MTB'ing in Milwaukee area

I'm working in Milwaukee, living in Waukesha for the summer semester, making some money....which is cool and all, but the only trail I've ridden since early may has been up the local powerline swath. Anybody ever do any riding around here? I've been up to kettle moraine without the bike, and plan on taking the bike my very next opportunity.... I've also heard that the trail along the Milwaukee river is cool, but I'm a little nervous about taking my $$$$ bike on a trail that runs through some of the scarier parts of milwaukee... at least I don't wanna do it alone....

Any suggestions? anybody in the area looking to hook up and ride?

I went to high school in Milwaukee, but didn't get into MTB until college.
The river trail is cool, no thugs on the trails and some great little terrain for urban singletrack. The Kettle Moraine area is good and not a bad drive for weekends, lots of trails out that way. You might check out around Devils Lake, it's a cool area even if there is no MTBing to be done (not sure). Up towards LaCrosse is some better riding, but that's a big drive from Waukesha.
My bro used to work at Rainbow Jersey on the East Side near Shorewood, go in there and they'll point you to the goods. The owner, Jerry, runs the local cyclocross circuit. Wheel & Sprocket may have some suggestions about where to ride, but since they are humongo make sure you're talking to someone who really knows (they hire a lot of idiots, and a few really cool folks).
Milwaukee isn't bad in seasonal doses. Everyone is a drunk, so that can lead to good times.

Edit: call Hayes (the disk brake company) most of the dudes in their customer service department are rad riders and good natured folks from the Milwaukee area. If you get Andy Peridowski, tell him the Cornell brothers say hi.

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Originally Posted by focus

I'm working in Milwaukee, living in Waukesha for the summer semester, making some money....

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GE Healthcare?

I thought bikes are allowed to use some of the trails in the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center's property in Bayside. It's a beautiful place, approx. 250 acres on Lake Michigan about ten miles north of Milwaukee. Wooded trails from the bluff down to the lake and wooded/prairie trails with ravines on top. When I lived in brewtown we rode at the SANC occasionally. Bring a sixer for some picnicing when you finish, just to give thanks to Jos. Schlitz.

Try Lapham Peak State Park. It is just south of I-94 near pewaukee lake. I have never tried the MTB trails since they made them but I know the other trails are fun to run on and ski on during the winter. Kettle Moraine is definitely fun.

Kettle Morraine, both north and south, is wicked good mountain biking - in the north part, you could link together a 40-60 mile ride if you wanted to...:eek: Not bad for Wisconsin...

If you are in Waukesha, Kettle Moraine trails are your best bet. John Muir trails (a mile or so from La Grange) have some fun loops, and the connector to Emma Carlin is good stuff too. The last summer I spent there, I would would ride out there 3-4 times a week and gorge myself on wild rasberries right near where the connector comes into Emma Carlin.
The river trails are ok if you live on the east side, but I probably wouldn't drive down there to ride. I grew up down there and used to rally around the ravines in Lake Park, some fun urban stuff on UWM campus and do the river trails...thats actually kind of fun loop sort of thing. Its also kind of fun to go huck and pin it down St Mary's sledding hill.
The river trails used to be waaaaaay shady south of Capitol Drive, but that area is gentrifying quite a bit so its less shady, but still keep your eyes open.

I just saw Andy (from Hayes) last week out at Deer Valley.

Woah, quad post.

so i guess these are my options for riding when I return to Chicago at the end of August?