Day 2 - Love that Fox River Trail!

Date: Monday, 11 July 2016

Time on Bike: 5:02:10

Total Travel Time: 7:57:21

Miles Covered Today: 63.75

Total Trip Miles: 105.69

Average Speed: 12.6 mph, Maximum Sped: 26.1 mph

From: James “Pate” Philip Sate Park, Bartlett, IL

To: White River State Trail, Elkhorn, WI

(Written from Madison, WI)

Stayed with our friends The Allens. Got out a little earlier this morning as we didn’t unpack the car from yesterday’s cycling. Started where I left off yesterday, at James "Pate" Philip State Park. On my bike just after 8 AM. Went back to Great Western Trail, but it was called Elgin Branch. But the good news was… it was asphalt!!! Not that crushed limestone that I rode on for 30+ miles yesterday.

The morning ride was about as nice and picturesque as it could have been. Soon left the Elgin Branch and rode the Fox River Trail. Man that was sweeeet!!

Took me thru the quaint town of Elgin.

The Fox River Trail as it goes thru Elgin, IL

First morning break was at a bar in West Dundee, IL... that wasn't opened yet. But they had Wi-Fi that we were able to use!

And even better, as the day went on, I had a tailwind that only grew stronger as the day went on. That was bumping my speed up to a very respectable 16 to 18 MPH. I felt like I was flying!

Second break of the day was in Crystal Lake, IL. Our first McDonalds!! Will not be our last I am sure... Woz has settled in so nicely on our trip. He is not used to being the one & only pup, but seems to enjoy the attention! He likes to watch the action wherever we are.

WTF????????????????????????

WARNING – Steep Slopes Exist Thru Sternes Woods – Dismount and Walk Bikes

What does that even mean??

I soon found out. Some very, very short (200 to 300 yards) but very, very steep ups & downs. Loved the down hills. And yes, I did brake. But I did not dismount! But the uphills were killers. But I was not going to go into my granny gears (see one of my earlier Blog posts "What Bike?" for a refresher if needed!) in Illinois on Day 2 of my trip!!! So it was out of the saddle and work real hard. Please don’t let me blow out my knees…

There was some very nice sections of trail. Straight as an arrow. Guess it being an old rail line helps!

Have you noticed there aren't many cyclists? I basically had the trails to myself. In any case, I guess I am spoiled from riding the Cap2Cap trail in Richmond. 90% of the cyclists (either riding $4,000+ road bikes or even K-Mart specials) on Cap2Cap say hi and/or acknowledge your presence in some way. In Chicago on that first day, the ratio was reversed. Only 10% in some way acknowledged me on the trail. And let me tell you, I both wave and yell something! The percent of cyclists responding did get better as I got further away from the Big City, but still never went over 50%. No harm done.

But all good things must come to an end I guess. After 35 miles of cycling the trail turned to crushed limestone again.

This is what I was riding on...

But in much worse shape than what I rode on yesterday. Lots of ruts & pot holes. Even sections of regular old loose gravel. Areas where the crushed limestone was an inch or more deep and I would sometimes lose control of the bike if I wasn’t careful. It was stressful. But... the scenery was grand!

And, I got lost for the first time… and most definitely not the last!!!

I have been using Google Maps selecting the bicycle icon. More times than not it is pretty good. Sometimes it doesn’t know where the hell to send me. But today it was not a Google Maps problem…

I was off the trails on county roads in northern Illinois I heard verbal directions that I was to make a left turn in one and something miles. I kept cycling. In what seemed like miles later I pulled over to look at my iPhone. It had a screen that said it was overheated and needed to cool down before I could use it again. Never seen that one!!!!!

I put it on my cool water bottle and maybe 3-minutes later it came back to life. Then I found out the bad news that I had passed my turn a few miles back. And as Murphy’s Law would have it, it was all uphill and against the wind to get back to that intersection. Really??????

A change in our daily plan. Meeting every hour or so was getting to be difficult for Woz & Bunny. Too much work to get him settled in a new location every hour. So we decided to meet up every 20 miles, or roughly every 2 hours. My first solo break without my Team was in McHenry, IL.

As many of you might know, we live in Richmond, VA. So it goes without saying I planned a rest stop in Richmond, Illinois!!!! I was meeting back up with Woz & Bunny!

And finally...

Another state!!!! Wisconsin here we are!

I spied an unusual bird (for me!) off to the side of the road. I am pretty sure it was a Sandhill crane. That distinctive red forehead on its head was the give away. It did not want to have its picture taken!!

I didn't really stop in Lake Geneva, WI although I understand from Bunny it is a cool place! I rolled on to our final rendezvous in Elkhorn, WI. But... Bunny texted me that the road was closed for repairs. Using the Apple App Find Friends we met up at a Wisconsin Department of Corrections facility where Bunny and Woz had the joyful experience of sitting in a waiting room with ex-cons who were waiting to see their parole officers. My wife will do anything to stay out of the heat and keep her little man cool!

We headed back to Grayslake, IL and K. & S. for the last time. It was less than an hour drive, but it was time to start creeping westward!