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Permalink Reply by Bernard Joseph Hannigan on July 22, 2011 at 8:33am

Go to

http://fpdcc.com/visit-us/maps/bike-trail-maps

 

Cook County has great paved trails. If you go to Dupage (Prairie Path, etc), they are crushed limestone.

The IM trail would be good for training, it is not very crowded and that is paved till you get to Lockport.

Watch out for the Asian Carp.

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Permalink Reply by Lugo on July 22, 2011 at 9:51am

AWESOME. Hats off to you both :)

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Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on July 22, 2011 at 10:03am

A little trick using Google Maps,

 

1. Go to Google Maps site, Enter "Chicago" in search box.

2. Click "Get Directions"

3. Click bike icon, scroll around map.

 

Dark green lines are the bike trails. Lighter green are bike lanes, and dashed lines are suggested routes (take with grain of salt). It's not perfect, but it gives you an idea large number of routes on can take. Great for exploring all the suburbs.

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Permalink Reply by David on July 22, 2011 at 10:10am

I love the Fox River Trail but I don't know about training on it.  Especially on the weekends, there's kids playing, people walking their dogs, etc.   It's not the LFP or anything, but I'd be uncomfortable sprinting over large parts of it.

 

The Skokie bikeway is one of the secrets in the area.  It's straight and kinda boring, but it's paved, has very few crossings and it's usually pretty empty even on weekends.  It's about 11 miles long, so up and back would be close to 25.  Or, you could combine it with a ride up the North Branch trail rather than driving there, which is a pretty good workout altogether.

 

Combining what others have said above, I just realized the end of the Salt Creek Trail, which is becoming one of my favorite rides,  is pretty close to the start of the Algonquin Trail.  So you could do them together for a pretty long ride almost all on paved trails.  In fact, that sounds like so much fun I might do that this weekend to celebrate the end of the heat wave.

 

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Permalink Reply by Emily Schick on July 22, 2011 at 10:44am

Thanks!!! I'll be doing this soon! Perhaps next weekend. 

Chris C said:

The Fox River Trail and Algonquin Trail are paved.  You can basically bike from Oswego all the way north to Crystal Lake on paved goodness.

 

Take any of the various Metra lines out to Aurora, Geneva, , St. Charles or Elgin and jump on a trail.

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