Spring Fling 2026 — Day 1: Madison to Rockford

Spring had been scheming against us for a while, so Harald and I decided to scheme right back.

A few months back we started cooking up a five-day spring trip: Madison → Rockford → Galena → Lancaster → Blue River (George’s) → Madison. Hotels the whole way — no tents, no sleeping pads. Living high on the (vegan) hog.

This is Day 1.

Madison to Rockford

We rolled out around 9am. It was 45F at the start — which, fine, is not actually that cold. But I had dressed appropriately, perhaps too appropriately. When the sun came out from behind the clouds and we weren’t blasting into a headwind it was quite pleasant!

Harald was on mostly the same pink setup he ran for the Alps trip in 2024 — that bike has seen some things and keeps asking for more. I, on the other hand, had a little chat with my orange gravel bike (the one we took to Colorado last year) and told it to lose the extra carrying capacity and get a bit more aerodynamic. It complied, mostly. Whether I actually went faster is a matter of some debate — see also: the wind, the knees, below.

About that wind. We were heading roughly south/southeast, and the wind was coming out of the south/southwest — stronger than we were hoping and expecting. Not a full crosswind, not a full headwind, just enough of both to feel like we were pedaling through lightly set Jell-O on the south-pointing stretches. This was the kind of wind that makes you check your brakes because surely something must be rubbing. Nope. Just the air, doing air things.

The good news: every time the route swung east, that same wind became our best friend. Endure the south-bound segments, coast the eastward ones, repeat. We’ll take it.

The riding was good. We stopped in Brodhead, where I made “choices” — specifically, a yeasted, sugar coated donut and a giant fountain Pepsi. Second-elevensies. The donut was unremarkable in that typically gas-station way, and the Pepsi was approximately the size of my head. Worth it. Harald ate something more sensible. (I assume.)

After “lunch” we started adding a bit more east into our directionality, and biked through a very quiet part of the state. It was starting to warm up enough for me to take off my tights and jacket; Harald had ditched his much earlier. Eventually we made our way to Rockton and from there we were mostly in suburban and urban settings, biking on shared use paths and sometimes bike lanes and other times just roads in industrial parks.

By the time we rolled into the Rockford area (Loves Park, technically I think) it was around 3:30pm, and the sky had decided to offer just a light sprinkling of passive-aggression for the last 20 minutes or so. Not real rain. But annoying enough… Plus that wind.

Didn’t matter much, because we had a destination in mind at Pig Minds — an all-vegan spot — and it delivered. Harald went for a tofu sandwich; I got a vegan Reuben. Then, because we were hungry cyclists who needed to pad out the calorie math (and one of us had already pre-loaded with sugar water and fried dough), we tacked on an order of edamame dumplings in a light Thai coconut curry as a sort of re-appetizer / honorary dessert situation. Yum.

Post-dinner we had to navigate what I can only describe as a deeply car-centric Rockford shopping corridor to find an Aldi. And find it we did — slightly harrowing, entirely worth it — emerging victorious with snacks and future-calories safely stowed. Hummus, lots of hummus.

Home for the night was the Riverview Inn and Suites (a 30 min bike ride), which Liz and I stayed at a couple years ago on a Rockford out-and-back. It was pretty nice then and it’s pretty nice now. Weirdly devoid of guests, the neighborhood just ain’t what it used to be.

82 miles on the day. My knees were barking a bit by the end — nothing too alarming, but the kind of reminder that says hey, we’re still here, please take care of us. Message received, knees. I’ll behave. (I will not behave, sadly.)

All in all: a really good Day 1, wind tax mostly refunded on the eastbound stretches. The food was great. Temperatures were reasonable. Can still walk.

Day 2 tomorrow — onward to Galena.