Peddling news on biking in Wisconsin

I turned my attention to a painting project at home and fell behind a pack of stories on cycling in Wisconsin, many of them tied to the national Bike to Work Week. (In deference to Wisconsin weather, the state's Bike to Work Week runs from June 6 to 11).

Fox Cities Trails: The Appleton Post-Crescent reports on the popularity of recreational trails in the area, particularly the Fox River State Trail and the Fox Cities Trestle Trail. The story goes on to detail plans for a 1.1-mile recreational trail along the river in Little Chute, and a couple projects on hold because of a cut in state funding.

More for Appleton: Traffic engineers are rolling out a plan that adds bike lanes and routes on 30 miles of city streets over the next 15 years, according to this report from Wisconsin Outdoor Fun. The work starts in July, and the primary targets are a two-mile stretch of N. Drew Street and about a mile-long stretch of less-traveled W. Franklin Street.

Rolling in Fond du Lac: Local cyclists have a number of Rails to Trails options, as detailed in this story from the Fond du Lac reporter. The piece features the Wild Goose State Trail.

Not at Picnic Point: Bicyclists will be banned from riding along the dirt path that leads to Picnic Point, starting May 28, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. UW-Madison officials made the decision because people complained about reckless bikers riding too fast among pedestrians and off the designated trail.

The drop to #3: Dave Schlabowske, the bike and pedestrian coordinator for the city of Milwaukee, displays a great grasp of transportation nomenclature in explaining how Wisconsin dropped to #3 in the rankings of Bike Friendly states. Schlabowske's Over the Bars in Milwaukee blog is the C-span of cycling news, with better fashion.