Spring!!!

Madison has had an unfortunately clingy winter this year (not that warm-ish xc skiing is so bad), and since ski-able snow has disappeared, we've had a cold, rainy month of "spring."  As you can imagine, Ali and I are jumping at the sunny weekend days for bike rides.  We've managed a few shorter (~20 mile) routes on flat bike routes, and we recently returned from a fantastic trip out to Vancouver (biking + snowshoeing + great food + wonderful company in one weekend is tough to beat).

This weekend, we decided to have a "slow" weekend and go for a 55 mile bike ride.  Ali found a great route here, and though we missed a one or two of the poorly-signed roads,  we managed a fair distance anyway.  The roads were infrequently trafficked, and the vistas were great.  We even saw our first flowers of the year (in WI)!

Ali's managing to break in her bike pretty well; the (relatively) custom fit is great, and hills/high speeds are much easier now.  We managed our 55 miles with one lunch stop at 30 miles (Belleville Cafe's hot chocolate was just what we wanted halfway through a chilly ride) and a second break on the last bit into Madison.  Winds were mild, and so long as the sun was out of the puffy clouds, the temperature was lovely.  I imagine this loop might become a favorite as we gear up for the Dairyland Dare.  (I'm aiming for the 200k; we'll see how the hills treat us.)