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Cycling in coulee country

The famous Elroy-Sparta is just one of the trails in a picturesque pocket of Wisconsin.

There's a beautiful pocket of Wisconsin that dairy farmers would have had all to themselves if it hadn't been for a few renegade bicyclists.

In 1967, Wisconsin made a bicycling trail out of an abandoned rail bed that it had devoted to hikers until it saw that most of the users were on bicycles. That trail, the Elroy-Sparta, sparked a national race to convert unused rail beds into trails.

Today, Wisconsin has 1,600 miles of rail trails, still more than any other state, though Michigan and Minnesota keep nipping at its wheels. Of those miles, more than a hundred skirt the edge of coulee country around La Crosse, a dramatic region of high ridges and valleys untouched by glaciers.

Not that bicyclists need worry about pedaling up hills — they're following in the flat tracks of the old locomotives, which didn't like huffing and puffing, either.

Three tunnels had to be blasted through stone to keep the trail flat, and they still thrill bicyclists. The walls are most and slimy, like the inside of a whale's belly, and the thick silence is penetrated only by dripping and the sound of footfalls on soggy limestone.

When I rode the Elroy-Sparta, I was nearly flattened by another cyclist in the depths of Tunnel No. 2. Large signs warn riders to walk their bikes through, and that's what I was doing.

But a large teen-age boy, silhouetted in the sunshine streaming in from the west end of the tunnel, wasn't. He was barreling straight toward me.

"Watch out!'' I shouted, then stood, frozen, not understanding why he kept coming. Finally, a foot from my front tire, the boy veered away. I looked back and saw the same thing he had: nothing. The darkness of the tunnel had enveloped him.

Another time, I rode the other two trails that radiate from Elroy, the hometown of longtime governor Tommy Thompson. Not coincidentally, it's also the home of Elroy Commons, a full-service hub where bicyclists can take showers, buy passes, rent bikes and have a picnic.

From there, I had a shuttle driver drop me off in Reedsburg, at the other end of the 22-mile 400 State Trail. From there, I followed the Baraboo River through the sweet-smelling June woods and marveled at the nature show: Clump after clump of dame's rocket and wild geranium. A doe loping along the trail ahead. A noisy sonata of birdsong.

The best thing about all of these trails are the unspoiled small towns through which cyclists ride. In La Valle, pickups were pulling up to the feed mill at the edge of a pretty dam. In Wonewoc, two Amish men were digging the foundation for a house.

People like bicyclists here. When I passed Wonewoc's bakery, voices called out, inviting me in. The Plum Valley Soil Conservation Association was having an ice-cream social, and for $1.25, I had coffee and a superb piece of blackberry pie with a trio of sunburned farmers.

There's a four-mile spur into Hillsboro, Wisconsin's Czech capital, so I rode it in search of an early dinner. At a cafe there, I had chicken dumpling soup and listened to the beginning of a sidewalk polka concert.

The next day, I had the driver take me north to Camp Douglas, at the other end of the 12½-mile, seal-coated Omaha Trail. As I set out, an elderly man in a pickup piled with cement bags waved and shouted, "Have a good ride!''

Birds darted along the sumac-lined trail. Soon, stone bluffs rose along the trail, and I reached the Omaha's tunnel. Walking over its rolling dirt floor, with my feet lost in the darkness and the thick, damp air pressing on my ears, gave me the curious sensation of walking on an ocean floor.

Back in the sunlight, I stopped to admire newborn colts at a trailside farm. Passing a nearby swamp, I heard the hollow rasping of bullfrogs.

I drove beside the Elroy-Sparta on the way home, stopping in Wilton to eat a homemade cream puff and listen to Louis Armstrong at Gina's Pies are Square, a cafe in a 1908 general store. In Norwalk, the "Black Squirrel Capital of the World,'' I stopped to admire a graceful brick church.

I followed the trail all the way into Sparta, where the fiberglass Ben Biken sits at the trailhead stride the high-wheeled "World's Largest Bicycle.''

It's true that bicyclists have brought new vigor to a difficult countryside. But the pleasure is all theirs.

Trip Tips: Biking the Elroy-Sparta State Trail

Getting there: The northern trailhead is in Sparta, just west of  the I-90 exit to Wisconsin 71.

It's a little tricky to find coming from the north; from southbound 27/71, turn east on 16/71 and then right onto Water Street, at the river. Turn east onto Walrath Street and south on John Street; follow signs across I-90 overpass to trailhead.

Elroy-Sparta: 32 rolling miles between Elroy and Sparta, through three long, damp tunnels (bring a strong flashlight). The middle section, around Wilton, is heavily Amish.

From Sparta , the 21½-mile La Crosse State Trail heads west to Onalaska, connecting with the 24-mile Great River State Trail, which heads north along the Mississippi to Trempealeau.

With the 22-mile 400 State Trail from Elroy to Reedsburg, it creates a 103½-mile trail system, www.bike4trails.com.

Three trails radiate from Elroy. In addition to the Elroy-Sparta, which heads northwest, the 400 runs 22 miles southeast to Reedsburg along the Baraboo River, and a 4-mile spur goes west into Hillsboro, 800-844-3507, www.400statetrail.org.

Juneau County's Omaha Trail runs 12½ miles north to Camp Douglas, just off Interstate 94, through a short tunnel. All of the surfaces are finely crushed limestone except the Omaha, which is seal-coated. 888-606-2453, www.elroywi.com

Trail passes cost $4 daily, $20 annual. The day pass for the Omaha is $1.

Bike rental: At Elroy Commons, Trek bikes, carts and tag-alongs rent for $3 an hour, $12 per day. At the trail headquarters in Kendall, bicycle rentals are $5-$12.50 for a half-day and $10-$25 for a full day.

Shuttle service: From Kendall, drivers ride with bicyclists in their car to the starting point, then return the car to Kendall (bring two sets of keys). For fees and reservations, call 608-463-7109.

Camping: It's $10-$20 at Elroy's City Park, first-come, first-served. Campers can use the showers, picnic areas, playground and concessions at Elroy Commons.

In Wilton, the Tunnel Trail Campground has a heated pool, playground and grocery store. Campsites are $34. It also has a camper cabin that sleeps four, $70-$80, and two camper cabins that sleep six, $100-$110. 608-435-6829.

Motels: In Kendall, Country Livin' Motel has rooms right on the Elroy-Sparta trail six miles west of Elroy. 608-463-7135.

Dining: In Wilton, Gina's Pies Are Square serves sandwiches, soups and healthy entrees as well as pie. 608-435-6541.

Information: Elroy Commons, 888-606-2453. Sparta chamber, 800-354-2453.

Last updated on May 4, 2011