Tom Bombadil

I occasionally read posts about how places aren't bicycle-friendly. Well a small town here in Wisconsin, which I've been meaning to visit for a few years and finally got around to a couple of days ago, proclaims itself the "Bicycle Capital of America." The town is Sparta, Wisconsin.

I must that I have never seen a town where cycling is more promoted. Along I-94 approaching the town, there are multiple signs about exiting to visit the bicycle museum and to access the bike trails. On the entrance into town, you are greeted by a figure of a man riding a huge old-time bike. The town's visitors guide is filled with bicycle references and businesses advertising to cyclists.

The bicycle museum has dozens of old bikes, although it is a bit on the small side for a museum - it doubles as a museum for Deke Slayton, the astronaut who grew up in Sparta. They have placed some of their surplus bikes into businesses around town. The Bike Trail welcome center is a restored train depot and is very nice. The staff is very friendly. They provide a large amount of bike trail info and sell a nice assortment of shirts, hats, and stuff.

Sparta is located at the junction of the Elroy-Sparta Trail and the LaCrosse River Trail. Each of these trails connect to other trails. The Elroy-Sparta Trail is considered by many to be one of the best trails in the Midwest. It runs 32 miles and goes through three train tunnels, one of which is almost 4000' long. Along the trail one goes through Wilton, which is also very bike-friendly and has a great pie shop.

https://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com/sparta.htm

I found this nice web page on one family's trip on the trail.

https://www.arneberg.com/photos/2003.0831.sparta/

I hope to ride these trails this summer, perhaps making reservations at one of the small motels and making it a multi-day trip.

NOS88

A bit like going to Cooperstown is you're a baseball fan. Be interested in hearing about your experience if you do make it there this year.

lhbernhardt

And here I thought Redmond, WA was the bicycle capital of the US. Actually, I seem to recall that the sign says "Bicycle Capital of the Northwest." I'm glad to see communities taking cycling seriously, though.

- L.

NOS88

+1 When the general business community sees cycling as beneficial, it will change this quickly!

Beverly

Xenia, OH describes itself as the "Bicycle Capital of the Midwest". I agree it's great communities are using this label to describe their cities and towns. We have 270 miles of paved trails in the area and it keeps growing each year.

John E

I am sure Davis CA has some sort of analogous claim.

Beverly

It received a platinum rating on this website. It must be a great place to ride.

https://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....ommunities.htm

BluesDawg

I would love it if my town decided to be the Bicycle Capital of Georgia. In fact, I think the mayor needs to hear about this.

Tom Bombadil

But they are just now starting to build their own bicycle museum.

In reading the pdf link from Beverly's post, it sure reads like a nice place to live.

I work in Madison, WI, which is one of the 7 "Gold" communities in those rankings. There are a lot of bikes here, a lot of paths, and both are still growing. Once Spring arrives, I hope to go out and spend a lot of lunch hours, on my $50 lunch-break bike, riding around the city. It only takes a few minutes to get from my office to my choice of three different lakes - riding only on bike paths.

Sparta's claim is not based on commuting cycling, but on recreation. They are a small town of 8600 that caters to visiting bikers rather than making it a central way of life, which appears to be what Davis is doing. Too cold in Sparta for people to give up cars in the winter.

will dehne

Tom,
I love your trails in Wisconsin and I am a regular trail user and financial supporter.
That said, go over the river to Lanesbury, Mn, the Root River Trails. You may like them. They are 150 miles, paved and offer nice facilities. Lanesbury would give Sparta some competition for that title IMHO.

Tom Bombadil

Thanks for the heads up, Will. I looked them up.

https://www.lanesboro.com/lanesboro-rootrivertrail.html

Definitely a place I will add to my planning notebook. I'm taking 12 Fridays off this year to make nice 3-day weekends. I already had some Minnesota places on my list.

spry

Hockey and bicycle heaven up there in the white north,what more could a guy want.
What ever became of the Detel bike factory in Green Bay that closed in 1986?

Jet Travis

I did a Google search of Xenia, and I saw the temp is currently 6 degrees. Think I'll wait a little while to check out those bike trails. As a lifelong resident of the crowded east coast, I love those cycling those wide-open spaces of the rural midwest.

Mojo Slim

Davis completed a bike/pedestrian tunnel under the FREEWAY last year. That takes some commitment. I've ridden in the area, and it is nice, albeit somewhat flat until you get out into the country and the foothills.

Maybe we should all see about getting our towns named "The bicycle capital of" something. Your state, your county, your corner of the world in some way.

Beverly

It's dropped two degrees since that Google To add insult to injury they've predicted 2-4" of snow tomorrow. You can bet my wheels won't be outdoors anytime soon. Maybe it will be above freezing by the time I return from Florida at the end of next week.

I took some friends from Wisconsin on a ride in the area last summer. They were surprised we could ride through the city of Dayton and only needed to cross two streets.

If you decide to ride in the area be sure you hit the Little Miami Trail. It runs through Xenia and it's one of the best trails around here.

Dellphinus

Tom,

We rode that area last year. The Sparta to Elroy trail was great. But take a maglight- a AA cell LED headlight won't cut it in the long tunnel. Very nice 64 mile out and back. Lots of Amish and small town charm. Be sure to pop off the trail and explore all the little towns along the way. The next day we rode the Lacross River trail from Sparta to Lacross, and the Great River Trail north to Trempeauleau- don't waste your time on it. Tremp. was a nice little town, but we were quite let down after Sparta-Elroy- maybe reverse order woulda been better. We vowed to do the 400 or Omaha trail, or just ride backroads on the second/third days if we go back. Stay at the Best Western in Sparta. Be SURE to have fried cheese curds in Elroy.
We're going to do the Root River trails (Mn) this year. Will probably go over to do Omaha or 400 on the way back home.

Dchiefransom

That area sounds great.

Hmmm, I always thought Waterloo, Wi was the big bike town there.

Tom Bombadil

Since I wrote my first post in February, I've been on the trail. Very, very nice. And you are right about needing a good light source. The tunnels are long and dark.

Hope to go back soon, perhaps as soon as within 2 weeks.

cccorlew

The next town over from me has signs proclaiming its "Bicycle Friendly" nature. My city, on the other hand, had vocal opposition to a bike lane on the newest through way.
But at least the paths that do exist sparkle with diamonds... Oh wait, that's just broken glass.

i guess I'm just jealous and a little bitter.

Tom Bombadil

The bike trail under construction that runs past my subdivision is almost the rival of the Elroy-Sparta trail. It has one old train tunnel (the only curved tunnel in Wisconsin), an old train bridge, it runs for miles through woods and alongside rivers, and goes right through a few small towns. It connects to multiple other trails, and will connect into Madison and two more trails next year.

There are pie shops in Belleville, Monticello, Monroe, and connects to trails that take you to New Glarus, Brodhead, and Freeport, IL, which also have pie shops.

When it is completed, it will connect to more trails and more pie shops, in Dodgeville, Verona, Mt. Horeb, and multiple ones in Madison. The complete system will then consist of:
- Military Ridge Trail 40 miles
- Capitol City Trail 17 miles
- Madison SW Bike Path 7 miles
- Badger State Trail 40 miles (this is the new trail that passes my house)
- Sugar River Trail 23 miles
- Jane Addams Trail (Illinois) 13 miles

A total of 140 miles of interconnected rail trails, where the only time you ride on a road is when you are crossing over one.

Its grand opening for the southern segment is scheduled for late June or on July 1.

I am a very lucky man.

MichiganMike

You certainly are. Let us know when the grand opening is. I'd love to ride those things some day.

rodrigaj

And...Don't forget the Glacier-Drumlin trail in Cottage Grove. It goes from Cottage Grove to Waukesha (54miles). About midway you get to Lake Mills, which has beautiful roads surrounding it - for serious road cycling.

The only problem is the crushed limestone, which can take its toll on the drivetrain. I only ride my cyclocross bike on the trails and do a thorough cleaning after the rides. The trails can also get crowded near the major cities along the routes on weekends, so you have to be careful for little kids and their parents that don't understand trail etiquette.

Artkansas 

I thought Isla Vista was the bicycle capitol. The unofficial motto was "Bicycles, Dogs and Frisbees" when I was there.

tsl

I live in the Apathy Capital of Upstate NY. Or rather, I would if someone gave a damn...

Tom Bombadil

Glacial-Drumlin is supposed to eventually hook up into this same trail system. It would require a new trail that would run a few miles on the east side of Madison. But this is unlikely within the next 5 years. Once that happens, the total one-way mileage of this interconnected system will run close to 200 miles.

Of course you could do the 200 miles now by riding about 4-5 miles on the road, to connect the G-D trail to the Capital City trail.

Once the last segment is completed next year, to link to the Capital City Trail, I could take a trail tour. Riding from one end to the other and back to my house would be 280 miles, never passing the same point more than twice. When (if) Glacial-Drumlin links in, I could make a 400 mile roundtrip tour - at least theoretically.

And it's only 65 miles from my house to Reedsburg, WI, where the "400" trail begins. That trail then links into the Elroy-Sparta, La Crosse River, and Great River trails, which collectively run just a bit over 100 miles one-way.