About 25 years ago our family was considering a bike tour of Europe in the forthcoming year. None of us had ever ridden more than 12 miles at a time, so it was decided that perhaps we should give it a trial run the summer before we bought tickets abroad.

I had read that Wisconsin had many roads designated as bike trails and had, in fact, just completed the first rails to trails conversion. If my memory serves correctly, it was the first one done in the states.

So, off we went that summer—my two teenagers, two of their friends and myself. We felt adequate with our garage sale ten speeds and our royal blue tube tents. Except for food, we carried everything with us.

We headed for Sparta where we picked up the trail to Elroy. It was beautiful and flat through dairy land with several tunnels thrown in for atmosphere. After Elroy we picked up the designated bike roads. I do not remember the route, but I know that we passed through Reedsburg, Baraboo, New Glarus, Spring Green and the Dells.

The trip went well considering all our ignorance and we did get along fine with our garage sale bikes.

This summer (2002) my husband and I headed for Wisconsin in August looking for cooler weather. He suggested that I take the bike and it sounded like a good idea.

Wisconsin has really expanded their trails and biking is a very popular outdoor recreation. The first trail that I rode was a rail conversion from Brodhead to New Glarus. New Glarus is a German town with lots of atmosphere and lots of beer gardens. It is also home of the Heide Festival, which we had hit the first time round.

This time, however, our destination was Door County with our first stop at the Potowatomi State Park. It was lovely and had mountain bike trails within the Park and an eight-mile road around it for road bikers.

While we were there, Bike Wisconsin came through with twelve hundred people all on the same route. Their route was from Marinette to Green Bay and then from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay for two nights. We ran into many of the bikers the next day way up on Washington Island. It was here that the bikers turned around and headed back. Everyone was having a good time, but, remember, the weather was a comfortable 70 degrees and no wind—completely different from the Bike Across Kansas ride, which is another story.

Our next stop was Peninsula State Park. That Park was amazing. Every campsite had bikes and bikers of every age from age three to old. Within the Park, there were trails for road bikers and others for mountain bikers, trails for hikers, skiers and different ones for snowmobilers.

Biking was not the purpose of this trip, but before we left the area, I managed to get on a twenty-mile stretch of the 83-mile rail/trail from Green Bay to Wausau. I had hoped to do the Sprat/ Leroy route again, but by then my husband had had enough.

Wisconsin has a lot to offer bikers in their variety of trails, delightful small towns and pleasant biking weather.

I have not checked it out yet, but I am certain one could get across Wisconsin by connecting the bike trails. Determining whether one could do so, would be a good project for when the snow flies. Right now, I have roads to ride and beautiful Kansas’s scenery to enjoy.

For more information on the two annual Wisconsin rides, see the web site: www.bikewisconsin.com