The Flickr Prime Image Generatr

With an extra day off to start the month, I decided that I wanted to ride the Badger Trail southward towards Illinois. My body had other plans and a twinge in my bad knee after the detour around the Stewart Tunnel left me cautious on continuing on with my journey southward. As it was still only May and I didn't want to further complicate the prime cycling months ahead, I decided that getting to Monroe would suffice for the day and with that a stop at the Sunrise Donut Café was made.

The café has been a favorite of mine since I was introduced in 2022, while only opening 5 years ago they have become a favorite destination for those traveling far and near by all of modes of transport through Monroe (many by bike on the Badger Trail). The amazing coffee, sandwiches, atmosphere, donuts, and amazing personalities inside have drawn me to this spot annually as a rite of passage for the last four years.

Unfortunately only a few short days after my visit, a fire started on the patio of another local establishment housed in the the same building and the fire spread throughout damaging apartments and the café, leaving several residents without homes and the square without the best spot for a donut. It'll be a long process but through community support the individuals displaced as well as business side of things, the structure will be rebuilt and like the sun on a new day they rise again. I'm hopeful they will reopen before the year is out but it's a patient process and I know it'll be worth the wait.

Always a good day when the @brewers shutout the @yankees in Milwaukee, @jmisiorowski pitched 6 scoreless innings recording 11 strikeouts including a heater recorded at 103.6 miles per hour. This kid is amazing and so are the Brewers.

A picture perfect day for cycling the Great Sauk Trail, except until the end when I ran over my pink bike helmet with the car. C'est la vie.

I met Conner while he was out exploring Madison on two wheels, and I have to admit that it was his pink pedals on his bike that caught my eye. We made small talk where I learned he was visiting from Utah as the tour manager for @themossband who were playing at the @majesticmadison later in the evening. As the tour manager, he has quite the role behind the scenes to keep the shows going so I was grateful to share conversation with him on such a beautiful spring evening. I had signed up to do overtime the next morning so I couldn't stick around for the show, but I put their playlist on my phone while cycling home and recommend checking out @themossband if you want some new tunes on your playlist (who knows, maybe they are already there!?) Either way it's fun to meet people visiting Madison as tourists and learning more about them, who knows maybe someday I'll cross paths with someone whose read this very post?!

If you like my strangers portraits be sure to check out the (608)strangers folder here on Flickr, or even better yet check out the 100 strangers group on Flickr to find more inspiration from across the globe!

Melbourne May 2026

Tanker Prime, northbound, St. Clair River