Slightly longer ride today to reach Chicago. My plan is to take a rest day here on Independence Day.

Last night I sorted out my route choices. The Adventure Cycling route listed 84 miles to Chicago which would have been two days. Komoot made a route of 57 miles entirely on roads but I was cautious whether some would be busy. In the end, I tweaked a RideWithGPS route to make it 62 miles including about 15 miles of bike paths. As it turned out a portion of those were gravel but it all worked out.

The Wilmington motel room was the smallest one yet. Barely room for a bed and my bike if I took the panniers off. I was on the road early to take advantage of cool temperatures and less traffic. Initial ride through town and then on shoulder of 53 which was rough. However after a mile I came to the Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie park.

I navigated through fences designed to keep cattle enclosed and found a wide smooth gravel path. There was some cow poop on the path but easy to avoid.

The cattle were curious and not too afraid.

A few miles of my quiet path until I came to my first closure of the day. Good they are taking care of the bison but now had to figure out my choices. It turned out a small area had been mowed in a sort sort of path so I followed it. It was too rough to ride but a nice walk that added 1/2 mile to the distance.

A picture of the mowed path.

After this a few miles of busy 53 before getting to quieter roads by Elwood.

This area became more industrial and then there were huge numbers of trucks. Not sure of the exact situation but several intermodal truck facilities where they move containers from rail to truck, an Amazon distribution center and multiple other truck related businesses. Fortunately the road was wide enough and smooth so reasonable cycling.

At some point all the trucks turned off and my road became quiet again. I learned why about a mile later. A short section of road closed off by barricades on both sides. I could wheel my bike around the first barricade, but this second one was tougher. I ended up taking everything off the bike and lifting things over the barricade. Here they are on the other side as I get ready to re-assemble things.

I crossed back and forth across the Des Plaines River a few times before eventually getting into Joliet. After crossing the main parts of town, I was back to a bicycle path.

For much of the next 15 miles, I was on a variety of bicycle paths. About half were gravel like this one and the rest were paved. They didn’t all completely hook up so there were also a few parts of road to connect things. However, in general a quiet ride.

Another section of bicycle path, this one paved.

Some areas like this one were well covered, and welcome since it made it cooler as the temperatures climbed to the mid-80s and it was also humid.

The last third of the ride was more varied. Some cycling through Chicago neighborhoods and the last parts into the city becoming busier roads and more commercial businesses. This was one of the most varied riding I’ve done with a mix of trails, neighborhoods, commercial roads and then mix in bison, trucks and road closures.

Before going to the hotel, I made a quick swing past the Bean for an I’m in Chicago stop. There were a lot of people out and around in the park and areas. Otherwise have a reasonable hotel about a mile away from the Bean and feeling of accomplishment to have made it to the city today.

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