Trek Factory Tour. Beer. Cheese curds.
Madiso is the capital city of Wisconsin. The population is a little more than a quarter million. It is somewhat constrained geographically as it sits in an isthmus and lands surrounded by four lakes-Lake Mendota, Lake Montana, Lake Kegonsa and Lake Waubesa. The city is located on the traditional land of the Ho-Chunk. The area is known as Dejope which means “four lakes” in that language. It is home to the University of Wisconsin and it has a progressive, young, active vibe.
Although this was a riding rest day, we had a tour scheduled at the nearby Trek Bicycle headquarters. It is in Waterloo which is about 30 minutes east towards Milwaukee. We were met outside the hotel by a couple of vans and yet ever more cheerful, young Trek Travel employees. Susan joined us but Michael and Elle chose to explore the surrounding environs. The headquarters are partly corporate and partly an assembly factory for some of the higher end bikes. It has just been remodeled and has a very modern look and feel. One of the perks of working there is open access to the cafeteria. Much like Apple and Google, one can eat for free. Good food too!
Jason, our tour guide, met us at the door and led us through the morning. There were areas of product development where we were not allowed nor could we take photos but most areas were open to our curious eyes. He was a wealth of history about Trek Bicycles and I highly recommend arranging a tour if one is in the area. Some of the bikes ridden to victory by Trek sponsored athletes are displayed. The later ones hadn’t;t been washed after the event which lent a certain authenticity to them. Interestingly the bikes do not belong to the athletes so are returned to the sponsor after the season or in some cases the event. Also sprinkled around the headquarters were life-sized, stylized cows, this is after all Wisconsin.
We rejoined Michael and Elle at the hotel where I took a break while the others explored the capital and state street areas. Later we met at Lucilles for what are supposed to be the best cheese curds in Madison. Not too bad. We had a pleasant dinner and then back to the hotel for more rest. Tomorrow my visitors will accompany me to Milwaukee albeit via a brewery tour! A modest 85 mile day for me tomorrow on flat terrain with a lot of bike paths.
Wanderings 