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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on April 18, 2012 at 5:26am

Sorry, I can't help with the route, but I'm wondering if you have a demountable tandem frame? I don't think Metra allows tandems on board.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 18, 2012 at 6:31am

Not sure what the official policy is, but we took our tandem on UP-N last week and I've heard people on CL talking about bringing  their tandem on the train.

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Permalink Reply by David on April 18, 2012 at 6:48am

How do you feel about trails vs. roads?  The Des Plaines trail is a really nice route from County Line Road up to the North Shore Trail and Libertyville.    I don't know Barrington that well, but it looks like you could meander east on Long Grove (the ATA map marks that road as medium quality biking) a short distance over to Buffalo Creek, at which point you have a lot of excellent dedicated bike routes that take you to the Des Plaines trail, which takes you straight up to Libertyville. 

While the Des Plaines trail in Cook County is more or less unmaintained, north of that it's a very pleasant well-maintained limestone trail.  It's a really pretty ride.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on April 18, 2012 at 7:19am

The Des Plaines trail is wonderful up in Lake County.

Tandems, recumbents, trailers, etc are prohibited per Metra policy, but you never know how the conductor will be feeling...I'd have a back-up plan if the conductor says "no" on your return trip.

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Permalink Reply by rb on April 18, 2012 at 7:35am

I have taken the trail from Libertyville to Lake Bluff. It is a nice path some limestone, but mostly paved. It is on the south side of 176.

As far as Barrington to Libertyville, I am unfamiliar with routes.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 19, 2012 at 3:48am

@rb. I've taken the Des Plaines trail before. It is very nice indeed, I may have to look into incorporating that into the route, although it will add some significant mileage. I may have to dig out my Active trans map and give that a look as well.

@Kevin. I think having a back up plan is a requirement every time you plan to take a bike on Metra. Our backup plan is that our tandem has couplers ;)

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Permalink Reply by Eduardo on April 19, 2012 at 3:54am

I was planning on taking a similar route from Wild Onion to Lake Bluff brewery. Let me know how you like your route.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 19, 2012 at 6:44am

The part on Lake Barrington Rd. to Wauconda isn't very attractive to me. Here is an updated route, which I might actually give a try.

http://g.co/maps/45498

Eduardo said:

I was planning on taking a similar route from Wild Onion to Lake Bluff brewery. Let me know how you like your route.

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on April 19, 2012 at 7:06am

Its been a while since I've used the Des Plaines trail, but if I recall correctly, the underpasses tend to flood easily after rains, so pay attention to the weather on the days before your rides

David said:

How do you feel about trails vs. roads?  The Des Plaines trail is a really nice route from County Line Road up to the North Shore Trail and Libertyville.    I don't know Barrington that well, but it looks like you could meander east on Long Grove (the ATA map marks that road as medium quality biking) a short distance over to Buffalo Creek, at which point you have a lot of excellent dedicated bike routes that take you to the Des Plaines trail, which takes you straight up to Libertyville. 

While the Des Plaines trail in Cook County is more or less unmaintained, north of that it's a very pleasant well-maintained limestone trail.  It's a really pretty ride.

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