Day 28 – Madison to Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Today was a tale of two cities and a lot of cycle paths. It began in Madison, the state capital, which I had time to explore a little more. What a great city! There can be no denying that it enjoys a superb location, sandwiched between two big, big lakes, just a few blocks apart. The hugely impressive State Capitol building, with its imperious shiny white dome, sits directly in between on the highest ground. It is cruciform in shape, under the dome, but it is orientated at a jaunty 45 degrees to the grid layout of the streets, which somehow adds to the sense of style and importance it pervades. Madison is not a high rise city and it is better for it, allowing the state Capitol to dominate proceedings as it must have done since it was first built.

I left town along the lakeshore cycle loop which took me through delightful neighbourhoods of pretty old American style homes. I felt I could happily live in any one of them. Eventually, after a last look across the blue waters of the lake, I turned my back and rode off into the country along surprisingly quiet roads. I think I chose well. I was soon on my own, breezing through pleasant fields and not much else until a couple of hours later I reached the lovely small town of Lake Mills. Like Madison, it enjoys a natural lakeside setting; but this was a much more provincial place, with a big green park in the central square and well appointed older buildings all around. I found a nice cafe for brunch, just in time. Hunger was starting to take hold, as often happens about this time of day.

Fully refuelled, I pressed on and made my first foray onto a cycle path that looked like it might run all the way to Milwaukee. It was an old railway line, surfaced with crushed limestone and running east straight as a die, far into the distance. Both sides were lined with trees, so except for the odd wooden bridge crossing of a river or stream, there really wasn’t much variety. But the riding was quiet and efficient and I was happy enough for a time.

Needless to say, in these hot conditions, I began to think of my next cold drink, and I wasn’t going to get it on this endless green lane. So I spent the next hour dipping in and out of the nearby road, which was also very quiet, to keep my thirst at bay. Luckily, as the day wore on, the sky clouded over and the heat became much more bearable.

At the pretty little town of Dousman I stopped for ice cream, as is the custom, and from then on the cycle paths were paved and took me the last twenty miles or so right into the heart of downtown Milwaukee. I might not have worked it all out alone; but I was helped by a kind and friendly local cyclist who got me through the junctions painlessly, giving us time to chat as we rode.

These final few miles were my fastest, partly because it was easy going, but mainly because on a couple of occasions I was passed by young, serious cyclists on very expensive bikes, out on training rides. By my own standards, I am pretty fit at the moment, so heavy panniers or not, I can often keep up with them if I try. At least one of them was most surprised to see me still there after he thought he’d left me behind five minutes earlier. I shouldn’t get pleasure from doing this; but I’m afraid I do!

Milwaukee is new to me and my first impressions are very positive. It is big – much, much bigger than Madison – and feels like quite an old city with a lot of tall, grand old buildings. I am staying right in the middle of downtown, a couple of minutes from the fabulous city hall with its iconic clock tower that stands where two streets divide. It would grace any city. Strangely, though, I found it surprisingly hard to find somewhere inviting for dinner. Milwaukee is known for brewing beer and I didn’t want to miss out on that pleasure. Eventually, I found somewhere that provided both food and a very good local IPA from just up the road by the lakefront, so I ended the evening happy.

I have booked onto the 12.30pm ferry across Lake Michigan, which is something a I have always wanted to do. I will lose another hour on the way and enter Eastern time when I get to Muskegon. I’m not going any further tomorrow. This counts as a rest day before I embark on the next section that will take me across Michigan and through Canada to Niagara Falls. I have no details planned for that yet, so I need a little respite from cycling to get all that in order. Most days, I do little else than cycle, eat and blog. It’s not a bad life; but even trans-continental adventure cyclists need a little downtime.