Capital City trail and "Ride the Drive"

Today was a very fun road bike ride.  I did my favorite ride--halfway around Lake Monona, then hook up to the Capital City Trail and take that until it meets up with the Southwest bike path back into town---a fun downhill ride for about 5 miles, then my usual bike path home to the east side.  The ride is mostly on bike paths both in the countryside and city.  I really enjoy it.  That ride is usually is about 25 miles, but I did a 3-mile detour today because it was "Ride the Drive"!   John Nolen Dr and East Wash were closed to cars and full of bikes instead.  It was so fun!  I wish rush hour looked like this every day!

Here were some beautiful trees on the Capital City trail.  Were they dogwoods in bloom?  I don't know.

 Here's John Nolan drive,

 and East Wash.

It was a perfect day, about 80 degrees, sunny, low wind and humidity.

Blue Mounds State Park trails

I think this was the hardest trail I've ever ridden on.  It was close to being no fun, but in the end I felt I want to go back and do better, so it must have been a little fun.  Also, I should have paid more attention to the names of the trails.  Next time I'll start with the "Gneiss & Smooth Trail" instead of the "Overlode Trail".  The rest all sound pretty ominous, "Chert Dip", and "Holy Shist Trail", but maybe the "Basalt and Pepper Trail" will be friendly enough.  The trails are rocky and branchy and have the steepest ups and downs of anywhere I've been.  Yikes.  So I think in the local area I prefer Camrock and John Muir.  But I will be attracted back here by the challenge to handle the rocks and steep parts better.

Note for future reference:  The trail I rode when downhill and then climbed back up at the end.  I suspect that's true of all of them.  Also the map on the state parks website is out of date, but the map you get at the entrance gate looks complete as far as I know.