everyday cycling Whenever you can, ride.
The Compass

Howard, by bike.

Howard gives a rider two friendly things to start from: flat, easy Wisconsin ground and a modest but genuine stock of paths, roughly 38 miles of cycleways in and around town. Most of the cycling picture here is still in its early days, with plenty of room to grow into. For summer riders especially, the fundamentals are already welcoming, which makes it an encouraging place to begin.

Gentle terrain 37.7 mi network 6 good-riding months ~0.0% ride to work
Last updated · 2026-07 See something off? Tell us →
Where it is
Howard — gentle terrain in Wisconsin
The shape

The shape, at a glance

The whole city in a screen: the profile, the ground and the riding year, and a few sourced figures.

The profile
ConnectedCalmAll-SeasonWelcomingRoom to RoamCar-Light

Strongest on All-Season. Car-Light is the near edge, with the most room to grow.

Ground & the riding year
Gentle
Mighty

The ground in Howard is flat, which takes climbing out of the conversation altogether. On terrain like this, the effort of a ride goes into distance and into the wind more than into hills, and beginners and returning riders alike tend to appreciate that gentleness.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

The riding year. About 6 comfortable months, with winter the stretch to layer up for.

Comfortable Hot & humid Cool & short days
Howard's best riding lands in the warm half of the year, roughly May through October, when the weather turns genuinely pleasant. The colder months from November into April are the trade-off of a northern location: winter here is a real season, and riding through it becomes a pursuit for the well-bundled and the determined more than an everyday default.
Terrain · Open-Meteo Elevation (Copernicus DEM) · 2026-07
Season · Open-Meteo (ERA5 climate reanalysis) · daylight by latitude · 2026-07
By the numbers
Bike network
37.7 mi
mapped cycleways and paths (OpenStreetMap)
Source · OpenStreetMap (Overpass): highway=cycleway/path
Everyday riding
~0.0%
of commuters bike to work (Census ACS)
Source · US Census ACS 5-year, table B08301
Is it a good month to ride? Read the year month by month.

Is it a good month to ride in Howard?

This is the shape of a usual year here — a climate pattern, not a forecast. Pick any month.

Month

January usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

February usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

March usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

April usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

May usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

June usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

July usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

August usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

September usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

October usually reads as comfortable.

Ordinary clothes, ordinary ride. In the long-run pattern this is one of the months that asks nothing special of you.

November usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

December usually turns cool, with short days.

Lights and a warm layer, and it is yours. Cool months almost always ride better than they look from indoors.

The comfortable stretch runs May through October — 6 of the twelve months.

6 comfortable 0 hot & humid 6 cool & short-dayed
Source · Open-Meteo (ERA5 climate reanalysis) · daylight by latitude · 2026-07 · a long-run climate pattern, not a forecast
The six dimensions

Read it dimension by dimension

Tap a dimension to jump to it.
Connected Room to grow Growing
Does the network join up into usable routes?
Howard's roughly 38 miles of cycleways are a real head start, and within the better-served stretches the riding connects nicely. The gaps between those stretches are the current limit, since a longer trip can still drop you onto regular roads partway along. Bringing the segments together into continuous routes is the improvement that would matter most here.
Source · OpenStreetMap (Overpass): highway=cycleway/path
Calm Room to grow Growing
How much riding is away from fast traffic?
The dedicated paths in Howard offer the calm, separated riding most people are after, though they do not yet reach every trip. Beyond them, riders share the road with local traffic, and the low-stress feel fades on the busier stretches. More protected space, linking the quiet paths already in place, is the clearest route to riding that stays relaxed the whole way.
Source · OpenStreetMap (Overpass): highway=cycleway/path
All-Season Room to grow Growing
How rideable is this place across weather and seasons?
The warm season gives Howard a solid run of comfortable riding, roughly half the year, when conditions are easy and inviting. Winter marks the edge of that comfort: the cold months are long enough that year-round riding takes real commitment, and many riders treat the bike as a warm-weather pleasure. Within that warm window, though, the weather rarely gets in the way.
Source · Open-Meteo (ERA5 climate reanalysis)
Welcoming Room to grow Growing
How easy is it for a newcomer or nervous rider to get started?
Flat ground makes Howard forgiving for a first-time or returning rider, with no hill waiting to catch anyone out. The piece still coming together is a network a newcomer can lean on without much route-planning; today the most comfortable riding takes a little familiarity to find. The paths that exist are a friendly place to build confidence, and as they connect, starting out here gets easier still.
Source · Open-Meteo Elevation (Copernicus DEM); OpenStreetMap (Overpass): highway=cycleway/path
Room to Roam Room to grow Growing
How far can you genuinely go by bike?
On flat ground with roughly 38 miles of paths to draw on, Howard already supports respectable distances for riders happy to mix path and street. The level terrain is an ally for range, letting you spend energy on the miles instead of the climbs. What holds practical reach back for now is the breaks between path segments; as those close, longer trips get a good deal simpler to plan.
Source · OpenStreetMap (Overpass): highway=cycleway/path; Open-Meteo Elevation (Copernicus DEM)
Car-Light Room to grow Growing
How well can the bike replace car trips here?
For the moment, almost no one in Howard bikes to work, which fits a place where car-free daily trips are still uncommon. Some of the groundwork is here all the same: the ground is flat, in-town distances are short, and there is a starter network to build on. A more connected, low-stress set of routes is what would let more people fold cycling into ordinary days, and it is well within reach.
Source · US Census ACS 5-year, table B08301
Take action

Where Howard has the most room to grow

The two dimensions with the widest opening here — read as an invitation, not a verdict. Every one of these is something a resident can move, and none of it requires expertise or a fight.

Car-LightGrowing · most room to grow

Car-light is a habit before it’s a statistic. Every ordinary errand made by bike makes the next one likelier — for you, and for the neighbor who sees it and thinks, I could do that.

Ride the ordinary trips, bring somebody with you, and have the numbers ready when someone asks.

Nothing in this section is sponsored and nothing carries an affiliate link — that separation is the point. All of it, joyful half included →

Find your people

Real, active groups we checked by hand — coalitions, community shops, ride clubs, and programs worth an email. Each is verified and dated. If one has gone quiet since we looked, tell us and we'll pull it.

Statewide

  • Wisconsin Bike FedThe Wisconsin Bike Fed is a statewide nonprofit, founded in 1988, that advances biking and walking in Wisconsin through education, legislation, and better infrastructure, and brings local bike communities together.Verified · 2026-07

National

  • PeopleForBikesA national bike-advocacy nonprofit and industry coalition that works on better bike infrastructure and policy, and publishes the City Ratings that score how good U.S. cities are to ride.Verified · 2026-07
  • Rails to Trails ConservancyThe national nonprofit behind the rail-trail movement, turning former rail corridors into multiuse trails and running TrailLink, a free finder for trails near you.Verified · 2026-07
  • League of American BicyclistsA national bicycling advocacy and education nonprofit that runs the Bicycle Friendly America awards program, the Smart Cycling rider-education courses, and a nationwide network of local advocacy groups, clubs, and certified instructors.Verified · 2026-07
  • Adventure Cycling AssociationAdventure Cycling Association is a national nonprofit for bicycle travel, founded in 1973, that maps long-distance routes, helped build the U.S. Bicycle Route System, runs guided tours, and advocates for better cycling routes.Verified · 2026-07
  • Safe Routes PartnershipThe Safe Routes Partnership is a national nonprofit that helps make walking and biking to school and around the neighborhood safe and easy for kids and families, supporting local Safe Routes to School programs with resources and policy expertise.Verified · 2026-07
  • Move UnitedMove United is a national nonprofit whose local chapters offer adaptive sports and recreation, including adaptive cycling and handcycling, so people with disabilities can ride and stay active in their communities.Verified · 2026-07

Nothing here is sponsored, and no link is an affiliate link — that separation is the point.

Guides that help here

If the profile got you thinking

Short, practical guides: choosing a bike, riding with confidence, and the kit that helps.

City bike, hybrid, or e-bike? Pick the type that fits your trips. Read the guide → Getting started, with confidence From rusty to riding, at your own pace. Read the guide → How to choose an e-bike The biggest single spend, done right. Read the guide → Locks & theft prevention Lock it so it is still there later. Read the guide → Lights that get you seen The cheapest real safety upgrade. Read the guide → Carrying errands by bike Racks, baskets and bags for a car-light week. Read the guide →

Browse all guides →