Day 3 - 4/09/2006
Frankfort, IL to the I&M Canal Trail, Joliet, IL via The Old Plank Road Trail and local roads
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Stats: 16.5 Miles (3 rd day, 41.2 miles to date)
Sunny, 55F, winds light and variable
Seen On theTrail:
Squirrels, Sparrows, Robins, Starlings.
Beautiful day on the trail. There were lots of cyclists and hikers out and about near the populated areas .
Nothing but friendly dogs on the trail. A few barkers in yards. One cat resting on a ledge 15 ft up a bluff watched us roll by.
We had morning obligations, and couldn't start loading for this trip until 2:30 PM.
Our daughter Amy provided end point support, dropping us off in Frankfort and picking us up at the head of the I&M Canal Trail. Thanks, Amy!
Amy
As we unloaded at Breidert's Green in Frankfort, a cyclist approached in need of an air pump. Unfortunately, the air leaked out as fast as we pumped it in. We left him waiting for his riding partner.
Breidert's Green and the Frankfort Granary.
This view looks east from the west end of the park.
Rt 45 bridge (mile 0.5)
Cherry Hill Trail (2.75)
Schoolhouse Road (Mile 4) was the farthest west we had ever traveled on the Old Plank Road Trail. It was exciting to ride on a new (to us) section of trail. The OPRT takes on a more rural look west of Schoolhouse Road.
Cross over I80 (Mile 7.75)
We stopped for a quick snack by the Providence High School athletic fields (Mile 8). West of Providence High School the OPRT runs thru shaded forest with lots of moss growing on trees along the side of the trail.
Government statistics show that more bike accidents happen on a bike trail then on a road. We almost had one on the trail today. A helpful lady zigged when she should have zagged, and three cyclists almost went down.
I was riding 3 feet behind Mary Lynn, and a third cyclist was about 6 feet behind me. We cruising at about 13 m/h around a corner when we came up behind a lady and her dog walking on the right side of the trail. Mary Lynn announced the usual "Passing on your left", and started drifting left of center on the trail. I followed her left,as did the cyclist behind me. Just then, a fourth cyclist, Speed Racer, blasted around the corner behind us at about 20 m/h and started to pass us all on the left. At that moment the walking lady decided to be helpful and jumped to the left side of the trail. Of course, the dog didn't move.
That left Mary Lynn looking at the lady and Speed Racer on the left, the dog on the right, and the leash stretched completely across the trail. Speed Racer was passing me and had nowhere to go but off the trail to avoid the lady. The lady, recognizing her situation with Mary Lynn, suddenly jerked the dog across to her side of the trail. Mary Lynn, the third cyclist, and I managed to swing back to the right as the poor dog sailed across the trail in front of us. The walking lady was standing there, shaking, with her arms folded around her. The dog looked dazed. And Speed Racer continued on at 20m/h.
At mile 10 we reached the west end of OPRT. We have now ridden the OPRT from end to end and earned an OPRT T-shirt.!
We met another cyclist and chatted briefly about what a nice day it was for a ride.
We made our first small hill at the end of the OPRT, climbing up Park Street to Washington Street. From there, it was 2 miles down a long gentle slope to the Des Plaines River.
There wasn't much traffic on the local streets. The drivers were courteous, giving us plenty of room, except for one tooter.
We rode past Harrah's Casino at Rte 30 and the Des Plaines River. Rte 30 takes a drawbridge over the Des Plaines river at (Mile 13). The road over the bridge is a steep climb up a metal grid surface. We opted to ride over the bridge on the boardwalk / sidewalk rather than on the slippery metal grid road bed.
As we crossed the bridge, we could see barges and a tow boat cruising towards us under a raised draw bridge 2 blocks away. The alarm on our bridge started ringing just as we reached the gates at the far end. We had to scamper to get past the gates before they lowered and bridge started to go up.
Mary Lynn riding off the drawbridge at Rte 30 and Bluff St.
Mary Lynn, obviously enjoying the ride.
Tow Boat Audrey Fouts passing under bridge
April in Joliet
View across the river at Bluff St. in Bicentennial Park shows
Harrah's Casino, (green roofs) and the spire of St. Anthony's church (red roof)
At the base of the draw bridge, the GIT turns left on Bluff Street into Bicentennial Park. The Joliet Drama Guild is located on the river bank in Bicentennial Park.
Bluff Street is a level run paralleling the river next to 30 foot rock bluff. A black cat sat on a ledge watching us as we rode along Bluff Street and started up the steep climb out of the river valley.
We made it up the steep part, but the long part got to us. OK ... that's enough ... we walked our bikes a block along side some huffing, puffing kids. I felt good riding as far up the hill as we did.
There are some very hilly sections farther on along the Grand Illinois Trail. I think I will change the chain rings to get a lower granny gear.
Joliet has a number of iron plate statues along the GIT and I&M Corridor commemorating I&M Canal pioneers.
Iron Statue commemorating I&M Canal Pioneers (Mile 14)
There is even an iron plate statue commemorating the cyclists who traveled the I&M Canal tow paths.
Iron Cyclist commemorating I&M Canal Pioneers (Mile 15.2)
Another half mile down a steep hill brought us to the end of this trip ...
and left us looking forward to the next section on the I&M Canal.
