Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on August 17, 2014 at 1:22pm

Lemont and Palos Hills - GO!

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Permalink Reply by Jared on August 17, 2014 at 1:55pm

Not really near Metra though.  The branch that actually stops in Lemont is weekday only.  Though there certainly are some steep hills that way!

KevinM said:

Lemont and Palos Hills - GO!

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Permalink Reply by Christopher C. on August 17, 2014 at 2:03pm

Weekdays are fine and dandy, really there the best as the moron to me equation is much lower than the weekend. I'll shoot the "day off" email here shortly. Though I'll probably shoot for Palos Hills as it seems a little closer.

Any specific rides routes in the Palos Hills or Lemont areas?

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Permalink Reply by johnnysporto on August 22, 2014 at 2:23am

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zqW-d2HOy8yc.kBqNfDz28ziU

Here's one of my favorite rides. Moderately hilly. It's about an 1 1/2 hour train ride out to Harvard and an hour or so back from Crystal Lake. The whole route including a break in Lake Geneva is about 5-6 hours depending on how you ride. It's about 50-60 miles depending on your route.

You'll need to inspect train schedules, but heading out on a Saturday is your best bet due to there being later trains available. A Sunday ride requires you to keep up a pretty good pace so as not to miss the last train out of Crystal Lake.

Wisconsin roads are really nice to ride. Lots of farms and open spaces. The last leg where you enter back into Illinois is a limestone trail for a good chunk of the way, which is a really nice ride the whole way down to Crystal Lake. Completely secluded and peaceful.

I use this route as a rough guide. Although, I'd stick to my route from Harvard up to Wisconsin as most of the roads around there are actually high travel, high speed highways, which are really not fun to ride - believe me! You can take any way you want from the Wisconsin border up to Lake Geneva and back down to the Illinois bike trail head, they are all really nice.

As you ride around Wisconsin, you'll see more back roads to take. Basically, you just want to keep angling your ride towards the Hebron Trail entrance at Lange road in northern Illinois just west of Genoa City.

I've also learned the hard way to start the ride in Harvard. Wind at your back that way. It does get windy.

Enjoy!

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Permalink Reply by mark stetson on August 22, 2014 at 5:33am

Come out to Princeton on AMTRAK.  Lots of nice hills south and southeast of town.  Same with Kewanee, only the hills are north of town and it's less wooded.  I'd be happy to ride with you if you want a guide.  Here's a 75 mile route that hits many of the hills around Tiskilwa.  It shows as 2,600' of climbing with two Category 5 and one Category 4 climbs by mapmyride's system.  It would be interesting to map it in reverse and see if it results in more categorized climbs.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/511636900

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Permalink Reply by Tim Heckman on August 22, 2014 at 8:18am

Here's a route that was suggested within the Oak Park Cycle Club a few months back. I haven't ridden, although I am familiar with some of the roads. Start/Finish is approximately five miles from several BNSF stops in Lagrange/Western Springs, and about 12 miles from Oak Park.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4747755

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Permalink Reply by Michael Neal on August 22, 2014 at 3:57pm

Strava can be your friend here, they have heatmaps that show the popular routes.  This covers most of the Palos and Lemont route http://app.strava.com/activities/171181180 .  There are plenty of routes to get to the area, no train required.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher C. on September 7, 2014 at 4:37pm

Thanks for the routes! Been sick for a couple of weeks and I've got a ride down in KY soon so Hopefully I'll get to go explore some of the suggested route after that.

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Permalink Reply by David Lieb on September 8, 2014 at 6:40am

Ah yes, that stretch of Alden Rd from Stateline Rd to Lakeville Rd was dubbed "The Roadie-Coaster" by my kids. Delightful rolling hills.

johnnysporto said:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zqW-d2HOy8yc.kBqNfDz28ziU

Here's one of my favorite rides. Moderately hilly. It's about an 1 1/2 hour train ride out to Harvard and an hour or so back from Crystal Lake. The whole route including a break in Lake Geneva is about 5-6 hours depending on how you ride. It's about 50-60 miles depending on your route.

You'll need to inspect train schedules, but heading out on a Saturday is your best bet due to there being later trains available. A Sunday ride requires you to keep up a pretty good pace so as not to miss the last train out of Crystal Lake.

Wisconsin roads are really nice to ride. Lots of farms and open spaces. The last leg where you enter back into Illinois is a limestone trail for a good chunk of the way, which is a really nice ride the whole way down to Crystal Lake. Completely secluded and peaceful.

I use this route as a rough guide. Although, I'd stick to my route from Harvard up to Wisconsin as most of the roads around there are actually high travel, high speed highways, which are really not fun to ride - believe me! You can take any way you want from the Wisconsin border up to Lake Geneva and back down to the Illinois bike trail head, they are all really nice.

As you ride around Wisconsin, you'll see more back roads to take. Basically, you just want to keep angling your ride towards the Hebron Trail entrance at Lange road in northern Illinois just west of Genoa City.

I've also learned the hard way to start the ride in Harvard. Wind at your back that way. It does get windy.

Enjoy!

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