Day #22 (5/28/24) – Bike Across America

I slept well and my congestion has been getting better each day. I woke up at 5:15 and did my morning routine. After the hotel breakfast, I packed up and was biking at 7:00. It was 55 degrees and sunny to start – perfect for biking.

I got back on the Pennsy Trail. It followed next to the main road and then under some power lines before heading into the woods. Within 15 minutes, I was over the border and in Illinois.

Eventually, I left the Pennsy Trail and rode on some quiet city streets to the Thorn Creek Trail. This was another paved trail that was in good condition. Because I was going through Chicagoland today, every trail had several intersections that I had to slow down to cross. But the traffic wasn’t bad.

Then on to the Old Plank Road Trail, which I was on for about 20 miles. Lots of flowers blooming along the trail and I captured pictures of a few.

The Cicadas were also out in force today. You could hear them singing all day. A few cicadas tried to hitch a ride on me and I had to brush them off. Mostly, they just bounced off of me. I had to dodge them on the trail as well.

As the morning warmed up into the 60’s, more people began using the trail. It was a beautiful morning. Mid-morning I stopped at a park bench and took a break. Ate another brownie from the Gilbert’s and enjoyed the beautiful day.

I rode through many different neighborhoods and they all were connected so you didn’t know where one ended and another began. Some had very nice downtown areas and nice parks.

When I got to Joliet, I had to ride on city streets for about a mile and a half. I was actually on the famous Route 66. But when Route 66 turned left, I turned right to get on the next trail.

The next trail went through the ruins of the old iron works in Joliet. It then connected to the I&M Canal Trail. I bounced around to a number of different trails today!!

At 11:30 I decided to stop for lunch. I happened to be in Lockport and I found a highly rated restaurant called the Paradise Bay Bar and Grill. They served a great burger, which really hit the spot. I sat at the bar and talked with people. Diane the bartender couldn’t believe that I was biking across the country and she came out from behind the bar when I left to check out my bike. She wished me luck and shook her head in disbelief. 🙂

It was a whole series of short trails from there to get to Barb & Mike’s house. I don’t even know what they were all called. But I was able to get there without biking on any roads.

It was starting to cloud up, and the weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon. So, I kept moving. I arrived at Barb & Mike’s in Downers Grove, IL at 2:00. The first rain started at 2:15. 🙂

For the day, I rode 60 miles and 850 feet of climbing. I’ll be spending a couple of days here and am looking forward to celebrating Barb’s birthday on Thursday. I’ll be back on the bike on Friday.