On Wednesday, Matt dropped us off on a bike trail on the west side of Madison, on his way to work. We followed the very nice rail trail downhill, through the University, and onto the north shore of Lake Monona. We stopped at Machinery Row Bicycles for maps, directions, and a recommendation for lunch. The Badung Indonesian Restaurant was just across the street, and was excellent. We then rode up to the Capitol Square.

After topping off our lunch with the first Starbucks coffee we had since Mackinac Island, we walked around the Capitol and then headed back to the bike trail.

The trail crossed Monona Bay along John Nolan Drive and wound through several parks before ducking under the US12/18 freeway and becoming the Capital State Trail, which required a trail pass ($).

The trail wound along marshy areas, through a wooded Disc Golf course, and a meadow, where we left the trail to head south on hilly country roads back to Oregon.

Wednesday ride from Madison back to Oregon:

The next morning, we took one last ride, looping through the Lerner Conservation Park and to the grocery before a last stop at the Firefly Coffeehouse. Then the bike came apart and disappeared into its trailer cases, disguised as ordinary luggage. We juggled a few pieces to get the weight to less than 50 pounds (23Kg) each, and squeezed the rest of our gear into the remaining duffle bag (since we had shipped the large one home with the camping gear), with a tote bag and computer backpack for carry-on.

Thursday morning ride to push the odometer over 700Km (435 miles) for the trip, a nice round number to celebrate the upcoming 70th birthday.