Eleven days from one great American city to another - today's ride brought me through Indiana, into Illinois and delivered me to the center of Chicago. By the time I started this morning, thunderstorms had moved east overnight providing mostly dry and comfortable conditions for the ride.
Situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the only way for westward travelers to approach Chicago is to go around Lake Michigan and approach the city from the south. For a cyclist, this poses challenges in terms of density and limits the feasible approach routes. Fortunately, a system of dedicated bike trails and bike paths simplified matters.
Three dedicated bike paths allowed me to navigate pass the busy freeways and congested city roads leading into Chicago. The Oak Savannah Trail from Hobart, IN to Griffith, IN - densely lined with trees - provided a welcome respite from the harassing crosswinds in the open Indiana farm fields. A second rail trail - Erie Lackawanna Trail - bypassed the busy boulevards in the industrial Indiana communities adjacent to Chicago. Finally, the Burnham Greenway took me through the working class neighborhoods south of Chicago up to Lake Michigan.
 |
| View of Lake Michigan with Chicago in background |
Lake Michigan will be the only one of the Great Lakes I will visit on my cross-country ride. The lakefront trail runs from South Chicago into downtown Chicago and provides great views of the impressive Chicago skyline. The whole journey from outskirts to downtown Chicago measured over 50 miles - more the half the mileage covered today and a testament to the dimensions of the Windy City.
 |
| Chicago skyline with marina in the foreground |
Tomorrow provides another rest day (hence no blogging) as I prepare to cross the 1000 mile mark on Monday. A special thanks to my great hosts for the weekend - a high school buddy Ryan Ford and his girlfriend Jenna Berens.
Starting Point - Plymouth, IN
Ending Point - Chicago, ILDistance - 97.5 miles
Cumulative Distance - 925.7 miles
Vertical Elevation - 1042 feet
Counties - Marshall, Starke, LaPorte, Porter, Lake, IN; Cook, IL
Wind - moderate crosswind
Neil,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your posts and enjoying the details of your conversations with the locals. I wish I was a fly on the wall in some of these cafe's to experience these conversations. I am so glad to see you doing what you enjoy so much. I am so proud of your accomplishments and your desire to do what few would venture doing. Enjoy the rest of your journey and be safe.
Love,
Kakki jiji