Day #78 5/29/2011 Mt. Horeb to Madison, WI - 22 miles

It was a ridiculously short 22 miles from Mt. Horeb to Madison, Wisconsin.



We were on the highway at 5am in the pre-dawn twilight with moderate fog.  After so much time on rural roads, neither of us enjoyed the highway.  We stopped and Lani checked Google Maps on my iPhone, looking for a rural road option. 

It was another foggy morning, giving us another reason to find a less trafficked highway.

We jumped off the highway at the next exit and turned onto a rural county road…a very rural road.  The surface was poor and there was absolutely no shoulder.  Fortunately there was no traffic either.  There were two climbs, one of 5 minutes, the other a 2 mile climb over 15 minutes.  Otherwise, it was a mostly downhill ride towards Madison.

Madison came suddenly; one minute there were fields to my left with quails in the morning mist and,
then, the suburbs of Madison.  This was the most upscale area we had seen since Seattle...I felt out-of-place.

We had not entered a city of any size on bicycles since maybe New Orleans.  It was a good thing it was 7am on a Sunday morning.  We headed towards the city center for an eventual meeting with Becky, a childhood friend of Lani’s.  

The morning fog was heavy and water dripped from our helmets.

Nearing the city center, we came across the route for the Madison Marathon.  It was great! there were cones and police protecting the route into the city’s center square near the capitol building.  People were lined up along the sidewalk, ready to picnic.  

This was awesome!  No traffic...a lane just for us, and people along the sidewalks, getting ready for the Madison Marathon.  Some Madisonians applauded us as we cycled by...whom did they think we were?  Dunno...but it was cool.

Madison, population=233209, was created in 1836 and is the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee.  Though the state voted for Republican Governor Scott Walker, liberals and progressives lead large protests against the Governor.  The city economy is dominated by the state government and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  The University is consistently rated among the top public post-secondary schools in the country.

Hey...are they apartments above a Trader Joe's?  How cool is that!

We biked through the campus, appreciating the city layout and dedicated bike lanes.

Madison is serious about supporting the cyclists in its city.  In addition to dedicated bike lanes, the city actually has a department dedicated to  the cycling community.

The Madison Marathon is a certified race and Boston Marathon qualifier, taking runners to "all of the fantastic areas that make the city great."  Over 8,000 runners traverse Madison while raising funds for American Cancer Society and other local non-profits. 

Volunteers were setting up along the marathon route.

Maybe we were fortunate with the route we took through the city, but everywhere we went looked modern, hip or charming.

No.

 Nearing the city center, we finally came across the masses, just getting started.

A "marathon" celebrates the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon who covered the 26 miles to deliver the message "Rejoice, we conquer", and then dying on the spot.   

We biked around a found a place to city down and have a bite, settling on Bradbury’s Coffee (based upon Yelp).  They were very serious about their coffee, offering several varieties made several different ways (siphon, pour over, french press, and Synesso, ranging from $2 for pour over to $8 for siphon.)  Lani and I shared a pair of crepes and waited for Becky to call.

I had read an article about the siphon method for producing coffee some time ago, but couldn't see spending $8.  I mean...it's coffee!  Not red wine.   Lani and I shared a pair of crepes and waited for Becky to call.   

We finished our crepes and made our way around the capitol area, making our way through the throngs enjoying the festive atmosphere created by the marathon.

Madison has a well-known bicycle sharing program known as the Red Bikes Project.  The program requires a valid credit card and $80 in security deposits for both the bicycle and the included bicycle lock; it is now only available seasonally, from spring (when all snow has melted) to November 30.

In a few minutes, we found our way to Becky's apartment.  It was good to see Lani and Becky together.  

After meeting up with Becky, I cut Lani loose and looked for a motel.  No surprise, but there were no budget motels nearby.  The Doubletree offered the best rate and checked in to a room that felt like paradise.

Before leaving Lani and Becky, we made plans to meet up later with for pizza.  Settling quickly into the Doubletree, I made three long phone calls: one to my wife, one to the caregiver of an ailing uncle (listening to her decompress for an hour) and the last to an old friend, Bill Ingram.  It’s an unusual friendship and which you can read about here.

 

It was almost two years ago that Bill described to me some health complaints that had been bothering him.  They did sound concerning and I encouraged him to see a neurologist as what he described sounded too much like ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease.)  An ALS like condition was eventually confirmed.  Now, two years later, his condition had progressed in the way that ALS does.  He could still use one arm, still swallow and was able to hold the telephone for about 30 minutes, but used a home ventilator frequently.  He was in a Home Hospice setting.  His mental space was as good as it could be under the circumstances, buoyed by the support and love that surrounded him.  It was powerfully moving to talk with him…and sad.  I’ll have to call him more often.


It was a short walk to where I met Lani and Becky for dinner.

The area around the university was hip and fun.  It made me want to return to college.

And, with that, I left Lani in Becky's company and returned to the non-smelly/non-decrepit Doubletree where they had another pair of those warm cookies waiting for me.