Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

That does sound wonderful.

I'm really looking forward to next year when the final piece of the rail trails in my area is completed. There's an 8 mile spur that will complete the Badger State Trail to Madison. Once that is done, there will be 135 miles of trails linked. So I could start out of my driveway and end up in my driveway after riding up to 270 miles (out and back), never passing the same point more than twice.

These trails pass through many nice small towns, and Madison too for a night in the city, if one wishes. Lots of motels, hotels, and B&Bs, along with at least 8-10 campgrounds and three state parks. And only about 20 miles of the trails (those around Madison) have more than light usage. When riding in the Spring or Fall you can ride 5-10 miles without seeing another trail user. If one skipped the Madison loop, it would leave around 115-118 miles of trails one-way.

Some friends of mine recently completed a 14-day vacation where they started on the Katy Trail in Missouri then came up to Wisconsin for several days and finished with 3 days in Minnesota. Along the way they rode about 250 miles of trails, canoed one day, attended Norwegian and Czech festivals, and visited Hannibal MO, Nauvoo IL, and Red Wing MN along the Mississippi to see historical sites. They camped every night of the trip, except for the 2 days they stayed at my house. He sent me a CD with about 400 pictures they took along the way. He's still raving about the trip and wanting to do it again.