July 10, 2023
Day 17: Valparaiso, IN to Chicago, IL
In which I finish!
"At the end of the tour. When the road disappears." -They Might Be Giants
Last day! I'm both sad it's over and also looking forward to NOT riding my bike every single day. I'd also like to get home and see my wife.
Weather was going to be cooperative - warming up into the low 90s by afternoon, but I was planning to be there closer to noon.
At dinner last night I thought I was still in Eastern time, but was told by locals that the line was just east of town, and I was now in Central time - so I wouldn't pick up the hour on the road. Thanks for the wrong answer, Google!
So I left at 7am sharp. Today would be mostly a series of interconnecting trails, but I had 14 miles to go to get to the first one. Unfortunately, 8 of those were on a very busy county road full of people trying to get to work.
The first trail I hit was the Oak Savannah Trail. This wound through backyards and neighborhoods and was pretty nice - someone even stole a couple pieces of fence to cross this fallen tree.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I'm always amazed by how much nature there is when you know you're in the suburbs of a large city.
I've been hearing these red-winged blackbirds all through my trip. In rural areas they seem scared of humans or even sometimes dive-bomb you if they have a nest nearby.
The scene became a bit more urban as I shifted to the Erie Lackawanna Trail. This part, in the city of Highland was very nice and smooth.
Hammond, IN was less nice - tons of expansion gaps and tree-root ridges made for very bumpy cycling. Aside from the couple of construction areas I had to walk my bike through as there was no clear detour (for bikes, anyway). Even on the trail the constant street crossings and bumpiness made going over 10mph almost impossible. At least they had helpful signage showing where I was.
Crossing Wolf Lake was pretty, although I could still hear the nearby freeway noise.
Ok...one more wildflower.
These deer didn't seem afraid of me - they were on a narrow strip of land cutting through Wolf Lake.
Once I crossed into Illinois, it wasn't long before I hit Lakeshore Drive. Cars go fast there, but there is a bike lane. Then I had my first glimpse of Lake Michigan.
A few more miles, and I was on the Chicago Lakeshore Trail - this runs the entire length of the city, and is well maintained and very popular. Never a shortage of walkers, joggers and cyclists. Chicago also has several nice small beaches like this one.
First glimpse of the iconic Chicago skyline.
At the point where I took these last two pictures, I had to head inland. It was only about 2 more miles to get to Union Station. I had plenty of time to catch my Milwaukee train (which of course was late). I'll spend Tuesday there with friends and then come back Wednesday to catch the long train to Denver. Although that's the end of the riding, there will be another post with some final thoughts on this trip.
Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 966 miles (1,555 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |