Illinois Prairie Path

September 2, 2023

Wheaton to Chicago

I needed a place to leave my truck for a few weeks. George and Maggie came through. After I dropped Stan off at the train station in Naperville, I went over to George and Maggie’s place to get the truck situated.

It was another beautiful morning as I bade them farewell and headed to Union Station on my bike. George was on the ball, snapping a photo as I headed out.

There were only a few roads before I reached the main stem of the Illinois Prairie Path (IPP) in Wheaton. The roads weren’t too bad but given the choice, I’ll take the trail anytime.

In Wheaton there were some walkers and runners but the trail was not so crowded as to prevent me from enjoying the ride. The IPP is mostly unpaved in the Western suburbs. In a short time my bike and panniers were covered with a fine layer of dry limestone dust.

At Glen Ellyn, trail “traffic” thinned out a bit. By Villa Park, I had the trail mostly to myself. There were strategically placed tables and 5-gallon coolers filled with Gatorade. Nobody seemed to mind when I filled one of my bottles in Villa Park.

The IPP in Villa Park. The coolers with Gatorade can be seen on the left.

From there, the trail begins to run through municipalities lying closer to the city and it takes on a more urban character. A through rider will pass through Elmhurst, Bellwood, and Maywood. Here, the trail is mostly paved but it has a lot of bumps, dips, and cracks… some of which requires a rider to be paying attention. There are a couple of spots where the trail is not continuous, so brief outings on roads are needed to re-connect.

A more urban feel to the IPP in Bellwood.

In Bellwood I encountered a young guy walking down the middle of the trail while intentionally not moving to one side. I simply picked my spot and quickly jogged around him without incident.

The IPP Trailhead in Maywood, Illinois. The friendly runner is in the distance.

Conversely, while preparing to take a photo in Maywood, a young fellow running past gave me a wave. I wasn’t quite ready or expecting the friendliness so I didn’t capture the moment. However, I did manage to get a nice shot of the trailhead at Maywood with the aforementioned runner heading off in the distance. I really enjoyed riding on the IPP.

At Maywood, my remaining route became largely made up of roads and I was in city traffic. It wasn’t too bad on this mid-Saturday afternoon but I could imagine it might be heavier during weekdays.

Jackson Boulevard led from Oak Park into Chicago. A corner of Union Station is on Jackson but instead of letting me stay on it, I was directed to N. Laramie and W. Madison. Especially on the latter street, I got a good look at what goes on with the common folk in Chicago. There is a bike lane but it is frequently blocked by people double and triple parking to make a purchase of one kind or another. I went around all obstructions without incident. I couldn’t help but think about all the cyclists in Pittsburgh who cry the blues and confront drivers who block the bike lanes. Try that in Chicago and you might not fare so well.

W. Madison Street, looking toward downtown Chicago.

The Sears Tower was visible on my approach to Downtown.

Historic Route 66 used to run on Jackson Boulevard.

Eventually I got back onto Jackson and was able to reach the station, safe and sound. There I got on a train headed West for the next phase of the adventure. Stan found me and we got to spend a few minutes talking before catching our respective trains.

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 52 miles (84 km)

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