Summary Ride Of Trail

Okay so I promised a review of the trail the day after the big storm came through and caught me on the trail. Here is what I first encountered on the trail shortly after starting the ride for the day.

I had to backtrack to this location on the night of the storm in order to circumvent one of the downed trees that are shown cut up in the pictures.

The trail was littered with refuse and stick and leaves. Of course, the occasional biker/jogger was out. I was really surprised how fast the work crews finished off all those trees that were downed the night before. Some of them were about two feet in diameter!

Saw this guy also:

Here are a few extra pics from the trail that day.

Dang it! Didn't get my camera out fast enough to capture what happened here!

This guy is trying to get back up after a spill

I was approaching this jogger when I was heading North on the bike trail near Lake In The Hills Airport when this rider startled me by waiting too long before he warned me he was passing 'on the left'. I kinda steered badly for a moment because of this. And the next thing that happened was one of those instances where everyone only makes a little mistake or error in judgement but they all do it at once and create a problem. The rider did the same thing as he approached the jogger in front of me. He wait ed too long to announce his presence to the jogger. Well, the jogger was already straddling the center line on the bike trail. So when the jogger was startled by the rider he didn't know which side to move to and kinda feinted in each direction. Hahaha! The rider was going so fast that when he tried braking he almost did an endo! He ended up tangled with the jogger and laid the bike down! I tried to get the camera out as fast as I could but i was incredulous to what had just happened for a moment too long. The above was the best shot I could get. Moral of the story must be that even little teeny mistakes can add up to some nasty stuff if we aren't careful!

Chopper with pontoons flies directly overhead.

Chopper headed to Lake In The Hills Airport.

Tough 20

When I got out of work tonight, I saw some very dark ominous clouds rolling in from the West. I decided to check the weather radar when I got home on the Weather Underground website.  What I saw was alot of clouds and rain coming. so I decided to eat dinner and check again for a break in the clouds. So when i checked again, I was able to start biking about 15 minutes later. But I knew I would get soaked on the return trip. No big deal, I was still pretty dirty from work today.
   When I started down the Fox River Trail, I started seeing leaves and small branches and sticks all over the trail. A few miles down the trail I was stopped cold by a downed tree. It was pretty large, with a 2' to 2.5' diameter trunk. With no way thru, under or over it, I was forced to backtrack a quarter mile and get onto a road for a half mile until the trail was accessible again. I then encountered another two downed trees on the trail over the next two miles. Small debris was littering the trail for the next 3-4 miles. At about the five mile mark the downpour began and didn't let up for the rest of the ride. After I reached the halfway point and turned around to return home, I was forced to use the light due to early darkness because of the cloud cover. As I neared the area with the debris everywhere, I thought it best to go from the intermittent light setting to constant light. Even though I know that will drain the batteries much faster, it was necessary so that I wouldn't lose an eye on any branches, etc.
   Even though it wasn't the wisest choice to ride in the rain, it sure was alot of  fun! I guess I will take another ride down the FRT tomorrow to see what the damage looks like. Hopefully the crews will be out clearing the trail by then. I will try to get some pics then.

Carpentersville to St. Charles and back

Looking Northwest towards the Fox River while standing on the FRT in front of Gail Borden Library.

So you wanted pics? Here you go! These pics are from a bike ride on the Fox River Trail(FRT) that started at about 5:00 PM today. The start point was at Washington St. in Carpentersville and went to downtown St. Charles and back again. Total distance was 40 miles. Max speed was 37.1 mph. Approximate time was 4 hours due to 20 minutes of breaks which turned into 40 minutes of breaks due to three chain derailments. Two of the derailments happened within ten feet of each other(Arrrrrr!!). I was ready tho. After my last run in with the chain about midweek, I decided my bike runs would only be complete with two, count em - TWO, screw drivers. This facilitates the grease staying on something other than my hands! The mess was minimal.

Looking West from FRT at Gail Borden Library at boat racing buoys.

A boat on it's way by

A blimp can be seen in the sky in the background of the IPP trail.

Old base for electric train equipment on the IPP

I have to go to the road here because the railroad crossing for the trail has not been developed yet on the Stearns Rd. Trail(barrier in background blocks trail).

Looking back at barrier after resuming ride on Stearns R.d Trail.

On pedestrian bridge under Stearns Rd. bridge. Note: that is not real brick or stone. That is just some kind of artistic facing to the cement pillar work!

Railroad bridge parallel to the Stearns Rd. bridge. The stones are real on that bridge.

Western shore of Fox River. Trail goes under the bridge there. See it?

Looking back East on the Stearns Rd. pedestrian bridge

Looking South on bridge over Fox River on FRT just at base of hill 4/10 mile long with a nice steep grade(No standing while pedaling!)!

Someone flying down the hill.

Looking West at railroad/pedestrian bridge in St. Charles

Same.

Waterside trail under bridge.

Kewl bike trail sign!

On the bridge.

Looking South from the pedestrian bridge. St.Charles main bridge in background(Rte 64).

Looking back East on bridge

Baker Community House. This is where I go to play chess on Thursdays sometimes at the St. Charles Chess Club on the third floor.

Is this turtle flying?

It is!!!

Trail goes under bridge just North of the flying turtle

Some kind of bike art in downtown St. Charles park

More bike art.

Some locked up bikes in downtown

Intersection of Rtes 31 and 64.

Back on the pedestrian bridge looking North toward Potawatamy Park

Still

Is that a fox?

Maybe

Yup! It's a fox made of old bike parts!

Plaque dedicating the fox.

I like the bike seat for a nose

And all the rims that make up the tail

Look at all those parts that make up the body! That musta been fun to make!

Looking South from the fox

Looking North under the pedestrian bridge

Looking South from the North side of the pedestrian bridge

Fox River Queen

Didn't the Almond Brothers have one of these?

Bike sign painted on the trail in South Elgin

Also in South Elgin.

Old brick road built in the 1930s no longer in use but still has working street lights.