Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 5, 2013 at 8:11am

Awesome, thanks!

Kelly D. Grills said:

Willow Springs Rd. / Gilbert isn't bad, Plainfield Rd. is pretty tight & can be busy.

I'd take Willow Springs further N. to Cossitt then E. on Cossitt / Shields to Dubois.

Permalink Reply by Kelly D. Grills on April 5, 2013 at 8:33am

Just to be clear, Willow Springs is a fast (45mph I think), 2 lane road.

Mostly shouldered (narrowly) till Plainfield Rd., N. of 47th is residential.

I ride from Joliet to my mothers' house in Brookfield fairly regularly,

that's (usually) the route I take.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 5, 2013 at 8:45am

Thanks for the info, definitely eases my mind about this section. Generally, I don't have a problem with fast roads, but I tend to start white-knuckling when they're fast with heavy traffic so that I'm getting squeezed/buzzed.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 6, 2013 at 2:48pm

Ride report:

Epic day for tailwinds. On multiple occasions I hit 25mph+ on the flats (only when heading directly North). Started in Kankakee and made my way east over to Kankakee State Park. My google map I printed appeared to be wrong so I just went to the river and hugged it with whatever road I could until getting to the park. I took the river trail which was in good shape, the first 3 miles are crushed limestone and it was dry, so my worries about the other trails eased immediately. The river trail is very scenic with some short climbs up and down the bluffs The trail was 10 miles long in total with the last 7 on paved path. Headed over to the Waunapossee Glacial Trail (WGT) via the Old Chicago Road. Chicago is a fast 2 lane hwy, but with very little traffic..my favorite kind of road. WGT is crushed limestone as well and runs 20 or so miles into Joliet. Conditions were great and it was not bumpy...enjoyable ride through prairie land. In Joliet I hit the centennial trail for the first time ever, I really enjoyed the canal and seeing the locks. The trail was fully open all the way from Joliet iron works to willow springs rd where I got off. I kept having a sinking feeling I was on the wrong side of the canal towards the exit, but ended up not being a problem. Willow Springs/Gilbert is a decent biking road as reported by Kelly. I made short work of it because of the tailwind. I turned right onto Cossitt and at that point I got lost, kind of. I missed my turn north for Washington and ended up taking Ogden all the way back into the city because it was close by. So, I did not get a chance to experience the railroad underway that was of concern to Eric. Ogden is surprising decent considering its pretty fast And 4 lanes. Not a bad option. If you made it this far in the report, I'll mention that I did 85 miles with a 16mph rolling pace. It probably could have been faster with the tail wind and all but I had a couple "detours" that cost me on speed.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on April 7, 2013 at 2:26am

Spence - glad you had a great ride with that wicked tail wind.

I ended up doing 70 miles yesterday in an out and back to North Chicago. I made the huge mistake of hammering with everything I had in me as those tail winds carried me along. However, the ride back south was absolutely horrible. I had to plod along in my 28T granny ring to get me home, and today I am super sore and beat up. I really hope we don't encounter that kind of wind next weekend on the FVP, or next month at the 200K. Oy.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 7, 2013 at 12:57pm

I overshot a turn and had to go back south a mile in that wind and I can't imagine how you managed it. It's good training though as now you know what the worst can look like.

Jim S said:

Spence - glad you had a great ride with that wicked tail wind.

I ended up doing 70 miles yesterday in an out and back to North Chicago. I made the huge mistake of hammering with everything I had in me as those tail winds carried me along. However, the ride back south was absolutely horrible. I had to plod along in my 28T granny ring to get me home, and today I am super sore and beat up. I really hope we don't encounter that kind of wind next weekend on the FVP, or next month at the 200K. Oy.

Permalink Reply by ilter on April 7, 2013 at 1:07pm

Here is a teaser for next week`s FVP riders. I was in the area & drove on the FVP course for a while and snapped a few photos:  http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/albums/fvp-2nd-leg

These are taken going the opposite direction, that is from Plano towards Batavia.

Also, stopped at the Plano control & noticed such a great gas station store that is. Aside from a big convenience store, it houses a bakery & another corner shop that makes wraps, sandwiches and smoothies.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 7, 2013 at 1:16pm

Training ride for Saturday, April 13th.

I know some are doing the FVP, unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make this one. I forgot that it's my mom's B-day, so I will instead ride my bike to Oxford, IN (116 miles, one way). I will ride mostly trails to Crown Point, IN (referred to as CP from here on out) and from there break off onto highways. For those not riding the FVP, I could use some company to CP or any other town before CP, please feel free to join me. I've only routed this map to CP and after that, it's a desert....all highway or county roads with very few towns between. Chicago-->Crown Point-->Chicago round-trip is 80 miles.

http://goo.gl/maps/ZPcjr

If you can make it to CP, we will have pancakes (or whatever you want) at the Main Street Cafe...awesome-cheap dinner with great food. I also mention that if you have not ridden the Erie Lackawanna Trail (last 12 miles into CP), it is really a gem of a trail.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on April 7, 2013 at 1:23pm

Jealous that I won't be riding this next weekend. I will ride it before the summer is over!

ilter said:

Here is a teaser for next week`s FVP riders. I was in the area & drove on the FVP course for a while and snapped a few photos:  http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/albums/fvp-2nd-leg

These are taken going the opposite direction, that is from Plano towards Batavia.

Also, stopped at the Plano control & noticed such a great gas station store that is. Aside from a big convenience store, it houses a bakery & another corner shop that makes wraps, sandwiches and smoothies.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on April 7, 2013 at 2:04pm

Nice! Thanks for doing some reconnaissance for us, Ilter. 

If the Plano store has sandwiches and other fresh stuff, I might pick up some lunch there. By my guesses, we'll arrive there around 10:45 or so. 

ilter said:

Here is a teaser for next week`s FVP riders. I was in the area & drove on the FVP course for a while and snapped a few photos:  http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/albums/fvp-2nd-leg

These are taken going the opposite direction, that is from Plano towards Batavia.

Also, stopped at the Plano control & noticed such a great gas station store that is. Aside from a big convenience store, it houses a bakery & another corner shop that makes wraps, sandwiches and smoothies.

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on April 7, 2013 at 2:18pm

Yes thanks indeed, i am really looking forward to it.  It looks like the weather is not going to be to warm, but it looks dry. 
 
Jim S said:

Nice! Thanks for doing some reconnaissance for us, Ilter. 

If the Plano store has sandwiches and other fresh stuff, I might pick up some lunch there. By my guesses, we'll arrive there around 10:45 or so. 

ilter said:

Here is a teaser for next week`s FVP riders. I was in the area & drove on the FVP course for a while and snapped a few photos:  http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/albums/fvp-2nd-leg

These are taken going the opposite direction, that is from Plano towards Batavia.

Also, stopped at the Plano control & noticed such a great gas station store that is. Aside from a big convenience store, it houses a bakery & another corner shop that makes wraps, sandwiches and smoothies.

Permalink Reply by ilter on April 7, 2013 at 4:18pm

You guys are welcome.

It is indeed a good idea to eat and/or pack food at Plano.  Plano to Ottawa is the longest stretch where there is very few (or no) food on the route.  Ottawa to Yorkville is another long leg, but you pass right by a convenience store in Sheridan where one can refuel if needed.

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