400 State Trail |

Wednesday after my physical therapy appointment I busted out my bike for a long bike ride. After biking 10 miles Sunday and Tuesday and feeling like the rides were pretty easy, I felt ready to push it a bit further.

During my first ride it felt so strange to be riding while also familiar. It brought back memories of having to ride my bicycle 4 miles to band practice with my clarinet case on my handlebars uphill both ways…in the sweltering heat! Oh, the torture my parents put me through aka character building!

Living in Wisconsin we have such beauty all around us! I have checked out parts of many trails, but with a bike you can travel so many miles faster.

For my longer ride I hopped on the Great River Bike Trail. I had planned to ride from Midway to Perrot State Park, however the rain changed my plans. I ended up biking from Onalaska to Trempealeau and back (32 miles round trip).

The trails were awesome-well groomed, well marked, and scenic. They are all old railroad trail beds running through marsh, prairie, and along lakes and rivers.

If you have never biked, check out these trails. They have short routes for shorter rides. If you are already into biking, then definitely get out there.

You can ride as long or short as you want because the Great River Bike Trail connects to the La Crosse River Trail which connects to the Sparta-Elroy Bike Trail and that connects to the 400 State Bike Trail. That is over a hundred miles of trails through towns, scenic paths, bridges, and train tunnels. Check out http://www.bike4trails.com for maps and distances.