Lots to see and do in Madison. It's a very bike-friendly city.
Yellow Jersey on State St. is definitely a place to stop. Andrei mentions Machinery Row bike shop -- the other pro shop I'm sure he's thinking of is Williamson Bike Works -- which carries some of the Rivendell brands (Atlantis, etc.). But there are LOTS of bike shops around town -- some of which probably have some interesting finds. I also recommend a stop at Revolution Cycles, which seems to specialize mostly in older and refurbished bikes and service. Framebuilders Jon Kendziera (Jonny Cycles) and Ahren Rogers (Banjo Bikes) are based in Madison and used to work out of the Revolution Cycles shop.
Also, the entire city is criss-crossed with bike paths and bike routes (which share the road with cars) -- but my experience riding in Madison is that drivers expect to see cyclists on the road and are pretty respectful.
You have to walk State St. which runs from the capitol building to the University of Wisconsin -- much of the road is closed to car traffic. There are tons of cool shops and restaurants, so there is lots of non-bike stuff to do as well (good thing if your spouse isn't as much into bikes as you are).
One other thing to check out is the huge farmers market which completely encircles the capitol building on Saturday mornings. Lots of fresh fruit, veggies, baked goods, and even some arts and crafts are all available there.
No, I don't live in Madison -- but it's one of my favorite places to visit!
Kyle Brooks Akron, OH
> [Original Message]
> From: coel canth <coelcanth@gmail.com>
> To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: 8/5/2008 2:04:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR] What to see in Madison, WI?
>
> i only had a couple hours to wander around madison on foot and so
> missed the yellow jersey,
> but there was an interesting shop with a large stock of used bicycles:
> Budget Bicycles or someting like that.. on Regent street...
> bins were filled mostly with junk parts but i did manage to dig up a
> pair of suntour superbe pro pedals + clips + straps for $40.. not
> bad..
> (they were in a glass case) .. they will bargain with you a bit.
>
> there are also two other modern pro-type shops in the vicinity.. one
> on the lake shore (machinery row) and another big one at the major
> intersection before the used shop..
>
> andrei padlowski
> greenpoint, new york