The Lake Monona 100 started as a joke. What’s the most ridiculous way we could spend the day riding our bikes? Where could we ride, for a hundred or so miles, but also have lots of stops for coffee, beer, snacks, swimming, parks, more beer, maybe stop at home for a nap, etc.? How about a bike ride where you’re never more than like 6 miles from a bike shop, and could take a taxi to said shop in case you got a flat tire?

Enter the Lake Monona 100. One hundred miles of bike riding on Madison’s most popular bike route. Or not a hundred miles. You choose how far you ride, where to stop, who to ride with.

DOES IT COST MONEY? Nope. We’ve gone round and round on this topic, but in the spirit of the original Lake Monona 100 we’re keeping this a free event. Mostly because your expectations are lower when it’s free, and lower expectations are the name of the game here.

IS THE LAKE MONONA 100 A BIKE RIDE TO CURE A DISEASE? Yep. We’re trying to cure boredom. And loneliness. And the crippling fear of riding a hundred miles in one day. And the severe shortage of donuts in your life.

IS IT A REAL RIDE? Yeah, it’s a real ride. As real as anything that you just make up, then told some people about, and those people showed up thinking it was a real thing, and then it became a real thing. So in a way, it’s as real as you make it.

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO RIDE AROUND THE LAKE? As many times as you want. Remember reading choose your own adventure books? It’s like that. Wanna ride one lap around the lake? That’s just fine. Wanna ride ten? You go girl.

Here’s some quick math, though: One lap around the classic Lake Monona Loop is 13 miles, so if you want to ride 100 miles, you’d have to make that loop 7.7 times. The shortest way around the lake is just over 9 miles. If you get really lost, you could make it as many miles as you want.

The bottom line is it’s your ride. You’re gonna make friends. You’re gonna drink beer. You get to choose how long you ride.

WHAT DO I GET IF I WIN? If you ask that question again, you’re not getting invited back. This ride is not about winning. Or maybe it is, but a different kind of winning. There are no timing chips. There are no bib numbers. There’s no podium. BUT there will be cool people you can ride your bike with. There might be new friends. There will be laughs and garage sale stops and beer stops at houses that belong to people you didn’t know before. That’s winning. You can ride really fast. You can ride really slow. You can ride all day or just for 45 minutes. You do you. And have fun.

Join us for the 2021 Lake Monona 100. Or don’t. Have the day that’s right for you.