Not much of a white Christmas but nice to ride without studs for a few days. Looking at the calendar, city meetings haven’t kicked in yet. Here are some thoughts for the interim.
New Year’s Resolutions for Madison Bicyclists
Many of us are making New Year’s resolutions at this time of year. We often formulate these to make ourselves or the community healthier and happier. Here are some suggestions for some measurable, achievable, and relevant bicycle-related goals for 2026:
- Provide input on a bicycle project this season. Bike infrastructure doesn’t just happen. Even if it happens, it may not serve your needs. Testifying at meetings, responding to surveys, contacting our alders or other elected officials really makes a difference. Public input is used by decision makers to determine whether to proceed with bike/ped projects and how they will look. While many cyclists have already provided valuable comments this year, we still need input from all types of riders to ensure needs are recognized. Throughout the year we will keep you informed, via this weekly update, where there are opportunities to make a difference.
Right now, consider weighing in on the DOT’s Beltline PEL Study. Some proposed bike/ped connections in the draft plan could be really impactful and make sense but there is also a proposal to add another lane to the Beltline. See Ben Varek’s comments here for a perspective. It’s important that DOT knows the good and the bad. Comments must be submitted by January 15th so don’t put this one off!
- Don’t let the cold weather win, adjust your comfort zone. Try subtracting a few degrees from the lowest temperature at which you will ride. A drop of even a few degrees will add several cycling days a year and you probably won’t notice the difference in comfort, especially if you dress for it. I got mine down from 35F to 8F but it took a few years of incremental change.
The city of Madison has some tips for winter biking. Here’s a link from this year’s Winter Bike Fashion Show that you may have seen last week, where riders discuss their favorite winter gear. Also, you can improve snow/ice issues for you and other cyclists by reporting winter related issues you experience to the city here. Riding your bike to local businesses schools, workplaces, and recreational venues, demonstrates the presence of the cycling community and our contribution to the local economy.
- Do some bicycle maintenance. Winter is the ideal time for this. Not sure how to do maintenance on your bike? Freewheel has two open shop events on the Freewheel calendar in January. CORP has several events in January and February for mountain bikes. Consider attending the Brazen Dropouts 2026 Bike Swap on January 17. It’s a great source for low cost used parts, tools, and accessories.
- Start planning that bicycle travel adventure. Wisconsin is ideal for bicycle touring thanks to its secondary road system. Do an organized tour or a self-directed tour that starts right outside your door. For a self-directed tour you will need maps. This Wisconsin DOT page provides links to county maps for every county as well as city maps and others. When you’re out on the road, your phone doesn’t always work so take a paper map. Bike Fed has the 2020 version on sale right now ($3-$5 per section), probably because new ones should be out soon. Half of the fun is the planning so these maps should get the dreaming process started.
Last year Madison Bikes held a well-attended meeting on bicycle touring. Local bike shops are also happy to help if you need to get outfitted for touring. We’ll keep you in the loop when more bicycle touring events happen this year.
- Get to know Madison bike routes. We need more but there is a lot of great bicycle infrastructure here. One of my favorite activities is checking out the city’s extensive and evolving bicycle infrastructure. If you are relatively new to the city, or if you always ride on the same routes, try exploring. You will get an appreciation for the infrastructure we have, how well it works (or doesn’t), and where help is needed. In your travels you will see parts of Madison you didn’t know existed and you will meet nice people who can help you find your way when you get lost.
- Stay involved by attending some Madison Bikes community events. We have a great one this month. It’s a meet-and-greet with the city’s new Transportation Director, Christof Spieler. Spieler brings extensive qualifications. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Rice University. He’s a Professional Engineer, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and LEED Accredited Professional. Spieler has worked with major cities across the country on bus and rail networks, street design, and highway planning. He is a prolific author and speaker regarding urban planning, transportation, and sustainability. He is the author of “Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit.” Those of you who read the book will recognize the logic behind many of the initiatives Madison is undertaking to improve transportation. He will be publishing a new book on the geometry of urban transportation this year.
We are excited to hear Spieler’s thoughts on transportation policy in Madison. The meeting is January 22 at 6pm in the Madison Public Library (201 S Mifflin). Don’t miss this one.
—–
Update to Cannonball Path
There is one minor update on the Cannonball Path as of December 26. City staff has determined that Carver St is preferred location for the new signal (previously proposed to be at Martin St) as the driveways line up better at Carver St to work with a signalized intersection, there are existing left-turn bays, it is farther away from the railroad track, and it better serves the surrounding neighborhood.
That’s it for this week’s update. See you at our meeting on Jan 22. Check our calendar for other January events. Happy New Year!
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!
