Time to Resume our Team McAdow Bike Rides! The 2024 biking season is upon us. Weather permitting, we are planning to hold our first official Team McAdow bike ride this Saturday, April 6th. The forecast for Saturday is sunny all day, with temperatures in the 30’s in the morning and 40’s in the afternoon. Let’s meet at 1:30 PM at the Odana Hills Golf Course parking lot. Tentatively, we are planning to ride through the UW Arboretum to Olin Park and back on the Southwest Path – about 12 miles. Depending on who shows up, we may modify this plan.
We will be scheduling bike rides for each Saturday again this year, generally in the morning. Our preferences are for off-road bike trails and side streets as much as possible, loop routes when possible (versus out-and-back), and away from noisy highways. We have a great selection of bike routes in Madison and Dane County (and sometimes beyond).
We are not out to set any speed or distance records; our rides typically are 10-to-20 miles at a moving average of 9-10 miles per hour. We try to make stops at interesting places and for water breaks (we have also been known to make an occasional stop at a coffee shop or bakery). Our goals are to enjoy the great outdoors, the exercise and each other’s company.
Our normal meeting places in Madison are the Odana Hills Golf Course parking lot, Pacific Cycle or Olin Park. Occasionally we will meet in Verona, Middleton,
Sauk City or other locations. We typically start at 9:00 am, but we may schedule an earlier or later time depending on weather and other possible complications. Sometimes, particularly early in the season, we may offer options for shorter or longer rides, where we all start out together, but some of us may want to return sooner than the others. Also, some of our riders choose to get some extra miles by biking from home to the meeting spot and back.
Sauk City or other locations. We typically start at 9:00 am, but we may schedule an earlier or later time depending on weather and other possible complications. Sometimes, particularly early in the season, we may offer options for shorter or longer rides, where we all start out together, but some of us may want to return sooner than the others. Also, some of our riders choose to get some extra miles by biking from home to the meeting spot and back.
We welcome other family members and friends to join us on our Saturday rides. We also welcome e-bikes, tandems, recumbents, unicycles and any other wheeled conveyances that are appropriate and legal on state, county and city bike paths. Safety for our group is important; in addition to selecting safe biking routes, we encourage highly visible clothing and helmets for everyone.
McAdow Miles has been a great fundraiser for our MWM Rotary Foundation (with no expense) for many years. There is no obligation, but we encourage our riders, other Club members and non-Rotarians to make annual contributions to this event. But more than anything, it’s an opportunity for us to spend time together doing what we enjoy. Please let us know if you would like to be included on our Team McAdow email list this year. If you have any questions, contact John Olsen (johno.olsen@gmail.com, 608-220-2826), or talk to any of our other Team McAdow members.