07_18_08

Cycling Illinois

341 miles

My Location: Chicago, IL

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Date: 07-25-08
Location: Chicago, IL
09:30am-4:00pm Kankakee, IL - Chicago, IL (68 miles)

Cool weather and clouds was nice, but another broken spoke and terrible roads (until Cook County) made for an unrelaxed ride. Fortunately, I found a bike shop that had the time to replace all the spokes on my rear tire.

Chicago is a great city! Bicycle trails, forest preserves, and lots of parks. Lots of money here, and it shows. The lake looks like an ocean. Makes the cold, windy winters seem possibly bearable, pun intended. I wonder if anyone commutes by waverunner.

The photos seem down-hill left despite my using the view finder manual alignment squares. And yes, I know, too much grass and not enough skyline in the park concert photo.

Trail along Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.

One of many museums in Chicago.

Grand water fountain in Chicago.

Water fun in Millenium Park, Chicago.

Saturday concert in the park, Chicago.

Silver sculpture, Chicago.

Chicago skyline reflected in silver sculpture.

Chicago canal.

Chicago canal.

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Date: 07-24-08
Location: Kankakee, IL
06:45am-4:00pm Clinton Lake, IL - Kankakee, IL (97 miles)

Another easy day of riding in Illinois. Temperature in the low eighties, low humidity, and lots of clouds is my kind of riding. I've been lucky with both Missouri and Illinois having lower than normal temperatures.

The most surprising thing about Illinois is the rampant racism. You expect that in the south, but Illinois surprised me. I wasn't going to include Illinois racism in my blog, but Kankakee was the final straw. There are shining examples of non-racism, like Pat & Pete at Clinton Lake, who had invited to dinner Dottie & Charles, two African-American park visitors from Michigan, and the Boy Scout Troop I met at Clinton Lake were definitely not racist. But, from the time I entered Illinois, racism seems dismayingly abundant. I didn't see or sense any racism in Missouri or Kansas, and racist white people are usually more open about their racism around other white people, unless they knew I was from California and wouldn't go for that. I'm hoping Chicago, where people of differences get to meet one-another and learn of their similarities, will be less racist. By the way, the Kankakee county fair is referred to by the white people as the KKK fair. I think I'll skip that fair.

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Date: 07-19-08
Location: Clinton Lake, IL
08:30am-6:00pm Litchfield, IL - Clinton Lake, IL (102 miles)

Flat Illinois with the wind at my back makes for an easy ride, despite breaking another wheel spoke.

Stayed at Clinton Lake and met many wonderful people. Pat & Pette, the hosts of the campground, Dottie & Charles, a couple visiting from Michigan, and Plainfield, Illinois Boy Scout Troop 82. Pat & Pete not only invited me to dinner when they were entertaining other visitors to the park, but they allowed me to camp on their site two days for free. They also provided a lot of local information for my trip to Chicago, and were very nice. Boy Scout Troop 82, from Plainfield Illinois, who were currently on a bicycle trip, invited me to dinner where we discussed cycling.

Clinton Lake may be the nicest lake I've been to so far, just because of the warm water. The water at my little cove was at least 85°. At the dam, the temp. gets to 100°, because of the nuclear power plant at Clinton Lake. Incidently, Clinton Lake has an albino deer. I didn't check for three eyed fish.

Clinton Lake has a thick forest surrounding it, helping to shield my tent from the windy storms that rolled through 3 of the 5 days I was there. The lightning from the storms was like strobe lights, and you could hear the storms for an hour before they arrived. As I'm typing this, it occurs to me that I could've taken a slow shutter picture of the lightning.

My camp, Clinton Lake, Illinois

My little beach, Clinton Lake, Illinois.

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Date: 07-18-08
Location: Litchfield, IL
08:30am-5:30pm St. Louis, MO - Litchfield, IL (74 miles)

An easy ride despite two broken spokes and a flat tire. Had been riding with a broken spoke since Peers, MO, but another spoke broke in East St. Louis, IL. Went to a bike store in Edwardsville, IL and they fixed my spokes in an hour. A very well-equipped store for all levels of cycling. The even had Cytomax! Edwardsville is a beautiful mid-sized town with a small town feel. Lots of tree-shaded roads with 1890's porched houses. Paved bicycle trails throughout and surrounding the town makes this place a cyclist heaven. An in-town university also adds to the appeal of this town. My camera was packed away, so no pictures of Edwardsville.

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