Let's start off with the fact that apparently I have picked the worst week weather wise to start my tour. I've been snowed on twice - yeah, that's right - in April. Rained on and soaked to the bone one day and then gotten up in the morning with 34 degree (Fahrenheit) temperature to face a 27 mph headwind. All this in one week.
That said, I'm still enjoying myself. No matter how much planning I do before a tour, the first few days to a week are almost always miserable when I start out on a tour. But, I expect that. It takes time to work things out just right so you can get everything set to how you like it.
Leaving Chicago, was actually quite pleasant. Riding the two blocks from the Hostel to Michigan and Jackson which is the original start and finish of Route 66
and then riding out of the city in morning rush hour traffic was not daunting as many would expect.
The ride out through Chicago went well. And, while I might have passed through a few neighborhoods that might have given me pause for my safety if it was in the middle of the night, I had no concern during daylight hours. Let's face it, any big city has neighborhoods that may cause some of us concerns, this is not a special concern on Route 66 during daylight hours in Chicago.
I won't detail every little turn here within Chicago and the suburbs I passed through on my way out. And really, you can't tell when Chicago proper ended and a suburb began. It all blended in to one large area. I will post might GPS files/Google Map Link separately.
I found my way easily through Cicero, Riverside, Brookfield, LaGrange, Countryside and Indian Head Park on the roads with no problems. Finding my way to Waterfall Glen County Forest Preserve where I picked up the first trail I would ride.
Ride is something of a misnomer. I have to say, that if you chose a time where there has been recent rain, I would consider a different route (paved road). While nice and wide with some great scenery, the trails (down through Joliet) were quite soft. If you have ridden the Great Allegheny Passage you'll understand my disappointment in the Chicagoland trails. These trails lacked the drainage that the GAP has making the going very slow after a day or two of intermittent rain. The trail was soft and tended to slow me greatly - I won't say it was muddy though. And possibly, if I had wider tires (I'm running 25mm tires now) it would have been an easier ride.
From the park trails I made my way across the Des Plaines River to the Centennial Trail and rolled on south. Again the trail was in the same condition. And with the much slower going, I ended up quite short of my goal for the day and ended up wilderness camping late in the evening.
Up early the next morning after a somewhat fit-full night of sleep (loud trains passing within 100 yards) I got packed up during the first snow shower of the day. Yes, mid-April and I got snowed on. Now on the I&M trail, south through Lockport, until reaching Joliet where I made my way over to Martin Campground.
Martin Campground is a nice camp ground. While a bit pricey for tent camping ($25), I did have a nice sheltered spot out of most of the wind that was plaguing the area at the time.
They also had... wait for it... heated restrooms! I think this is the first time I've been to a camp ground with restrooms/showers that had heat.
The one thing that I really didn't like was that no camp fires were permitted at all. I understand when there is a concern due to high winds or drought or the risk of forest/wild fires. But the camp ground did not permit them under any conditions.
Joliet is an easy ride from the camp ground to get in to the city and see the various sights
