Traveling from Chicago to Brodhead is over 100 miles so to make it more manageable several Earth Rider guests have taken their bicycles on the Metra train to the end of the line in Harvard, Illinois. From Harvard it is 60 miles to Brodhead on quiet backroads. On Monday, Aug. 24, 2009 I tested one such route in reverse on my new Madone road bike. I got a later than I wanted start, leaving Earth Rider at 8am with a light headwind for what seemed the entire day. The route southeast towards Beliot slowed me down on some new pea graveled roads following our Angel Museum route. Past Beckman Mill I headed south into Illinois though Rockton and Roscoe. There were three unmarked intersections around the state-line area and one of them resulted in a bad turn requiring me to backtrack a few miles (I have since updated the cue sheet). But there was no confusion where the Stone Bridge trail started. It is crushed limestone which is usually not recommended on a road bike, but it was packed down hard for 5 miles. The Stone Bridge itself is very scenic and although there is a lot of drop offs and grade changes in this part of Illinois, it was flat going on the recreational trails. The Stone Bridge Trail turns into the paved Long Prairie trail, a total of 22 scenic miles. Although these trails are flat, there is a significant grade that you can feel in your legs. At the end of the trail there is no direct route into Harvard (unless you want to bicycle on Rt. 173 which has heavy, fast auto traffic). I opted for the quiet, county roads so it was another 10 miles to go first south and then northeast into downtown Harvard. I made the 1:30pm train winded, grabbed a soda from the vending machine, and boarded the train with my bicycle with 15 minutes to spare. It was a very relaxing ride into Chicago. Next time I’ll allow more time to explore some of the paths off the Stone Bridge Trail and the communities in Illinois such as Caledonia, Capron, and Harvard. Burn calories, not hydrocarbons, by traveling on two wheels!
Windy City Whirl (via Metra)
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