.
Curiously, this connector was my first introduction to bicycle advocacy back in 2016. [cue violin background music and Ken Burns montage]
For over a decade, I’d been commuting along the Southwest Commuter Path with a smile on my face and totally not noticing the back yards of all the houses of the Summit Woods neighborhood. Then one day in 2016 something clicked — “WTF? Why don’t the people who live in those houses have access to this great trail? Surely, people there must have bikes, too.”
I pulled out a map and saw how the Summit Woods neighborhood was “road-locked“: Midvale Blvd was the only way in or out, and the only signalized intersection on Hammersley was really inconvenient. The neighborhood also looked like a great, low-stress option to reach Cherokee Middle School. And Zook Park was right there and already had social trails – a City park adjacent to both a City path and a City street. So why wasn’t there a proper connector? It seemed like a no-brainer.
I did some research and found that a 1998 study of the soon-to-be-built Southwest Commuter Path noted that “[Zook] park neighbors are strongly against having an access point at this location.” I’d heard of bike path resistance based on unfounded fears about bike paths bringing crime and being a danger to pedestrians and kids but never thought much of it. Surely after nearly two crime-free decades with the path in their backyards, the neighbors must have a more informed opinion, right? I also looked through City property records and found that nearly every house in the area had been sold since 1998, suggesting a whole new set of neighbors might be in charge. So I sent a short, polite email to some leaders of the neighborhood association and they replied “many neighbors have expressed concerns over the years that cutting into the park to provide direct access to the bike path would have several undesirable outcomes.”
This was an eye-opener to the struggle that defines a lot of transportation advocacy — balancing the transportation needs of the greater community against local resistance. Back in 2016, I figured that, despite being a “no brainer” for the City, it was rightfully a local, neighborhood issue to decide. In 2025, I no longer feel that way. I’ve seen repeatedly how small, neighbor groups work themselves up into an agitated, reason-challenged frenzy to oppose solid, responsible City plans whose primary benefit is to those very neighbors! We’ve seen this story play out with bike lanes on Midvale Blvd, Mineral Point Rd, Monroe Street, as well as with greenway paths in Sauk Creek. I fear we’re going to see it again with the Regent Street business district.
So, if you have a moment, please send an short email to the Board of Park Commissioners (pacommission@cityofmadison.com or see meeting link at top) that you support the Zook Park connector. It was a no-brainer in 1998, a no-brainer in 2016, and it’s still a no-brainer today!
That’s it for the weekly update. If you are looking for unique, local holiday gifts, check out the cool maps at https://latlong.shop/ (including an excellent one of Madison’s bike network)
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.
Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!
