Country roads, helpful winds. May 20

 Todays ride to Winamac, Indiana was about 45 miles, more than half on lovely country roads, with a nice stretch on the Judson Erie trail.  For most of the way we had a friendly winds blowing us along; and we turned into a headwind, I tucked in behind Hope on her e-bike and avoided the worst of it.

The corn is coming up.

We were excited to see the Great American Rail Trail for the first time.  The GART is a collection of trails and links between them, and while you can download maps, so far not many trails are marked.

We see lots of old mile markers on the trails, usually not as neatly repainted as this one 

The BnB we are staying in is on the bank of the Tippecanoe River.

Scenes from our whimsical, kooky BnB.  We are in the Kite Room, for obvious reasons.  I didn’t include pictures of the old washing machine, the naked mermaid statue, or various other oddities on the grounds.

Riding painlessly through Cook County. May 19

 I rode a little more than half of a 60 mile ride to Lamotte, Indiana, ferrying in the truck after lunch so that I could grocery shop and take my turn at cooking dinner.  I rode very nice trails in the morning and missed some fierce headwinds in the afternoon, so it seemed like a good deal all around.  We were south of Chicago but still in a very built-up area, riding quite seamlessly through a network of trails, mostly through parks.  We did have to stop for street crossings, but frequently cars courteously stopped when they saw us at a crossing.

For dinner I made a very simple chili, always well received, and the hit of the evening, instant chocolate pudding.  One would have thought I had served a Julia Child chocolate mousse for the accolades it received.

Jim had a flat, and the gentleman on his knees stopped, announced himself as the owner of a bike shop, and had the tire changed in record time.

Riding in to Indiana on the Pennsy Trail.  The other side of the sign says Indiana, but it was in shadows. 

                                           A very nice trailhead on the Erie Lackawanna trail

Sometimes following the route directions (cue sheets) Nancy prepares is a bit like a scavenger hunt. She wasn’t sure this trail entrance would be marked, so she told us to turn at the house that looks like a pile of rocks. We knew it when we saw it!  Many riders enter the directions in GPS devices, which does have certain advantages, but I have resisted so far, as I love my cue sheets and I’m too lazy to figure out the technology.

Rainy day. May 18

 Last night’s forecast suggested that it would start raining about 3 am, and the rain would move through by mid-morning.  The storm didn’t cooperate and arrived a few hours late.  Our three strongest riders set out early, got drenched, but made the whole trip.  The rest of us sat watching it pour, checking radar for a lull in the storm.   Eventually, Ken loaded three of us in the van to get dropped off past the halfway point, freeing the van to carry others as necessary.  We three had a damp but easy 19 mile ride on a nice paved trail to our destination in Matteson, Illinois, a south Chicago suburb.  The other four riders proceeded to ride the whole distance, including a very muddy, wet first stretch on an unpaved trail, and arrived feeling quite proud to have successfully completed the trip.  I was a bit envious.

  

                                              John waiting in the lobby for a break in the rain.

                                          There’s a lot to be said for paved trails on a wet day.

Hope about to clean a very muddy bike.  The hotel staff gave us towels and put a hose from the laundry out a window so we could clean our bikes. Out bikes had a warm shower.

Another day, another canal. May 17

 Maybe we are on the Great American Tow Path, not the Great American Rail Trail.  Today we rode 45 miles from Peru to Morris, Illinois, with most of the ride along the Illinois and Michigan Canal.  The I&M runs from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, which then flows in to the Mississippi.  Father Marquette, in his fur trading and proselytizing journeys, recognized the utility of the canal, although it was not.constructed until the 1800’s, opening in 1848.  With the I&M and the Erie Canals, a waterway existed from New York City through the Great Lakes to New Orleans.  The Erie clearly had better PR, or maybe a catchier tune, as it is certainly better known, but the I&M was just as important.

We are riding through the quiet downtown of La Salle, Hope once again ahead to take the photo. 

Nancy on her recumbent at the start of the canal trail.

We got a very good history lesson at the toll collector’s house at a lock in Ottowa (Illinois, not Canada).

                              This War Memorial is along the Illinois River in Marseilles, Illinois.

This may look like the road not taken, but it was the road taken today. It was surprisingly easy riding on the dirt track, and since we couldn’t go very fast, delightful to enjoy the spring woods.  It is one of the days that will stand out in my memory for extraordinarily pleasant riding. 

                                  We came out of the trail onto an unusual wooden arched bridge.

Bumping along the trail. May 16

 We rode most of our 54 mile route to Peru, Illinois on the Hennepin Canal trail.  Although Google Maps claimed that most of the trail was paved, my legs, arms, and shoulders claimed otherwise, and I was very happy to get back on pavement for the last 15 miles.  Sunshine and highs in the 70s made for perfect biking weather  

One of several lift bridges we saw along the canal.

Figuring out where we were to make sure we didn’t head for Chicago.

We had to to stay on the south shore at this wide section, as a branch canal heads up the west side of the water toward Chicago.  At this point, it was obvious, but as the trail hops back and forth on either side of the canal, and there were no guiding signs, I came close to heading the wrong way.

We have seen lots of large families of geese along the canal.  Usually, the very protective parents hiss at us, but Hope managed to get a quick picture of these downy little guys. 

        Tastee Freez hot fudge sundae, a treat I remember fondly from my Midwestern childhood.  

A normal day on the trail. May 15

 It wasn’t too hot, it wasn’t too cold, the winds were gentle, the rain mostly held off, and we had a lovely 40 mile ride from Moline to the very small town of Annawan, Illinois.  Most of our ride today and tomorrow is on the Hennepin Canal, now a 104 mile linear state park.  The canal was originally proposed in 1830 but not completed until 1907, so it was pretty much obsolete from its opening.  Engineers did study its lock construction in planning the Panama Canal.  We saw lots of people fishing, other bikers, and a few boaters enjoying it as we rode along on a nice spring Sunday.

Peace and quiet

                                                                           An old lock

Riding off an old bridge.  My friend Hope from New Hampshire frequently rides ahead and takes photos of other riders.  Airdrop makes it so easy for us to share our pictures.  Remember the old days when we had to wait until we were home to develop or pictures?

Once in a while, I get ahead of Hope.  We rode through a number of wet stretches, and I finally got the last vestiges of mud from my first day adventure off my shoes.

We stopped for lunch at a very nice Izaak Walton League Park across the canal from the old towpath.  Chuck and Dave are always fast riders, so we saw them riding out as we came in to lunch.   

Day off in John Deere land

 We all welcomed a day off our bikes and out of the sun and heat in Moline, Illinois.  Moline is the headquarters for the John Deere Company, and our hotel was at John Deere Commons.  In addition to tractors and heavy equipment, we was lots of young (9-10 year olds) baseball players, collegiate golfers, and a few wrestlers, as Moline was hosting tournaments for all three sports, and they all seemed to be staying at our hotel.  I particularly enjoyed one of the baseball players, who when asked how his team did, replied, “Great!  We only lost by two.”  Kudos to his coach.

Here, a tractor, there a tractor…

It is always fun to stop in bike shops.  One near our hotel displayed this safety bike from 1900.  If you look closely, you may be able to tell that the wheel rims are made of wood.

We said goodbye to Lin from Northfield, Minnesota.  She is 82, rides a pedal-power, as opposed to electric, bike, and is an inspiration to all of us.  Mike and Donna from Colorado also headed home, so our group now numbers 11.  We always have the option of riding shorter portions of a trip, and all three had planned to ride just the first two weeks.

                                                                   My feelings exactly.