Category: Weekly Update

Welcome to the Madison Bikes Newsletter! It’s still a fresh, new school year, with kids of all ages pedaling to and from school and other activities. Please be welcoming, patient, and helpful to the newcomers.

Paint the town safe

Madison will get its first safety-focused asphalt mural in September, and you can join the crew sprucing up West Dayton Avenue between North Frances and North Bedford streets with a design called “Rainbow over Zebra Mountain” by bernie & zuzu of Madison. Pavement mural painters from Chalk Riot and local artists will be on hand from Sept. 15 to 19 to guide volunteers in prepping and painting the street surface.

Pavement murals have been shown to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and pedestrian-automobile conflicts. And they look cool! Learn more about the project and sign up to volunteer here.

Say your piece about Regent Street

Madison’s planed Regent Street reconstruction is the subject of a public information meeting at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 15, via Zoom (registration required). According to a Madison Bikes community bike audit event, lots of you are headed down or across Regent Street on a regular basis. Help guide the project by taking a city survey about how you use the street and what you’d like to see it become.

In semi-related news, last week, the Transportation Commission unanimously voted to test removing rush hour lanes from Willy Street. The test results could change the City’s perspective on what’s possible with arteries like Willy St, Monroe St, and Regent St — streets with 15,000 daily cars, rush hour lanes, dense business districts, large residential populations, poor pedestrian crossings and sidewalks, and no bike facilities.

Track your travel … and win

Smart Trips Challenge 2025 is on, encouraging the Madison area to find opportunities to go car-free or -light. Take on some friendly competition while logging trips you make around town by bike, bus, foot or carpool during the month of September and qualify to win some pretty good prizes.

Spotlight on Stoughton Road

From 2017 to 2021, the 4-mile stretch of Stoughton Road between the Beltline and Highway 30, racked up crashes at four times the rate of comparable Wisconsin roads — 1,200 of them, with injuries in nearly 350 of them. The Capital Times recently covered differences between local and state priorities. Residents, including Ald. Sean O’Brien, hope to see more pedestrian- and bike-friendly access. (Read close to catch O’Brien citing his experience on a Madison Bike Week infrastructure tour led by Madison Bikes board member Craig Weinhold!)

Bike Benefits event Sunday at Starkweather Brewing

The second Bike Benefits Spotlight Event of the year will highlight the Starkweather Brewing Company on Sunday, Sept. 14. 

The plan is to do a ride on your own or with friends, then sit down for a conversation with Madison Bikes. Starkweather Brewing Company, 2439 Atwood Ave., is located a few blocks from the Monona Lake Loop, the Capital City Trail and the Starkweather Creek Path, so there are lots of great routes nearby.

At 3 p.m., join the discussion with Madison Bikes board members at the brewery.  The conversation will focus on changes that could improve bicycling in Madison, how those changes can happen, and how you can have an impact.  We will also describe some upcoming events and resources available through Madison Bikes.

Starkweather Brewing will provide $1-off coupons for those participating in the discussion.

The facebook link is here.

Join us!

Upcoming events

Madison’s Transportation Commission meets online at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Midvale Boulevard resurfacing — an opportunity for bike infrastructure upgrades? — is on the agenda, though specific meeting materials won’t be available until later today.

The next public meeting on the John Nolen Drive reconstruction project — with a construction schedule and impact discussion and opportunities to ask questions of city, state and contractor representatives — will be held online at 6:30 p.m. on Sept 22.

The 25th anniversary Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Madison on Oct. 2nd at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave. It’s a night of curated short films depicting cyclists in South Africa, London, China — and Wisconsin, where a group of young riders take on the three-day La Crosse Omnium. Enjoy valet bike parking! More info and tickets here.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!

Welcome to the Madison Bikes Newsletter. September is peak bike month as people return to work and 8,000 incoming freshmen drop into our city, many of them with bicycles. Please extra careful, patient, and helpful to the newcomers.

Regent Street (Randall to Park St) reconstruction

The City has just launched its Regent Street reconstruction, with a Public Information Meeting scheduled for Sept 15 and a survey open until Sept 22. Please take the survey! Last year, Madison Bikes community held a bike audit event that was a real eye-opener about just how many bikers use and cross Regent St and frequent the businesses there despite how the street has no bike facilities. It also revealed just how congested and claustrophobic the pedestrian facilities are. Six months ago, business owners announced a pedestrian- and gameday-centric vision for the street. This section of Regent Street is ripe for major improvement!

In semi-related news, last week, the Transportation Commission unanimously voted to test removing rush hour lanes from Willy Street. The test results could change the City’s perspective on what’s possible with arteries like Willy St, Monroe St, and Regent St — streets with 15,000 daily cars, rush hour lanes, dense business districts, large residential populations, poor pedestrian crossings and sidewalks, and no bike facilities.

Lakeshore path – Limnology Bypass

UW is improving the Lakeshore Path where it passes the Limnology Bldg, just west of the Memorial Union. Work begins Sept 2 and lasts until November-ish. During the construction, bikes will detour to the north side, sharing the pedestrian path. Please go slow and be courteous. That path sees 7,500 people a day, making it by far Madison’s busiest path.

Seems simple, right? Take a peek at the years of work behind this!

Big Tent Advocacy

A recent facebook thread asked people to encourage the UW to follow-up on last year’s study of options for paving and lighting Lakeshore Path. The response was animated, and a bit negative, with many saying they wanted no improvements because they liked the gravel path just the way it is. It was a good reminder that bicycle advocacy is a very big tent, and 100 bicyclists likely have 100 different opinions about how to make bicycling better.

We see that also with Midvale Blvd’s resurfacing (survey open until Sept 2). Where some bike advocates see a chance at long-overdue Midvale bike lanes, others are content to write off Midvale and focus on improving other routes.

<soapbox> Differences of opinion are healthy and part of what makes our big tent of bicycling great. But I encourage everyone to always be thinking beyond their own bicycling needs and comfort. Think about people who bike out of necessity, not choice. Think of people who don’t know the back roads and might use google maps for navigation. Think about ways to grow bike ridership. Think about helping people choose biking over driving. Think about routes, lifestyles, seasons, and tolerances other than your own.</soapbox>

The Virtue of Patience

A few weeks ago, we reported that the newly-opened Wilson St cycletrack took seven years to come to fruition. Seven years is how long it took to land on the moon. It’s also how long it took Caeser to conquer Gaul, for Hoover Dam to be built, and for the Beatles to play music together. My first reaction was “Wow, that’s FAST!”

It’s painful how slow and piecemeal bike infrastructure comes together, how strong the headwinds are, how haters point out “it doesn’t connect anywhere!“, and how fickle and easily derailed these projects can be. The Glacial Drumlin connector and North Mendota trails are two high-profile examples of turtle-paced projects. The West Beltline path is another.

Stretching from Whitney Way to High Point Rd, the West Beltline path has been planned since 1997 and has been built in segments over the last 25 years. Its penultimate segment — a short 1000′ link from Zor Shrine Rd to High Point Rd — was just finished and you can now pick it up behind REI. The final segment is planned for 2028. When done, it’ll have taken over 30 years to complete. I think about that and wonder what other projects take nearly half a lifetime to finish? Can anyone imagine any 3-mile road taking 30 years?

This is both a rant and a meditation on what it is to be a bicycle and trail advocate. I look forward to the West Beltline Path ribbon cutting … just three short years from now!

Rapid Fire

September RoundTrip Smart Trips Challenge! Win prizes just by logging your trips (bike, walk, bus, and even carpooling) and playing Bike Bingo

Sunday September 7 from 5 – 6:30pm is the next Bike Advocacy Meetup at Machinery Row Bicycles. (if you’re not too tired after the Ironman)

October 2 Bicycle Film Festival! Last year’s was a gorgeous evening full of community and grooviness. This year promises to be even better.

Interested in plugging into a real-time advocacy feed? Join the Madison Bike Advocacy discord group (this sign up link works until Sept 7).

Nakoma Rd construction is taking longer than expected. Any bets that it’ll be done before winter?

The Tancho Drive Path is kicking off. Path construction is expected in spring 2026.

That’s all for this newsletter. Thanks for reading, have a great week, and enjoy the early fall weather.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!

Welcome to the Madison Bikes Newsletter. This week we have an exciting transportation challenge, a group ride spotlight, and a Bicycle Film Festival reminder.

Before we dive into bike news, September is coming up, meaning there will be an influx of new street users in Madison. Whether you’re a long-time Madison resident or new to the area, everyone should take extra care when moving around the city over the next month. Drivers should expect to see lots of pedestrians and bikes, especially new students (who may make mistakes– everyone does). Seasoned bicyclists should also take care and be patient with those who are less experienced. Historically, September is the month with the most motor vehicle on bike crashes, and the only ways to reduce that are to design streets with vulnerable users in mind (we’re working on that part) and to be extra careful, especially when driving.

Remembering Sarah Debbink Langenkamp through action

Today marks three years since the tragic crash that took the life of Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, a devoted mother, diplomat, cyclist, and sister of board member Alicia Bosscher. Sarah’s family has turned their grief into action by championing the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act, a bill that would make biking safer nationwide. Read their story and learn how we can all support safer streets by reaching out to our elected leaders. Read more

RoundTrip’s September Smart Trips Challenge

Did you know you could win awesome prizes just by logging car-replacement trips with biking, walking/rolling, or taking the bus? This September, RoundTrip is putting on the Smart Trips Challenge! Every trip you take that replaces driving alone counts towards the challenge. Weekly and grand prize drawings will be done with prizes ranging from bike-related swag to $150 gift cards. For a chance to win even more prizes, you can also participate in the Bike Bingo challenge, supported by Machinery Row and Madison bikes!

The Smart Trips Challenge seeks to inspire more Dane County residents to swap solo drives for greener options, and to reward those who drive less year-round, whether for work, school, errands, or
entertainment. The challenge is free and open to everyone 18+ in Dane County. To participate, simply register with RoundTrip and log your eligible trips all month for chances to win. The first 50 people to log a trip will receive a $10 Ian’s Pizza gift card!

Group Ride Spotlight: Blonde Duck Bike Club

Looking for a fun, welcoming ride? The Blonde Duck Bike Club hosts beginner-friendly, social group rides every Thursday night from early spring through fall. The group was recently featured in an article in Madison Magazine. Focused on creating an inclusive space for women and queer riders, the club keeps things approachable with a “no drop” promise—no one gets left behind. Expect laughter, conversation, and maybe even a treat along the way. Once a month, they also host an open ride welcoming everyone. Updates and ride information can be found on their Instagram!

Bicycle Film Festival

In case you missed our last post, Bicycle Film Festival is coming back to Madison on October 2nd, 2025! BFF is a curated selection of short bicycle-related films to inspire, move, and excite you about human-powered travel. Last year was a blast, and you won’t want to miss out on the fresh set of short films we have lined up for this year. Get your tickets here https://barrymorelive.com/event/25th-annual-bicycle-film-festival-madison and check out the post linked above for all the details!

That’s all for this newsletter. Thanks for reading, have a great week, and be safe!

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!

Welcome to the Madison Bikes Newsletter. This week we have a call for input on Stoughton Road and some news about Ride the Drive. Read on to learn more.

Stoughton Rd Survey

We’ve talked a lot about Stoughton Rd recently. On July 15th, WisDOT held a public information meeting where redesign plans were presented for much of Stoughton Rd and its intersections from Voges Road, South of the beltline, to just North of Milwaukee Street. There are redesign plans for the corridor itself and for each of the major intersections along the road. Several of the intersections have multiple designs, and the survey intends to gather feedback on your preferences. So if you haven’t taken it yet, please review the materials on the project page and take the survey.

Pedal Parade at Ride the Drive

Ride the Drive is coming up soon on Sunday, August 10th. John Nolen Drive and part of Williamson St will be closed to motor vehicles so pedestrians, bikes, and others will be able to stroll or roll down the entire width of the roads. You won’t want to miss any of the awesome, free activities along the route and at the hubs at McPike, Law, and Olin Parks. During RTD, Madison Bikes and Machinery Row will be hosting a slow-rolling celebration of all things biking:

Let’s celebrate our Madison Bike community with a bit of fun and whimsy! We hope you’ll join us for a bike parade during Ride the Drive! Costumes and bike decorations are encouraged, but not required. We’re hoping to have representation from all types of bikes and bikers, so invite your friends, family, and neighbors! See flyer for more details.

Speaking of Ride the Drive, we’re still looking for volunteers for Madison Bikes’ Ride the Drive festivities. Our tent will be on John Nolen Drive from 10 am until 2 pm where we will be making bike powered smoothies and talking to people about Madison Bikes – who we are, what we do, and upcoming events.  You can sign up to volunteer here!

That’s all for this newsletter. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!

Water, water, everywhere. Who wants to visit it on a bike? This week’s newsletter visits the future of one of Madison’s most scenic bike destinations and one of its least bike-friendly thoroughfares. Ride along, will you?

Madison LakeWay public meeting

Tonight — Monday, July 21, at 6:30 p.m. — the Madison Parks Department will host a virtual public meeting on the first phase of development on the Lake Monona shoreline along a rebuilt John Nolen Drive. The meeting will include an overview of proposed lakeshore “amenities,” with updates on progess and next steps, as well as an opportunity to provide feedback. Madison LakeWay, the organization partnering with the city of Madison on plans for more than half a mile of the waterfront, has more information on what to expect.

Speaking of John Nolen Drive construction, if you’re in the mood for some long-term bike route planning, Madison is laying out its plan for detours — including for bike path closures — for several years’ worth of John Nolen construction.

More South Stoughton Road

If you missed the July 15 public information meeting on planning the future of South Stoughton Road / Highway 51, Madison’s Transportation Commission will get an update at their virtual meeting on Wednesday, July 23. As mentioned in previous Madison Bikes newsletters, the current design lacks bicycle and pedestrian access along and across the highway. You can learn more about those issues and how the corridor may change in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s study materials.

Volunteer for Ride the Drive

Volunteers are needed for the Madison Bikes event at Ride the Drive on Sunday, Aug. 10. The Madison Bikes tent will be on John Nolen Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. cranking out bike-powered smoothies talking about Madison Bikes. Sign up to volunteer with Madison Bikes here. And/or sign up to volunteer with Madison Parks for the larger event here.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!

Welcome to the Madison Bikes Newsletter. This week, we have some meeting news, construction updates, group ride info, and a Madison Bikes volunteer opportunity.

Stoughton Rd Public Information Meeting

On Tuesday, July 15th, there will be another public information meeting for planning the future of Stoughton Rd / US 51. The meeting is one in a series that will dive into the current and potential future issues with the corridor, and what designs and alternatives area residents would like to see to make the best use of the space. There are a myriad of issues with the current design, including a lack of bicycle access along and across US 51, and a glaring lack of pedestrian crossing opportunities. The intersections at Buckeye and Pflaum are notorious for being some of most dangerous intersections in the entire city.

A while back, we shared some conceptual design alternatives from WisDOT on potential changes to the road. While none of the alternatives are perfect, the options that improve the ability for cyclists and pedestrians to safely use and cross the road without going miles out of their way are my preference. What are your thoughts on US 51? If you are interested, you can use the link on the project page to send your comments (look for the “comment now” link), or even better, you can come to the meeting on Tuesday and tell WisDOT you care about safer pedestrian and bike access.

Bikes and Tacos

Did you know that every Wednesday, you can join a casual group ride and get discounted tacos? Well, now you do! Join Motorless Motion for the weekly Taco Ride every Wednesday at 6pm, beginning at their shop on W Washington Ave and ending next door at Bandit Tacos.

A few weeks ago, board member Craig Weinhold helped lead a special Infrastructure edition of the Taco Ride in a collab with Madison Bikes. The ride rolled through town and stopped at notable infrastructure like the exciting, newly completed E Wilson cycletrack (part of the E Wilson reconstruction project). The infrastructure x taco ride was the first of its kind, but hopefully there will be more room for collaboration in the future. And there will always be tacos, so what are you waiting for?

Construction Season Means a Detour for the Detour

Heads up to commuters in SW Madison: this week (July 14-23) Cherokee Dr will be closed to through traffic. Since it was being used as a detour for the Nakoma construction, there will be a new detour on Manitou Way for the week. More info can be found on the City’s Facebook post or the project website.

Volunteers needed for Ride the Drive

Volunteers are needed for Madison Bikes’ Event at Ride the Drive on Sunday, August 10th. This is separate form the volunteers needed by the City of Madison Parks for Ride the Drive. Our tent will be on John Nolen Drive from 10 am until 2 pm where we will be making bike powered smoothies and talking to people about Madison Bikes – who we are, what we do, and upcoming events.  You can sign up to volunteer here!

That’s all for this newsletter. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Thanks to our sponsors who make our events possible!