ND Food & Travel Posts
RSS FeedNotes on Lake Superior Bike Infrastructure Pt. 2
Continuing last week's trip from Duluth, MN to Ashland, WI with a loop around Bayfield County.
Now that I'm on the lake shore, I started seeing a bunch of bikes around, even where there isn't much bike infrastructure.
Ashland, WI
Around 1900, Ashland was the third-largest Great Lakes port after Chicago and Buffalo. In recent years they have reclaimed the waterfront ore dock and brownfields for parks. A paved trail connects beaches to downtown and the Wal-Mart.
When I arrived in Ashland, I locked the bike at the library. Semi-recently (after the 2015 StreetView), the city got Lake Superior-themed bike racks along Main Street. There could be more of these. The local high school is making these and Lake Superior-themed trash cans.
There was a bike rack and repair-tools pole in Bayview Park. On the trail and ore dock there weren't other places to leave a bike.
Around a pedestrian access tunnel (Howard Pearson Plaza) there are some poles for holding a bike, but they are so out-of-place that they include an instructional sticker.
Bayfield County
Superior Vistas Bike Tour
This weekend, the local cycling and business associations hosted a bike tour. I don't know how organized this was, but they did put several color-coded wayfinding signs on the roads.
More info: https://washburnchamber.com/svbt/
Wisconsin Highway 13
I traveled north on WI-13 to Washburn, county road to Cornucopia, and from Bayfield back to Ashland. The state highway has a wide shoulder. On the trip south, it's hard to figure out getting onto US-2 without entering a terrifying highway roundabout? I walked the bike and crossed the highway a couple of times to avoid it.
Closer to Bayfield, and going onto county roads here, I noticed "share the road" signage.
Washburn
The local hardware store does bike repairs.
Found bike racks at the library, the rec center, and this café; another take on Lake Superior theme bike rack:
Cornucopia
Smaller town on the South Shore with a historical marker and artesian well. Good place to find a small, isolated beach and wade in Lake Superior. Added the fish fry place to OSM.
Bayfield (city)
Many people bring or rent bikes here, and take them on the ferry across to Madeline Island. Bike racks at the marina, library, and across the street on the Iron Bridge trail. Weirdly no bike infrastructure around the ferry terminal.
Local bike shop is Howl Adventure Center; they have a clothing shop downtown and a bike shop closer to County Road J.