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.