Madison a biking hot spot

Madison and Dane County residents know the area is a great place to bike, but others are starting to take notice, too. In August 2006, Outside magazine recognized Madison as the best road biking town in America. In March 2006, Bicycling magazine rated Madison the No. 1 city for cycling, based on population. With miles of trails and plenty of country roads, there 's a great place to bicycle no matter where you turn.

Madison and Dane County residents know the area is a great place to bike, but others are starting to take notice, too. In August 2006, Outside magazine recognized Madison as the best road biking town in America. In March 2006, Bicycling magazine rated Madison the No. 1 city for cycling, based on population. With miles of trails and plenty of country roads, there's a great place to bicycle no matter where you turn.

Following are ways to make the most of bicycling in Dane County.

Register your bike

Over $300,000 worth of bicycles are stolen each year in Madison, according to the city 's bike registration site, www.cityofmadison.com/transp/Bicycle/bikereg.html. Registration costs just $10 and is valid for four years. Most bicycle shops will offer customers the option to register their bike at the time of purchase; registration and renewals can also be done at the City Treasurer 's office in Room 107 of the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., or online at www.madisonpay.com. It is especially important to register children 's bikes. Even though they outgrow them quickly, most children don 't carry identification and if the child should be involved in an accident, the bike 's registration will help emergency personnel contact parents more quickly.

Get a map

The city and county both publish free bicycling maps. They can be obtained at the Madison Transportation Department, Room 100, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., or at area bike shops. Maps are also available for download from the city 's Web site at www.cityofmadison.com/transp/bicycle/html. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin also sells touring maps of Wisconsin; visit www.bfw.org. The state Department of Tourism also offers a 72-page biking guide, complete with maps. Download it at www.travelwisconsin.com/maps_guides.aspx or opt to receive a copy by mail.

Rentals

Several local shops rent touring, mountain and tandem bicycles:

Budget Bicycle Center, 1230 Regent St., 251-8413

Williamson Bicycle Works, 640 W. Washington Ave. 255-5292 or 3729 E. Washington Ave., 244-2453, www.willybikes.com

Machinery Row Bicycles, 601 Williamson St., 442-5974, www.machineryrowbicycles.com 

Yellow Jersey, 419 State St., 257-4737, www.yellowjersey.org

The Red Bike Project, run by Budget Bicycle Center, allows riders to check out bikes for a deposit: $40 for the bike, $20 for the lock. The user is responsible for the bike and when it 's returned, so is the deposit. Contact Budget Bicycle Center (above) for information.

Take a group ride

Bombay Bicycle Club, PO Box 45685, Madison, 53744-5685, www.bombaybicycle.org. The biggest touring club in town, BBC offers regular rides on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturdays and Sundays, April through November, rain or shine. Open to anyone. Schedule available online or by contacting the group.

Wednesday Night Rides, www.wnbr.org. Rides scheduled every Wednesday night during daylight savings time on the back roads of Dane County.

Different Spokes, 244-8184, 273, 4117, http://personalpages.tds.net/~rherbst/, is Madison 's bicycling club for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and friends.

Madison 's Trek Bicycle stores offer weekly rides, including women-only rides. Visit www.trekstoremadison.com for more information.

The GRABAAWR (Great Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River) and SAGBRAW (Schramm 's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Wisconsin) attract thousands of riders. Call 843-8412 or visit www.bikewisconsin.com.

The annual ACT Wisconsin AIDS Ride, www.actride.org, 252-6540, held the first part of August, is a three-day bicycling fundraiser around southern Wisconsin.

Mountain biking

Kettle Moraine State Park, about 45 minutes east of Madison, is the area 's most popular destination for mountain bikers. Nearby trails include Badger Prairie Park in Verona, Cam-Rock Park near Cambridge, Quarry Ridge Mountain Bike Trail in Fitchburg and Devil 's Head Resort near Merrimac in Sauk County.

Mad FORCs, Female Off-Road Cyclists, www.madforcs.org, is a mountain biking club that offers long rides and racing.

Blackhawk Mountain Bike Club, 233-4661, is a ski cooperative in the winter and mountain-biking club in the summer.

Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association, www.worba.org, offers long rides and races.

Road racing

One of the more popular citizen road-racing events is the WiSport Cycling Series, held April through September. The races occur at a variety of sites. Go to www.wisport.org.

Madison has a number of United States Cycling Federation clubs (www.usacycling.org/clubs):

America 's Dairyland, www.teamamericasdairyland.com;

Brazen Dropouts, www.brazendropouts.org;

Capitol Velo Club, www.capitolveloclub.com;

Great Dane Velo Club, www.gdvc.net;

One Percent More Team Beans and Barley, www.teambeansandbarley.com;

Stoton Velo Club, 837-1134, www.stotoncycle.com.

For those interested in racing independent of a club, go to the Atkins Citizen Racing Club, www.atkinscrc.com.

More information

The Bike Federation of Wisconsin, 106 E. Doty St, Suite 400, 251-445, www.bfw.org is an active lobbying group for highway and helmet issues.