bike route questions - Joliet to Loop and Loop to Schaumburg
I just got an inquiry from some out-of-state folks who are planning to visit here in June as part of a long distance ride. I have 2 route questions for you, and I'd be grateful for whatever suggestions you can offer from experience about routing for these two days.
They are also looking for a ride escort on each of these legs. I will follow up on that at a later date.
1. Joliet to Loop - It sounds like they want to follow or partially follow Route 66 from Joliet to where it ends in the Loop (Michigan and Adams). I'm familiar with the route and conditions between Riverside and the Loop, but less familiar with it beyond that point.
What routing would you recommend from Joliet to Riverside?
2. Loop to Schaumburg - The next day they want to go from the Loop to the Renaissance Hotel in Schaumburg, which is close to Meacham Rd & I-90. I'm rather unfamiliar with rideable (non-life threatening) routes in and near Schaumburg.
What routing would you recommend for this ride? If you're familiar with only a portion, please say so and offer what you can.
I'd be grateful for whatever help you can offer on these routes.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on
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To state the obvious, I think they should stay on the I&M canal path northeast of Joliet, to Willow Springs.
Not sure about connecting from Willow Springs to Riverside. If it were me I'd wind through the Hickory Hills, head east to Beverly, then take Halsted north.
Will be interested to see if anyone has any good Schaumberg routes! Sounds terrifying to me. :)
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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Thanks for the suggestion. I've found that long distance touring groups sometimes prefer a more direct route, while others want a quieter route. It's not a bad thing to be able offer more than one option.
Yes, the Schaumburg one sounds terrifying to me as well.
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Permalink Reply by Caiken on
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Hey Anne--it's a little roundabout, so you need a while, but you can get to Schaumburg (where the bike lanes are actually SURPRISINGLY good) via the IPP to the Salt Creek Trail. Not the most interesting ride, and you basically form a big L, but Salt Creek Trail will take you onto some streets and all the way to the Elk Grove Entrance to Busse Woods (By Elk Grove High School.) I've done it a couple times and had few problems other than lots of summer bugs, a little bit of standing water and getting lost onto Salt Creek in Villa Park.
Also some friends have a brewery out that way, and it's a nice stop. :)
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Yes, I've heard that there are some good bike lanes within Schaumburg.
Hmmm, I see where Busse Woods is relative to Woodfield and Ikea. Is there a reasonable way to get from Busse Woods to the other side of the evil junction of I-90 and I-290/IL-53? Their destination is on the NW side of that junction.
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Blurgh I forgot about that.
I went to high school around there and have ridden around a lot. It's definitely disorienting sometimes.
You can safely pass under 290 via Busse Woods, but it takes you a bit out of your way. You can also cut through some quieter streets that pass through the shopping development with Roosevelt University and Ikea. However, there's not really any way around going over 90 on Meacham/Plum Grove (sidewalk taking?) unless you go cut through Arlington Heights/Rolling Meadows, which is totally residential and fine and full of Bike Routes, but out of one's way. Womp.
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I'm reaching out to a few local clubs, both for route advice and folks who might be interested in riding with our visitors on 6/21 or 6/22. If you might be interested in being part of either ride, I will post events on the calendar when details have been figured out.
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I have a decent route to Schaumburg, but it passes south of Woodfield Mall. When I went this way in the past, I rode the sidewalk along Algonquin Rd. If they are up for riding on crushed limestone, they could ride the Des Plaines River Trail instead of Algonquin between Sibley and Camp Ground Rd. The last stretch on this map (Meacham Rd.) would be pretty bad, but I don't know of a better alternative.
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Permalink Reply by mike w. on
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IIRC, there is a bike path along the east side of Meacham rd that takes you over the tollway. One should be able to exit the Busse Woods path on the west end of the preserve, follow the bike path west through Woodfield mall-land and pick up the Meacham trail.
Maybe someone more familiar with the area can confirm this? Google earth seems to show the path along Meacham. HTH.
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There is a path along Meacham there. It will still be very high stress. Drivers going in and out of the stores will not be watching for people on the path.
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Yeah, sadly, that's typical. Some times of day and some days are better than others, but Meacham is basically a highway through there. The problem being that although Schaumburg/Hoffman area are billed as "bike friendly," the towns are heavily commercial and high traffic and hard to navigate by bike in spite of the off-street paths.
Maybe since there's no good way to get to that hotel by low-traffic streets, use the Meacham path from south of the hotel, and BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL when crossing the intersections.
Otherwise, it may be possible to approach the hotel from the north by winding through the subdivisions north of Algonquin rd & west of 53. It's a few miles longer to go and a good map/gps would help, but it may be lower stress by circumventing Woodfield city. My recommendation would be a deep study the google maps of the general area.
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