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rails
to
trails
u
spring/summer.12
13
hammered countless pitches out of the
park.
Back on the main trail, I cross the
river over a new foot-and-bike bridge
and find a mural depicting the history of
the area that’s emblazoned with images
of hawks, workingmen carrying lunch
buckets, Hank Aaron, civil rights march-
ers and anglers. A winding pathway leads
up to Silver City, a classic Milwaukee
neighborhood teeming with bungalows,
taverns and ethnic restaurants. From here
the trail continues
west toward the
Clement J. Zablocki
Veterans Affairs
Medical Center,
which showcases a
collection of exu-
berantly Victorian
buildings dating to
1869.
From here it’s a straight shot for seven
miles—including bridges over all major
intersections—through tidy urban and
suburban neighborhoods interspersed
with woods to Underwood Creek
Parkway. There, the Hank Aaron trail
connects to a network of county and state
trails that lead all the way to Madison, 70
miles away.
Riding back on the trail toward
downtown, I realize I’ve burned enough
calories to indulge in lunch at one of
Milwaukee’s fabled German taverns. I
turn south off the trail at a small exit
at 56th Street and make my way a few
blocks to National Avenue and 59th
Street, home of Kegel’s Inn. The eatery
offers a
gemütlichkeit
(cozy and convivial)
atmosphere and hearty food. After heap-
ing portions of bratwurst, German potato
salad and apple strudel washed down
with Riverwest Stein beer from the local
Lakefront microbrewery, I’m fortified for
the ride back.
Soon I meet Mary Lou and Dennis
Doehr, a couple from suburban
Wauwatosa astride a tandem bicycle. “We
come here every day,” Mary Lou says,
“even in the winter, so long as it’s not too
icy. We stop to see the trumpeter swans on
the lagoon at the VA Center. We watched
them paint the mural on the wall over
there all summer. And I like the wildflow-
ers; they bloom a bit different every day.”
“You just can’t beat getting on the trail
right by your house,” Dennis adds, “and
being able to see all that’s here.”
Jay Wal l jasper, author of
The Great
Neighborhood Book
, is contributing editor
of
National Geographic Traveler
and editor of
OnTheCommons.org
. He rides the plentiful bike
trails of Minneapolis year-round for both fun
and transportation.
Chad Brady of Appleton,
Wis., works on his seven-
week mural project south
of Miller Park, home of the
Milwaukee Brewers.