Route 66 Trek - St Louis to Chicago: Day 5 Chenoa to Joliet, June 24, 2017

June 24, 2017, Saturday

Our map suggests today's ride offers a slightly more intense expedition than yesterday: 

Distance: 118 km (73.7 mi).

Average Speed: 19.2 kph (11.9 mph)

Time on Bike: 6 hours, 9 minutes 

Trip Time: 10 hours

Photos and commentary highlight some of our memorable moments..........

Geographic regions experience weather in different ways. 

We are used to what we are used to. 

This sign made this Canadian smile. 

Where I live, 2" of snow isn't worth removing. 

But that's just a regional "tolerance." 

I'm happy for the citizens of Pontiac, Illinois, that their streets are kept so clear and safe. 



Any doubt what Country we are in?

Pontiac is also typical of so many towns along old Route 66 in this part of the country inasmuch as Route 66 literally weaves it way not just through downtown areas, but also residential neighborhoods. 



Found my old buddy, Abe, relaxing outside the Courthouse on the town square.

Enlarge this mural and you'll have a graphic map of Route 66 from end to end. 



The Old Route 66 Mobile Information Station.

Unfortunately it was closed on this early Saturday morning. 

We were among the few in the town awake, up, and outside.




Laura and I adding beauty to an already amazing mural.



Look carefully. Quite the artwork, eh?



Citizens of Odell, Illinois, about an hour ride north of Pontiac, beautifully preserved a classic Route 66 Service Station. 

We also stopped at the Ace Hardware Store where Bro Mark bought some "hardware" and performed a creative repair of Laura's pedal. 



As we enter the town of Dwight, I wave "hi" to the first identifiable Canadians I've seen so far on this trip.



 Dwight also preserves heritage.




And yet another hour of pedalling brings us to Gardener, IL, and the fine accomodations of their 1906 Jail House, featuring practical and economical military issue canvas wooden cots. 

I would market this place as the "Motel 6 Square Feet." 

The toilet bucket doesn't require flushing, just emptying. 



Indoor, environmentally friendly heating.

A word from local law enforcement.





A nicely preserved classic roadside eatery. 



A panoramic view of the entire jail complex.



45 minutes north of Gardner, in the town of Braidwood, we found The King. 

This is no Elvis impersonator. 

This Elvis is solid. Literally. 

And the iconic Polk-A-Dot Drive In stills serves great calorie enriched meals perfect for the traveling cyclist. 



He's teaching me a few of his classic moves. 

"Ah, thank you. Thank you very much."



Just on the outskirts of Joliet, we find another venue reminding me of the movie Cars 3. 



Finally, ten hours after departing Chenoa, we arrive at our Super 8 (Square Feet) motel in Joliet. 

We shower and remove the sweat and sunscreen from our bodies and put on fresh(er) non-bike clothing. 

We walk to the nearby Steak N Shake restaurant for a much needed calorie replenishment, with ice cream for dessert. (The joy of non-guilty eating when you've burned over 4,000 calories since breakfast.)

Arriving in Joliet, we're officially on the outer edge of Metro Chicago's 9.5 million population centre. We've been through seemingly countless small towns, with the exceptions of Springfield and Bloomington, which felt like big, but bike-friendly cities. But in Metro Chicago I feel the urban culture with its inherent "share the road" challenges.

Put this in perspective, realizing metro Chicago's population is about the same as the entire the population of the province of Ontario, Canada, which is three times the size of Texas!

I can't say I'm super excited about traversing the 75 km (46 mi) we must pedal tomorrow to reach the eastern terminus of Route 66 in downtown Chicago. I enjoy cycling, but not so much cycling in congested cities. Statistically speaking, every time I do, I am aware I am rolling the dice of probability for shortening my life expectancy. 

But I will be delightfully surprised by a totally unexpected discovery tomorrow morning which will pretty much alleviate my dread.

Stay tuned for our final Day 6. 

Route 66 Trek - St Louis to Chicago: Day 4 Lincoln to Chenoa, June 23, 2017

Route 66 Trek St Louis to Chicago
Day 4: Lincoln to Chenoa 
June 23, 2017 
Friday 

Distance: 92 km (60 mi)

Average Speed: 16.8 kph (10.4 mph)

Time on Bike: 5 hours, 44 minutes 

Trip Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes

Yesterday was an easy 'half day" of tailwind-powered riding, followed by poolside therapy, pizza, Agents of Shield, and a solid night's sleep.

My ears awake today to precipitation tapping on the roof and windows. Usually a pleasant sound, but not exactly what three cyclists about to pedal 100 km (60 mi) want to hear. 

At 7:15 am, packed and ready to roll, don't roll. 

We stand on Laura's front porch admiring the waterfall cascading from the downspout.

But we are not discouraged. 

We are hungry.

So what to do when you don't want to ride in the rain?

You wait about 10 minutes.

Then you pedal to a real family-like restaurant on the Lincoln town square for the consumption of some premium fuel (Eggs, bacon, toast, etc for Mark and I. Lots of coffee for Laura). 

After breakfast, the rain (we hope) has passed.

As we pedal north out of Lincoln we pay homage to The Watermelon made famous inasmuch as President Lincoln actually used the esteemed fruit to officially christen the town with his name. 

While many towns honour themselves with Lincoln's name, this Lincoln, Illinois, is the only town take can claim Lincoln himself declares this place his officially named town. 



Smiley, the Water Tower, cheers us on as we pedal through the countryside on old historic Route 66. 

While the temperature is still way up there, we are blessed by merciful cloud cover (with few sprinkles, but no deluge) and a nice bike trail paralleling Route 66 (It might have been an earlier version of old old Route 66). 



Brother Mark poising beside the winning entry for the smallest Route 66 Sign ever.



Just in case you wondered where Tony was hiding out these days. 



A clever means to preserve an historic road: Take an historic road and pave a beautiful bike path right next to it. 

This section of Route 66 south of Chicago was once actually expanded to four lanes; two, two lane roads, side by side, with a median in the middle. 

In the photo you see one of these roads maintained (for two directional traffic) and in good use today. The bike path follows the abandoned road which remains for us to appreciate.

If you saw the movie Cars 3, you'll appreciate this photo.



It's getting rather warm(er)! 

(Not a lot of shade around here.)

And, O Joy, we pedal into a 25-30 kph (15-20  mph) heated headwind. 



Alas, all good bike paths must end. 

Time to get back on the real road shoulder.
 

So I'm pedaling along thinking a washroom (or Restroom, as they say in the USA) would be helpful. 

I'm pondering the trees and bushes available to me. 

Then out of nowhere, this Dependable Dumper, or whatever it is called, appears. 

One of those serendipitous  moments from which true gratefulness springs.



Railroads and Route 66 go together like Hamburgers and Fries.

A glimpse of the past with this abandoned trestle. 




Another glimpse of the past in this roadside refreshment establishment now re-used for another purpose. 



A half picnic table of shade awaits us on the outskirts of Chenoa.

Our motel is just around the corner.

And a delightful supper at a great family restaurant. 

We had a good day of kicks on Route 66.

St Louis to Chicago on Historic Route 66: Day 3 Springfield to Lincoln

On Thursday morning, June 22, 2017, the sun rose in Springfield, Illinois, and we arose with it. We knew the day was going to be a warm one, and we wanted to get some distance under our wheels before the peak temps of the day were upon us. 

As per almost standard procedure, we delighted in the free breakfast provided by our Motel 8, or was it 6? Close enough. Mark and I pigged out (to prevent any possible "caloric deficient that might hinder our high performance cycling). Laura caffeinated. We rolled out. Our first challenge of the day involves navigating our way through downtown Springfield. 

Once again, I offer thanks for the hardworking folks of years past who built the railroads of the Midwest USA. I also offer thanks for today's creative citizens of Springfield who had the vision to transform the abandoned tracks and right of way into a multi-purpose trail for bikers, hikers, and walkers. Such routes off the streets greatly increase our chance of safety and survival. 

Notice the not-so-high sun in the sky, but we already feel the heat of the day. 

We are motivated in a special way for our ride today. We aren't just going to some city named Lincoln. We go to a home. Not just any home. We go to Laura's home. That's right. She lives in Lincoln, Illinois. Has for a substantial portion of her life. Not only does she live there, but she is significantly and passionately involved in the politics and enhancement of the city. I predict someday she will be President of Lincoln, Illinois. 

In case you haven't figured it out already, Illinois is all about President Abraham Lincoln. He was born at (no joke) Sinking Spring Farm in Kentucky. (Not on a mountain top in Tennessee, "greatest land in the land of the free," that was another American legend). 

Abe's family moved to Illinois when he was "of age." Shortly after arriving, Abe struck out on his own beginning a series of personal experiences and events in Illinois which became both history and legend. 

Abe was a tall man. Perhaps not as tall as this statue welcoming all to the state capitol in Springfield. Or maybe he was? It appears if I stood on Mark's shoulders, I could look Mr Lincoln in the eye. 

As the 16th President of the USA from 1861-1865, Mr Lincoln navigated the Nation through some of it most difficult, if not its most difficult days. A Nation divided by the issue of slavery fought its bloodiest war. Abe's leadership eventually preserved the less than 100 year old country as a geographically unified entity. But the price was high for everyone. 

Soon after the Civil War, or War of the States, ended, Mr Lincoln was assassinated while trying to relax at a theatre. 

He was buried in Springfield at the Oak Ridge Cemetery. 

If a person's tomb reflects the value, significance, and appreciation placed upon a man's life, this tomb speaks volumes. 
  

"Now he belongs to the Ages." 

Historical records abundantly document that Mr Lincoln had an incredible sense of humour, a genuinely funny guy. He told stories all the time. Some funny. Some to make important points. But good jokes too. 

So I got to wonder if he had anything to do with this statue of himself, and the unique tradition that goes with it. 

Here's the tradition: If you touch Mr Lincoln's nose, its good luck. 

So I did. 

(I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think I might be correct: Mr Lincoln is the first President to be photographed. So we actually really know what he looked like. Some historians believe the invention of photography was a first major development in shifting people's attention away from a politician's position on issues to their personality and appearance, and thus today we largely elect leaders today based on their charisma rather than their positions and politics, and perhaps brains.)

Believe me, it's not like we haven't seen a few corn fields so far on this journey, but north of Springfield it is corn fields forever. 

Route 66 technically doesn't exist anymore. Thanks to the idea of a nation connected by fast moving "interstate" highways hatched in the 1950's, the handwriting was then on the wall for the inevitable demise of Route 66. 

The general path of Route 66 must have been a rather good one, because a great portion of Route 66 was systematically over the years buried segment by segment under portions of the new Interstate "Superhighway" System. (Which means there are no stop signs or stop lights on the Interstate, and, no one need stop at any quaint town or view along the Interstate to smell the roses and get to know that small towns and people who live there. I believe some people call this "progress." I'm not so sure it is.)

In Illinois, and many States, Route 66 got paved over by Interstate 40. 

So for much of today's ride we are travelling on the service, or frontage, roads of Interstate 40. Kind of noisy, yet with the perk of never being too far from ice tea, a hamburger, ice cream, or a restroom (called a washroom in Canada). 

See the Interstate of the right. 

See the Interstate on the left. 

You can't see it in the photos, but if you could, you'd see three smiling cyclists named Mark, Laura, and Kent, because we were blessed this morning with a wonderfully strong tailwind whisking us towards Laura's home. 

A big guy like Abe, needs a big wagon. He has one in Lincoln, Illinois. I got to wonder what kind of super horses would pull such a wagon?!?!?

Four hours and five minutes after leaving Springfield we arrive in Lincoln, Illinois. Today is our shortest travel day for the entire trek: 68.4 km (42.4 mi). Of course it is, because we'd be crazy to pedal past Laura's home with the potential of soft beds, real showers, local swimming pool, big screen TV, pizza, and Laura's cool kids (Mark's cool grand-kids). All of these we would experience today :-)

We also had to stop at Laura's home to pick up my car key. That's right. My car key. Apparently it feel out of my pocket at the Amtrak's historic Union Station in Chicago during my 4 hour layover there on Monday. Bummer. My wife, Deb, graciously express posted my extra key to Laura's house, so I could drive my car home from Port Huron, Michigan, in a few days. 

Did you know it costs about $100 to express post a key from Ontario, Canada to Lincoln, Illinois? It gets worse. When I got home I had to make another "extra key" for my car. But despite that fact that I drive a 14 year old Honda, this key is not the kind you can take to the hardware store and cut a $5 copy of. It looks like a key. But it has a little chip in it for "security purposes." So guess what? I had to pay the Honda people $200 Canadian money ($260 USA money) to cut me a new spare key and program it for my vehicle. Bike trips can get expensive, you know? I now own a very new and expensive key. 

Back to Lincoln. This is NOT Laura's house. This is, I believe, a very very old building that served as a Courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois. Guess what young lawyer practiced law here? Correct. Abe. You can tour the building. But it wasn't open when we were there. 

This IS Laura's home. The house is really big. And the property is really really big. I think about 2 acres, right in the middle of a residential area. I mean, Laura and Jeremy are like Land Barons or something. This family owns their own Park. It is so cool. 

They have two huge black dogs that made me kind of nervous. But neither tried to eat me. 

We arrived just around lunch time. While Laura is on this trip, her kids were farmed out to other family members and friends. They were having a blast that week. They probably didn't even give a thought to Laura's absence. They were full tilt into their church's Vacation Bible School program. 

After arriving (My precious key was awaiting me between the front door and storm door of the house, yay!) we all took showers and then slipped on our swim suits, and found some of Laura's kids somewhere. On the way to this awesome public pool (which has the greatest splash pad/kiddie pool I ever saw, in which I spent time in and sat next to in the shade recuperating from the past two very hot days) we stopped at a great burger joint, I think it was a Wendy's, and got some tasty nourishment.

At her home that evening we ate pizza and watched "Agents of Shield" until I was falling asleep. 

After taking another shower, just because I could, I fell asleep to the purring sound of a wonderful air conditioner and slept super soundly, know tomorrow would be another grand adventure. 

Staunton to Springfield, Illinois on Historic Route 66 Day 2 of St Louis to Chicago Trek

Refreshed from our pleasant night's rest in Staunton, Illinois, about 79 km (49 mi) northeast of St. Louis, we hopped out of bed (the writer wrote with mild exaggeration) and suited up and packed up for Day 2 of our trek from St. Louis to Chicago on Historic Route 66. 

Bro Mark and I fueled our physiology for the next few hours at the Super 8 Free Breakfast counter with oatmeal, waffles, cereal, yogurt, toast, and whatever else we could get hour hands on. Strong coffee appears to fuel Niece Laura in the morning. And it must, for I surely could not keep up with her. 

Having literally roasted yesterday in the excessive humid heat of the American Midwest, which corn apparently thrives on, but not so much we human beings, and understanding the same insane heat awaits us yet again today, we planned smart and purposed to get an early start to capitalize on the relative cool of the morning, . 

After a quick stop for water and sport drinks to sip along the way, we pedalled down the road around 7:00 am. 

We pedalled out of Staunton on Old 66. No bike trail, but enough of a shoulder as to feel reasonably safe from the morning commuters.

I nominate "House Reflection In Front Yard Pond" as my coolist photo of the whole trip. 

Breakfast time! in Carlinville, where, as the signs says, Lincoln walked and Route 66 rolled. I suggest it should read "Where Lincoln ROCKED and Route 66 Rolls," because he did and Route 66 still does. 

So I'm standing on a corner in Carlinville, Illinois, and such a fine sight to see, it's a jail. (I think I have a rough basis for a hit song somewhere in that catchy sentence.) I'm kind of "double parked," but didn't think it would be a problem. 

As I click the pic, a deep voice behind me says, "I'm Sheriff  Shawn" (not John). I jump and wonder, "What did I do?" 

Sheriff Shawn continues, welcoming me to his community and county (He's Sheriff of the largest county, I believe, in Illinois), and tells me about the beautiful old jail I'm looking at they hope to restore and turn into a Route 66 museum as soon as they raise enough money to get all the toxic lead out of the walls, ceilings, and floors so all the tourists who step inside won't someday die slow and painful deaths unlike the prisoners who once died quick and painless deaths within these venerable walls. 

Sheriff Shawn was also kind enough to recommend what would be a great little restaurant for breakfast. 

Mark and Laura socializing at our second breakfast. 

I nominate this photo as one of the Best Example of Creative Marketing winner. I'd ask these ladies to defend me in court any day. 

No, I did not pour a bottle of water over my head. It's just really hot, and not even noon yet. 
I'd say these two old men look like they are having the time of their lives, wouldn't you.

Route 66, motorcycles, and biker bars all go together. 

We reach the city limits of our day's destination just a few minutes before we reach our limits. 

We pedalled the red line, arriving at our motel at 3:45 pm.

A warm day. Temperature reached 30C (86F), with a humidex temperature of 33C (92F).

Our pedalling time was 5 hours and 25 minutes.

Our total trip time for the day was 8 hour and 45 minutes because I was stopping almost every hour at the essential midwest town fixture of a Dairy Queen where I would cool off sipping iced tea and eating ice cream or cheese burgers. 

At a pretty-good-for-us average of 18.5 kph (11.5 mph) we cycled a long day of 100.8 km.