Special Metra HC Train for Bikes Saturday October 16 2021

Great bike ride opportunity Saturday October 16th. 

I rode the I & M bike trail from Willow Springs to Joliet for my first time yesterday, October 9, 2021.   It was a great ride.  I used the Metra-Bike-Metra method.

Metra has new bike cars.  Instead of hooking up to the fold seats in the Handicap Zone, there are cars on certain Metra trains dedicated to bicycles.  

Normally there are no weekend trains on Metra HC (Heritage Corridor).  Fall 2021 Metra is offering Saturday Trains on Metra HC September 18,25 and October 2, 9, 16   

Take 10:00 AM Metra Train #01 from Union Station to Willow Springs 

Link to METRA Flyer  -- https://metra.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/SeatDrop5.5x8.5_HC-BikeRailcar_090821.pdf

   The train is 10:00am, not 10:01am.  When I went, I heard banging on the side of the train and cursing as we pulled out the station.  I exited with my bike at 10:30am in Willow Springs.  

  From Willow Springs there are a little over twenty miles of bike paths to Columbia Street in Joliet.  It is a combination of I & M Canal Trail and Centennial Trail. The I & M trailhead is almost adjacent to Willow Creek Metra.   I left Joliet with my bike on another Metra route, because the timing was more convenient than returning on Metra HC.