Though I am not living (nor have I ever beento) Madison, Wisconsin I *am* right below you in Chicagoland.
I ride about 5 miles of path before riding the last 6 or 7 miles on the road, and in the thick of winter the path is the worst part. Though it gets cleared (for the most part) and sanded it has a freeze/thaw cycle that causes a majority of the sand to be burried under the black ice patches and mostly washed away. The black ice patches move from time to time as well due to this cycle.
If I had my druthers I'd chose to ride the road for my complete trip in the winter because once the salt melts the ice and the autos clear the water away it is a vry dry surface. But since the road that runs along the path is a Parkway and closed to bikes I have no choice there.
So there you have it.
