After the groceries were put away and several small chores completed, I set out on my bicycle. I didn't pay attention to the time, but it was sometime before 11 this a.m. I had an idea of what and where I wanted to go but no set plans, and when getting on the bike it is nice to have a destination in mind. Last night I considered heading downtown to the capitol square, probably a 20 minute ride for an experienced bicyclist, but what was I going to do when I got there? Setting out earlier in the morning I could have hit Madison's large farmer's market on the square around the capitol building, but otherwise I didn't have a real destination there.
I wound up riding on the bike path down behind Olbrich Botanical Gardens, another place to stop and visit - but not this day, then down along lake Monona where there is the Olbrich Park Biergarten, a beer garden that just opened this summer in this city park. It's bigger than I thought it would be, the fenced in area, and I stopped at the end of the parking lot (before a huge puddle) and had to take two pictures to get the length of it. This looks like it will be a future destination for us, easily.
From here I worked my way up (hill!) and around the top of the lake over to the Atwood area and stopped for a rest break at the Harmony Bar and Grill, one of our favorite local establishments. Here, I considered following the bike path down the isthmus to the capitol, but instead I headed back on the bike path northeast towards home. I was still making it up as I went along, however.
When I got back on the streets I veered west and headed toward Dexter's Pub but first I had to cross East Washington Avenue, a very busy street running into town northeast to southwest, toward the capitol, of course, the center of Madison on the center of the isthmus. Probably why it keeps getting mentioned now. My wife fears ever crossing this road on foot or bike as there's usually at least one pedestrian death a year on the street. When I came upon it I had the green light so was able to ride straight across in my bike lane easily. From there it's just a few easy blocks to the pub. They had a great Rodenbach on tap; expensive ($9.50 for 10 ounces), but one of the best beers I've tasted. From Belgium, it's one of the original Flanders red or red/brown sour ales. We enjoy a bottle of Duchess De Bourgogne every Friday evening.
While here I considered my next moves. I wasn't quite ready to go home yet, so I went north just a bit more then headed back east, to go over the pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the aforementioned East Washington Avenue. I hadn't been across it yet, and it was built just before we moved into the neighborhood. I figured I would have to stop and walk my bike up, but the grade was slight enough that even out-of-shape-me was able to make it all the way up in first gear. From here it's just a short jaunt down the path to the street we live on, recognizable by the street painting at the corner. (I hope the neighborhood group repaints it this year - see prior link - I'll plan to help out this time. I wrote about it when it happened here.) 
Coming down on the east side of the bridge is Starkweather Creek, looking very full after all the recent rain. Still, very picturesque. By this time it was well past the lunch hour and I was ready to head towards food. I didn't feel like ending my ride yet so I rode past the end of our street, to another bridge, and turned northeast toward another of our favorite bar and grills, Brother's Three. This was pretty much the end of my journey. I was hot, super sweaty, hungry and needed a rest.I hung out for some time and chatted with the staff, letting my sweat dry and my body temperature regulate. They know us well here as we are frequent visitors. I had a drink and cooled down and after a while my wife showed up to meet me (I had texted her) before she went to check on a cat for friends that are on vacation. I stayed and had some food before taking the short bike ride home and mowing the lawn, now that it was dried out some from the rain we had the day before. After that I took a bunch of pictures for the garden blog, go take a look here!
I hadn't planned on a blog post about this bike ride today or I would have taken more and better pictures. Still, I don't do things just to post about them. Live life first, then share what you want when you want and if you want. This is why I don't 'do' farcebook, people seem to need to report on their lives too much. I prefer to think of this blog as my sort of online journal that others can see, and only if they wish. If you made it this far, thank you. I very much appreciate you reading. I do like to write, but this is a lot of words for this instant-gratification society.
Full size versions of almost all the pictures I took today are after the break!
