It was a beautiful Saturday morning when we took our three grandsons ages Andrew(11), Ben(8) and Caleb(6) on a bike ride on the Sugar River Trail located about 25 miles from their home in Madison. Jim got the bikes all loaded on their family van and away we went. After getting the bikes unloaded at the trailhead, a trip to the restroom for all, and buying trail passes for us grownups, off we went down the trail. Kay rode her hybrid road bike, the two oldest each rode their own bike and the youngest was on a tag-along behind JIm on his mountain bike. Early on, we had deja vu when we came upon a tree down across the trail from the previous night's storm and had to carry our bikes over it. [two years ago on our family bike trip on a different trail in Wisconsin, there were numerous trees down across the trail from the previous night's storm]. Thankfully, that was the only one.
The trail was unpaved, much of it wooded and often had beautiful flowers along the sides, including dame's rocket in shades of pink, purple and white. We crossed a number of trestle bridges over the Sugar River and its tributaries and one rebuilt covered bridge.
About 7 miles out we encountered a wet section of the trail. A & B. the two older grandsons were ahead and rode through the water. Grandpa decided to be more cautious and he and C walked around through some mowed grass next to the trail but didn't realize the grass had enough water for the two of them to get wet feet.
After an intersection with another trail, we began to meet runners/joggers/walkers wearing numbered tags. We asked a runner how far they were going and he said 50K (31 miles). Later we found out that some were going 50 miles! The run also included a half-marathon (13.1 miles) option.
Eventually we came to one of the run's aid stations. They had set up a canopy right over the trail with food tables along one side. So we had to walk right through under the canopy. We asked some questions about the run, and learned about the distances. Also, except for a few front-runners,
the goal for most people
was to complete the distance and have a good time doing it no matter how long it took. The food stop had an assortment of fruit, candy, cookies, soft drinks, water & electrolytes, someone making cheeseburgers and brats on a small grill, and even some alcoholic beverages. So this has Jim thinking that walking/slow jog for 31 miles on a rail trail could be fun.
We were invited to have some of the food as they had more than enough. As A & B had already walked through and were continuing to bike, Kay left to catch up with them and bring them back so they could have some food, too. She caught up to them just after one of them had wiped out and scraped his knee. So a tearful hike back where besides getting some food, the running support group gave us some ice to numb the knee, then supplied Band-Aids and first aid cream to soothe the scrapes.
Away we went again in much better spirits and we continued all the way to the end of the trail which is a total of 22 miles. But--then we have to turn around and pedal back. The original plan was that however far we went, after turning around Kay would go on ahead and get the van, while the rest went as far as they wanted and then would just hang out and take it easy. However, at least 2 of the 3 were determined to ride all the way back again! As we rode back they announced their mileage covered at various points, then eagerly proclaimed when they had ridden further than they had ever ridden before. When we came to the downed tree, people had cleared a path around it so we were able roll our bikes right around it. Kay and the oldest did travel a bit faster, but the rest of the group was only about 4 miles back at the end and eager to finish on their own. So all rode a total of about 45.4 miles!
At the trailhead where the van was parked was an ice cream shop that also had a few food items. So we each had a large cheeseburger and then had a nice big ice cream cone and had full tummies for the ride home in the van. Amazing how frequent snacks, rest stops and lunch provided by the running group kept us going strong. One grandson said the next day: today I want to ride 50 miles!
Comments
Post a Comment