Daytrip

I spent the last 10 days bicycling around southern Wisconsin, mostly in the hills of western Dane County. I got honked at a bunch of times on backroads and flipped off once. On a deserted back road. On one of the county highways, the signs with the bicycle saying "Share the Road" had all been defaced.

I've never seen anything like that in rural upstate NY where I live.

Beautiful cycling over there in western Dane county, but the hostility makes me a little nervous. Are the necks redder these days behind the Cheddar Curtain? I grew up around there, but don't recall it being much different than any other rural, farming region.

roadwarrior

Surprising given the fact that area is always up high on the "bike friendly" list, especially Madison. Also surprising given that a lot of people are employed in the bike and fitness business up there...Trek, Saris/cycleops, Vision Fitness...

pallen

I'm guessing people were more friendly when cycling was less popular. As more people get out on the roads, the tension grows.

gladiator13

I live in western Wisconsin and don't get yelled at much but on Friday I went out with a couple friends and we were yelled at and honked at multiple times. I've never really experienced any hostility. Just people that seem to be having a bad day and cyclist gets the brunt of it. I'm usually so focused on holding my line and going forward as quickly as possible that by the time I register somebody is heckling me I've already gotten too far away from them for it to matter much anymore.

Creakyknees

It's pretty common that when bikers invade a "nice, unknown" cycling area, the locals get more hostile. Consider the Boulder, CO area, which is cycling heaven for us riders but also one of the hotspots in motorist anger.

canam73

I live in WI and went to college at UW-Madison. I've come across the same crap plenty. You don't have to get to far out of the populated area to encounter people with little or no knowledge or respect of the laws of biking on the road. It's too bad as the Mount Horeb/Blue Mound area has some really nice riding. But those hills and valleys seem to keep the residents way more isolated than the 30 min drive to Madison would suggest.

Daytrip

I went to college in Madison, too, but it's always been a completely different world once you get out into the country. Madison is indeed bike friendly, with an extensive MUP system. That said, you'd think that with those beautiful riding conditions out in the country, that you'd get more cyclists and (hopefully) more acceptance. I stayed on the country trunk highways and town roads as much as possible, and saw very few other cyclists once I got away from Madison. That's the same deal where I live now in central NY, but the locals seem friendlier. That's not to say I didn't get waves from motorists, farmers and others, just that the a-hole quotient seemed to be a bit higher than I expected.

canam73

I took a short vacation to Bayfield, WI (Apostle Islands) this year and got out for 2 of the nicest rides I've ever done in Wisconsin. Didn't see one other cyclist, but I did encounter several packs of atv riders using the roads like they were made for them with apparently little fear of law enforcement. They mostly left me alone but they may have been too bewildered by my presence to react.

Never ridden in NY, but count your blessings. I'm jealous.

Gluteus

Sorry about your experience, Daytrip. I live (and ride) in the northeastern part of the state. Driver's are pretty civilized and friendly around here.

antmuzic

I hate to make it political, but my theory is that the current political climate in Wisconsin has polarized people that used to be polite to everyone. There's a "This American Life" episode about how people have changed.

I recently did an organized Century ride up there and was honked at and flipped off a ton. On the plus side, they passed me safely. So, I guess I'll take the honking when they aren't trying to kill me too.

Daytrip

Glad to hear that, Glut. It takes more than a little dissing to ruin my rides. I had a great time and look forward to getting back there again soon for more mileage. Black Earth, Blue Mound, Mazo, etc. have some pretty decent cycling conditions, especially when you get onto the backroads. The hills felt like like home--unlike the Central Sands region where I've also ridden. That's flat as a pancake. Pretty too, but no good hills to climb.

canam73

Here is one of my rides out of Bayfield: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/724955 It's the most climbing I've ever done in WI. Door County has some nice riding, too, but summer weekends can have crazy traffic.

Daytrip

Very nice. I'll have to try that if I get up there sometime. My climbiest ride in Dane County was 2,600 feet in 38 miles.

canam73

Was that out of Mt. Horeb? That's close enough to me to ride on a a daytrip. If you have it mapped or could tell me some road names I'd be interested.

Daytrip

Here's the map. I don't know where MYR gets only 1K feet of climbing. My GPS said 2,600 and that's about what it felt like. I took a few detours to run my total mileage up to 38, but this is the basic route--and a very nice ride, especially the named town roads.

https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view...pen_ive_done=1

canam73

I don't use map my ride, but I do know ridewithgps often disagrees with my garmin even after it's 'elevation corrected'. Either way it looks like fun. I haven't ridden around there since the mid 90's. Thanks for info.

Daytrip

Here's another nice one I did. The western and southern sections are particularly sweet.

https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view...pen_ive_done=1

canam73

I think you have that on a 'private' setting.

Daytrip

Fixed now, I think.

canam73

Got it. Thanks again.

Bioandbikes

I live in southeastern Wisconsin, and haven't encountered too many rude drivers. Most give plenty of room when they pass, and only occasionally will they honk. I'm just north of Milwaukee, and even riding into the north side I haven't encountered more than the occasional idiot driver. This seems to be an exceptionally bike-friendly area, though. I did the Trek 100 out in Waterloo in June, and drivers were very friendly - of course, Trek is a major company for that small town.

Daytrip, thanks for posting your ride - I've been looking for areas with more hills, and we certainly don't have too many here!

canam73

You've been lucky. I got buzzed on Green Bay rd headed north out thiensville this weekend. I was as far to the right at possible and there was no other traffic. This would fall into the idiot catagory, but I mostly ride in Ozaukee county and even there I run into to many people that seem upset with the very idea of a bike sharing the road.

wiscoerik

I live in Western Dane county, and know which road you're talking about (Hwy KP).

I don't have a problem except with large groups. The township of Vermont (right in that area) has apparently banned groups from going through.

Generally this is a pretty bike-friendly area. I do agree that the political climate has made it worse lately, even for cycling. There is a lot of hate for the fellow man around here.

wiscoerik

I see you rode on 78... drivers do not like seeing cyclists on this road. I avoid it, and only ride it in short stretches to get from place to place. Not that you did anything wrong... because you didn't.

Also, for those curious about the area, you can do a 100/10k ride here. If you are interested in routes, PM me. I know the area well. I love it here.

powermatt99

I've not had many problems at all in Milwaukee. The only issues I've had is with some of the attendees of LaborFest at the lakefront. They didn't like that they had to wait an additional 10 seconds to arrive at their festival.

From my experience in Wisconsin, the class of professional protesters in Madison are ready to back anything that is counter culture, such as cycling was. Once that counter culture becomes more mainstream, as cycling has, the real advocates (of any issue, not just bikes) are hung out to dry while the professional protesters find the next cause. I'm told that Austin, Berkley and other progressive hubs are similar.