#coffeeneuring 2019: The Northern Edge of Dane

The below-average temperatures and above-average snowfall have continued in Wisconsin. So it was a relief to see slightly milder temperatures forecast for Saturday. Whereas last week I kept my ride rather short and focused on collecting roads, this week I was determined to get more VeloViewer tiles. That meant heading northwest, and then following the northern border of Dane County east. My intermediate destination was Sun Prairie, where a 'cross race would take place.

At the county border

What made the ride more challenging was that I was on my fixed-gear Cross-Check with studded tires. Last year I had put on the Schwalbe Marathon Winters on November 17; this year I had to grudgingly install them two weeks earlier than that. The tires have very stiff sidewalls, and so etween the studded tires and the sometimes rough roads, I felt pretty beat up by the end of the ride.

With no great coffee option along the route, I brought my own

 There was still plenty of snow on the ground, but the roads were almost completely clear. I loved seeing the contrast between the white snow and the remaining leaves on trees and cornfields that hadn't been harvested yet.

Northern Dane County has many very straight roads

Not too steep, not too long for my fixie

Not exactly sure what makes Morrisonville "Frogtown USA"

 I arrived at the race course in Sun Prairie just in time to see my friend Kierstin depart. She had taken the direct route to the race in the morning in order to cheer on friends and team mates. I also saw some other familiar faces watching the race: Andy, who kindly threw me a can of Hamm's, and Baltazar and Mark. The race was horribly muddy, which made for good spectating and picture taking.

Enjoying my coffee, 55 miles into the ride

I believe this was my longest ever fixed gear ride on studded tires, with 6 hours on the bike. Hard, but very satisfying. Oh, and I did get 23 new tiles!

Rider name: Harald
Ride #: 6
Date: 11/10
Total mileage: 76 mi (122 km)
Drink: Cafe latte (2 shots with Equal Exchange Breakfast Blend, oat milk from Trader Joe's)
Location: Sheehan Park, Sun Prairie (WI)
Music: Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites
New gear: I finally threw out my almost 10-year-old Lake MXZ-302s winter boots and replaced them with the successor model.

#coffeneuring, Bike Bingo, and a side of cyclocross

Coffeeneuring season is over, and I have a few ride reports to catch up on. This one is from late October. Madison Bike Bingo was still going on and so I combined getting a stamp from Manna Cafe with seeing a cyclocross race, and checking out a new-to-me coffee shop, What's Brew'N, in Sun Prairie. I also added a few roads to my collection.

Manna Cafe was very busy on a Sunday morning and it took me a while to get my Bike Bingo stamp

At the race in Sun Prairie. There was a fierce cold wind, which prevented me from staying there very long

The giraffe is always watching

The kids enjoyed throwing balls at riders in the sand pit

What's Brew'N is your typical suburban coffee shop

Inspirational posters and knick-knacks for sale...

...and rather mediocre coffee.

Coffeeneuring ride 6: Coffee & 'Cross, Sun Prairie edition

Minimalist cue sheet

After my incidental coffeeneuring ride to the 'cross race in Verona, this time around the combination of cyclocross and coffee was more deliberate. The Sun Prairie Cup was on the calendar, and my friend Jacob was going to race again. The weather was forecast to be amazing again, and so I headed out to Sun Prairie. I'd never been out there before and wasn't quite sure what kind of riding to expect. Well, first I caught a flat while still in Madison–note to self: buy rebuild kit for Topeak Road Morph pump...–followed by some mediocre riding through the 'burbs. 

Flat :-(

Once I was past the interstate, though, traffic volumes went down and enjoyment went up. Having a strong tailwind probably didn't hurt either. Once in Sun Prairie I rode past Sheehan Park (the venue for the race) and headed downtown. Whereas Sun Prairie had a very suburban feel, they do have a little downtown core with dense-ish multifamily housing and newer mixed-use buildings. One of those buildings is home to "Beans'n Cream Coffeehouse," my coffeeneuring destination. 

Downtown Sun Prairie fall colors

While the whole shop was decorated with various kinds of fancy coffee-making implements (Haros, Chemexes, ....), the brewed coffee that they served was nothing to write home about. The atmosphere is nice, though, and the food looked good.

Just in time for my friend Jacob's start in the singlespeed category, I made it over to the race. The course was quite cool and the barely rideable "party hill" made for a great spot for spectators. If you care about the actual race results, here's a write-up.

"Party Hill"

For the way home I took a different route (now riding straight into the wind...). Shortly before reaching the bike path along US-151, I spotted a promising sign:



Of course, I had to go explore! The road started out as double-track, which gradually disappeared and turned into an overgrown goat path. It was passable enough, though, and eventually led back to the bike path. Cool little adventure detour!

Adventure detour