March 22, 2016

Biking the Seminole Trail...



... today in Madison. Trying to restore my skills I learned last fall. The leafless woods looks dreary, but it was just perfect.

40 comments:

Mark said...

Perfect day for a ride, ideal temperature.

Took my kid out on our first big ride as she is on spring break.

Ann Althouse said...

Yeah, it was about 50° -- no cold and I never felt heated up. And overcast, so no glaring sun.

D. B. Light said...

Seminoles in Wisconsin?

George Grady said...

Why is there a trail called Seminole Trail in Madison?

Big Mike said...

Must not be hunting season if you're in the woods and not wearing orange.

Strangely enough US 29 is called the Seminole Trail where it goes through Charlottesville, VA, home of the University of Virginia. I wonder why. I recall that the Seminoles were a Florida tribe.

David said...

I am lobbying for a Menominee Trail here in South Carolina.

Ann Althouse said...

"Why is there a trail called Seminole Trail in Madison?"

There's a section of town where all the streets are named after Indian tribes.

There's also a section of town where the streets are named after presidents and another where the streets are named after the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

It's just a Madison thing -- American names.

Michael said...

Ann Althouse

Didn't some of the signers of the Declaration own slaves?

Is there some appropriate going on with the Native American names? And can you call them "Indian?"

Does the Seminole trail have alligators and if not why not.

Good riding, BTW.

Wince said...

Blogger Big Mike said...
Must not be hunting season if you're in the woods and not wearing orange.

I was going to ask: is Althouse wearing yellow because of hunters?

Meade said...

We wear blaze orange during hunting season but we wear a lot of safety yellow when biking. If you guys want to come to Wisconsin to hunt (or to hike during hunting season), please be advised you now have fashion options thanks to Governor Scott Walker.

Thanks, Governor!

Paul said...

Nice! Out here in California I can ride all year. A major reason I will never leave. I just got a new bike with 8" of travel, front and rear, for the crazy steep and rocky stuff I like but winding through the woods on single track is delightful isn't it?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Paul said...

I just got a new bike with 8" of travel...

For 8" couldn't you have just walked it?

Meade said...

Hey now. The longest mountain bike journey begins with the first 8" of travel. Or something like that.

madAsHell said...

The Seminole trail??
In my mind, the Seminoles were a tribe in Florida, and Georgia. How does a bicycle trail in Wisconsin appropriate the name Seminole?

madAsHell said...

ohhh....I see that my question has already been answered. Thanks!!

Roadkill711 said...

Ha - Whenever I see/hear the word Seminole, I recall a joke one of my cousins made about a half-ass indian tribe. Funny, but I advised my cousin to stop using that joke. So there.

Meade said...

@Paul, you do have some of the best places to ride out there on the coast: Mt. Tam, Boy Scout Camp, I rode all over Marin 20 years ago. I hope you also get a chance to ride Colorado sometime. Durango, Crested Butte, Eagle, Fruita — I highly recommend all of it. And if you like woods AND mountains, you'd love Asheville, NC, Harrisonburg, VA in the Shenandoah, and Slaty Fork, WV. What a great sport.

Meade said...

And speaking of sport, you don't see too many people picking up mountain biking at age 64. I thought I was old and bold getting started 25 years ago at 37 but let me tell you... this girl's got game!

rhhardin said...

A squaw on a bicycle.

Heartless Aztec said...

Test out the Creeper Trail in Western, VA and the Barter theater afterwards. Both fascinating particularly the Barter. Google it! The Creeper is a 20 mile gradual downhill ride through beautiful south western Virginia to the great little town of Abingdon. Not challenging but beautiful. For challenging try Kathryn Abbey Hannah park along the ocean in Seminole Beach, Florida. It will wear your ass out.

Curious George said...

" LarsPorsena said...
Looking good, AA. Be careful because hip replacement is a bitch."

Hope not. Cuz....

Lewis Wetzel said...

" . . . thanks to Governor Scott Walker."
I thought that he was called nazigovernor naziscott naziwalker.

Curious George said...

"Meade said...
And speaking of sport, you don't see too many people picking up mountain biking at age 64. I thought I was old and bold getting started 25 years ago at 37 but let me tell you... this girl's got game!"

I'm a few years younger....59...and I'm going to build a house. My lake home burned to the ground last fall. I always wanted to build my own house..so I guess this is the last chance. I need a knee replacement, and also a new hip. The question is before...or after. Right now I'm thinking hip...house...knee. We'll see.

Meade said...

@Terry, he was. But now we call him reagangovernor reaganscott reaganwaĊ‚ker.
It's Morning In Wisconsin.

Meade said...

Best wishes on all your reconstruction, CG. Tell your docs to measure twice.

ken in tx said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ken in tx said...

The Seminole were not originally an actual tribe. They were made up of renegade members of the Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and runaway slaves of those tribes' and of white settlers'.

Paul said...

"@Paul, you do have some of the best places to ride out there on the coast: Mt. Tam, Boy Scout Camp, I rode all over Marin 20 years ago. I hope you also get a chance to ride Colorado sometime. Durango, Crested Butte, Eagle, Fruita — I highly recommend all of it. And if you like woods AND mountains, you'd love Asheville, NC, Harrisonburg, VA in the Shenandoah, and Slaty Fork, WV. What a great sport."

I live near the base of Mt Diablo so that is my backyard riding so to speak. 3000 vertical feet of descending. There is a small park 30 miles away called Rockville laced with single track from easy buffed trails to highly technical rock gardens and and steep rocky chutes. It's rideable all the time as it's a sandy granular soil that never gets too muddy. In the summer we go to the Sierra with all the spectacular country up there, and Southern Utah and Arizona when we can with the amazing slickrock riding and otherworldy scenery. My wife and I are going in May. Put the bikes on the back of the RV, load up the cats and go. We don't have the time to go as far east as Colorado but we will someday.

Mountain biking is physically demanding, technically challenging, dangerous enough to provide an adrenaline rush, and takes you out into the most beautiful landscapes. Hard to beat.

dustbunny said...

I live in the Andalusian mountains of Spain where mountain biking is hugely popular even in the blazing heat of summer. It looks absolutely miserable to me but maybe I'm missing something!

Paul said...

"I live in the Andalusian mountains of Spain where mountain biking is hugely popular even in the blazing heat of summer. It looks absolutely miserable to me but maybe I'm missing something!"

Yes. You are. Totally.

jaydub said...

Dustbunny, I live on the West coast in Andalucia, and all the people who live anywhere East of Jerez de la Frontera seem to have moved next door during July and August. 100 degrees and up in Seville and Cordoba and worse in Granada will do that, I suppose. I bike some, but not after mid June.

dustbunny said...

I'm near Ronda and yes I'm sure no one rides in midday, but not being a rider, it always looks like a miserable pursuit to me. Paul, I was being facetious.

Danno said...

Blogger LarsPorsena said...
Looking good, AA. Be careful because hip replacement is a bitch.

I had a hip replacement on April 16th of last year and was given the okay to ride in May. I put over 900 miles on my hybrid/fitness bike (mostly on local rail trails) by the time winter set in. My hip is stronger than ever. Already have three rides in on the three 60-ish days we have had up here in Minnesota.

No hip replacement was not a bitch.

Paul said...

Dustbunny the fact remains that if it looks like a miserable pursuit to you you are missing somthing. Totally.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm glad people are reading here from Spain!

Meade said...

Danno is my newest sports hero.

Danno said...

Those trails look like they'd be fun for someone (like me) who is not an experienced mountain bike trail rider. I see I was pretty close to this trail/park when I rode the Southwest Trail down to where it intersects with the Capital City and Cannonball Trails a couple years ago. I didn't go further as I didn't have a trail permit for those other trails.

jaydub said...

Dustbunny, Ronda is one of our favorites - really enjoy Duchesa de Parcent restaurant overlooking the gorge. We were there on the12th.

AA, I'm typing this on the high speed train between Cadiz and Madrid at 250 KPH. Ain't technology great?

dustbunny said...

Jaydub, I've been in Ronda for nearly two years and I've never been there! Will have to check it out-so many restaurants in town and we usually cook at home.

Ann Althouse said...

"I see I was pretty close to this trail/park when I rode the Southwest Trail down to where it intersects with the Capital City and Cannonball Trails a couple years ago. I didn't go further as I didn't have a trail permit for those other trails."

Yes, that's exactly where it is. You can buy a one-day pass right at the entrance.

The easy path there has been great for me. I've done the intermediate a few times, but not yet this year.

Yesterday, I managed to do the beginner trail -- which is 1.2 miles -- 4 times. There are some climbs that take more work that the Capital City trail (and certainly more than a rail-to-trail, which is flat), but I find myself much more motivated to do the climbs, and in fact, that improved motivation carried over to doing the Capital City trail, where I always felt as thought I was in an antagonistic relationship with the uphills and a very friendly relationship with the downhills. My attitude got way better, I think because mountain biking is more engrossing as you pay attention to the details constantly and naturally.