Grand Illinois Trail - Epilogue

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=50 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c788e1dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <B>Grand Illinois Trail -  Epilogue</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=160 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>   </B><A HREF="grand_illinois_trail_noptes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Route Notes"><U><B><IMG SRC="03e13180.gif" border=0 width="19" height="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="bicycle_trips21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Larry and Mary Lynns Grand Illinois Trai"><U><B>Larry and Mary Lynn's Grand Illinois Trail Adventure</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="grand_illinois_trail___frankfort.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Frankfort To Chica"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Frankfort To Chicago Heights</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="grand_illinois_trail__chicago_heights_to_lansing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Chicago Heights To"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Chicago Heights To Lansing</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="frankfort_to_joliet.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Frankfort to Jolie"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Frankfort to Joliet</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="i_m_canal__joliet__morris.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail IM Canal, Joliet t"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - I&M Canal, Joliet to Morris</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="buffalo_rock_to_gebhard_woods.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail IM Canal, Buffalo "><U>Grand Illinois Trail - I&M Canal, Buffalo Rock to  Gebhard Woods</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hennepin_canal_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hennepin Canal Vis"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hennepin Canal Visitor Center, Sheffield  (Local) </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hennepin_canal_bureau_to_visitor_center.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hennepin Canal, B"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hennepin Canal,  Bureau Junction, to the  Visitor Center</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hennepin_canal___visitor_center_to_geneseo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hennepin Canal, Vi"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hennepin Canal, Visitor Center to Geneseo</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hennepin_canal_colona_to_geneseo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hennepin Canal, Co"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hennepin Canal, Colona to Geneseo</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="eggers_woods_to_lansing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Eggers Woods, Chic"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Eggers Woods, Chicago to Lansing</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="colona_to_albany_mounds.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Colona to Albany M"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Colona to Albany Mounds</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="albany_mounds_to_thomson.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Albany Mounds to T"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Albany Mounds to Thomson</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hanover_to_palisades.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hanover to Mississ"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hanover to Mississippi Palisades</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="palisades_to_thomson.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Mississippi Palisa"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Mississippi Palisades to Thomson</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="eggers_woods_to_navy_pier.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Eggers Woods to Na"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Eggers Woods to Navy Pier</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="seatonville_to_buffalo_rock.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Seatonville to Buf"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Seatonville to Buffalo Rock</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wauconda_to_glencoe.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Wauconda to Glenco"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Wauconda to Glencoe</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wauconda_to_richmond.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Wauconda to Richmo"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Wauconda to Richmond</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="glencoe_to_navy_pier.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Glencoe to Navy Pi"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Glencoe to Navy Pier</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="capron_to_richmond.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Capron to Richmond"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Capron to Richmond</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="capron_to_rockford.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Capron to Rockford"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Capron to Rockford </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="lake_le_aqua_na_to_apple_river_canyon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Lake LeAquaNa to A"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Lake Le-Aqua-Na to Apple River Canyon</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="hanover_to_9_mi_east_of_galena.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Hanover to 9 mi Ea"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Hanover to 9 mi East of Galena </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="galena_to_apple_river_canyon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail 9 miles East of Ga"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - 9 miles East of Galena to Apple River Canyon SP</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="lake_le_aqua_na_to_freeport_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Lake LeAquaNa to F"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Lake Le-Aqua-Na to Freeport </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="freeport_to_pecatonica_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Freeport to Pecato"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Freeport to Pecatonica</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pecatonica_to_rockford.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Pecatonica to Rock"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Pecatonica to Rockford </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="seatonville_to_bureau.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Seatonville to Bur"><U>Grand Illinois Trail - Seatonville to Bureau</U></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c899cccc00.gif" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Grand Illinois Trail -  Epilogue</B></div> <div> <A HREF="grand_illinois_trail_noptes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Route Notes"><U>Grand Illinois Trail -  Route Notes</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=396 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Grand Illinois Trail</div> <div> Epilogue</div> <div> [Under Construction]</div> <bR> <div> [These after trip thoughts will be under edit for several months. ]</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="364e0400.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div>  We did it, and here are the t-shirts.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="367f0a00.jpg" border=0 width="240" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">        <IMG SRC="36af0a00.jpg" border=0 width="240" height="160" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> This trip was was one of the best vacations we ever had.  It was both physically and mentally challenging.  It was a shared dream that gave us a lot of good quality time together. </div> <bR> <div> We look forward to making more bike tours in the future.  Hopefully retirement will give us blocks of free time so we can ride for an extended time rather than just making day trips.</div> <bR> <div> We have been asked which part of the trip we enjoyed most. There were sections that were particularly memorable, but it would be hard to pick a single day or 10 mile section as being the favorite. We enjoyed every mile ... well ... except for the 3 or 4 miles in bad traffic. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> What we learned</div> <div> Hydration - Drink a lot</div> <bR> <div> Pacing - Constant cadence is the way to go.  </div> <bR> <div> Riding in Traffic</div> <div> The Grand Illinois Trail  as we followed it was 585 miles long.  Roughly 49% was on multiple use paths, 45% on roads, and 6% on roads with bike lanes.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="351" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="181"><div> Multple Use Path</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div> 290 mi</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div> 49%</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="181"><div> Roads</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div> 262 mi</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div> 45%</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="181"><div> Roads with Bike Lanes (stripes on roads)</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div>   33 mi</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="72"><div>   6%</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> While many of the miles were on low traffic county roads, a number of miles were on U.S. or IL State routes with 55 m/h speed limits and sometimes heavy traffic.  </div> <bR> <div> When we started the GIT trip we were uncomfortable riding in heavy traffic and would not ride on busy two lane highways with 55 m/h speed limits.   When we heard that the League of American Bicyclists (LAB)  Road I course was going to be offered in a nearby town, we jumped at the chance to take it.   </div> <bR> <div> The course made all the difference in the world for us.  Instructors Al Sturges of the League of Illinios Bicyclists and Steve Buchtel of Chicagoland Bicycle Federation did a great job preparing us for the roads we were about to ride.  Without their help, I doubt that we would have finished the GIT. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Our comfort level for riding in traffic increased, and our ideas of safe and unsafe roads changed quite a bit as a result of the course.   </div> <bR> <div> At the start of the trip we elected to wait for a section of the I&M to be repaired rather than ride the 65 mph River Road between Buffalo Rock and LaSalle.  After the course, the on-road detour around the closed canal tow path would have been comfortable.</div> <bR> <div> Before the course, we would not  have ridden Routes US 6 and IL 29 between LaSalle and Bureau.  After the course, we decided that there were only 3 very short sections of IL 29 that we did not like because of narrow lanes, curves, hills,  bad sight lines, and no shoulders.  We would have ridden the problem sections if an alternate could not be found.  But we did find a good alternate route and enjoyed a very comfortable ride.</div> <bR> <div> Before the course we would not  have ridden Stage Coach Trail East out of Galena.  After the course, we decided that the route would not be a problem and we rode it without incident.</div> <bR> <div> There were only two short sections of road we were uncomfortable riding.  </div> <bR> <div> We had a very tense half mile on River Road south of Moraine Hills State Park.  It  was a narrow uphill section in a no passing zone.  The shoulder had those huge 16 inch long, 4 inch wide, 1 inch deep rumble strips.  We rode it on the Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend.   During the half mile segment, there was continuous SUV and boat trailer traffic in both directions.  We couldn't ride the shoulder because of the rumble strips, so we tried to ride the fog line and got a lot of very close passes.  In retrospect, there were other options available that would have been better than riding the fog line:</div> <bR> <div> 1) Take the lane and let the cars pile up behind us.</div> <div> 2) Get off the bikes and walk in the grass along side the road.</div> <div> 3) Pull off the road for a few minutes to see if the traffic would clear.   </div> <bR> <div> The other difficult section was 3 miles near Rockford, just east of Rock Cut State Park.  The GIT follows Harlem Road, normally a quiet country lane.  But IL Route 173, the main east-west road in the area, was under construction at the time, and all of it's traffic was detoured onto Harlem Road.    The traffic came in bumper to bumper clusters of 10 to 15 cars.    Much of the road was no passing zone.  We did take the lane, but there were still a lot of uncomfortably close passes, especially with cars cutting back into the lane quickly to avoid oncoming traffic.</div> <bR> <div> Hill Climbing</div> <div> We got much better at climbing hills as the trip progressed.  For us, letting our climbing speed drop down to 3 mph was the key to not burning out.   There were only 5 times when we walked up parts of hills.  They were:</div> <div> 1) The long climb out of the DesPlaines River valley in Joliet.</div> <div> 2) A steep climb up Valley View Drive in Carbon Cliff</div> <div> 3) A hill in Fulton  ( actually, we walked this one more to rest from the 100 degree heat than to recover from climbing)</div> <div> 4) A long, steep hill on Stage Coach Trail 2 miles west of Galena</div> <div> 5) A long, steep hill on Guilford Rd 9 miles east of Galena </div> <div> By the end of the trip, I'm sure we could have ridden up all but hills 2, 4, and 5  without a problem. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Thanks</div> <div> We owe a special thanks to our daughter, Amy, who provided support for us on 5 trips.  She dropped us us off at the start, checked on us enroute, was only a phone call away in case of an emergency, and picked us up at the end point.   Special thanks are also due Gerry and Pam, my brother in law and his wife, who provided support on 2 trips.</div> <bR> <div> I can't say enough about the help we received from Illinois DNR personnel.   </div> <bR> <div> The ranger at Gebhard Woods alerted us to trail closures due to downed trees and flodded paths.</div> <div> The ranger at Buffalo Rock returned phone calls on a weekend to give us information on trail closures in his area.</div> <div> The ranger at Hennepin Canal Visitor Center went out of his way to get us maps and valuable information about the construction on the canal trail.</div> <div> The rangers at Lake Le-Aqua-Na found a place for us to park, gave us maps and suggested alternate routes around trail sections closed due to hunting season.</div> <bR> <div> Number of trips</div> <bR> <div> In a perfect world, we would have ridden the entire Grand Illinois Trail in a continuous two or three week ride.  Unfortunately, every time we scheduled a multiple day ride, something  intervened to prevent it.  The worst culprit was weather.   At least 4 long weekend trips were reduced from 3 days to 1 day because of weather   One week long trip was cancelled the day before we were scheduled to leave due to  a "100 year rain"  depositing a foot of water our basement.  Another week long trip was reduced to 1 1/2   days when the weather changed from fair and 40F to a mix of snow, freezing rain, and temps down to 20F.  </div> <bR> <div> There were several trips when we  planned morning and afternoon rides, but only rode in the morning.  In some cases, the morning ride led us to an interesting place or event where we decided to spend the afternoon.  In other cases, the weather changed and we cancelled the afternoon trip.   We averaged 22 miles per leg.  The longest leg was 43 mi and the shortest leg  was the last at 10mi.</div> <bR> <div> Route Making</div> <bR> <div> Resources we used</div> <div> Books</div> <bR> <div> Maps</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Links </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=34 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="seatonville_to_bureau.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grand Illinois Trail Seatonville to Bur"><U><B><IMG SRC="03816180.gif" border=0 width="22" height="24" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" 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