Today was a big day because we were going to end in Chicago... I was going to see my cousin, John Millock, and Mark was going to see his wife, Ditte, who flew out from Albany. After 12 straight days of riding we were going to have two full rest days. Both Mark and I can use the rest, and expect to not want to touch our bikes :-)
The ride started on a series of beautiful bike trails, and then transitioned to some grittier neighborhoods South of Chicago. The last 10-15 miles ran along Lake Shore drive which was like Central Park in NYC, except unwound to be entirely linear up the side of Lake Michigan. I did my crazy schtick of saying "Good Morning" or "Hi" to every biker and pedestrian we passed, and almost all nodded back... We stopped for about 20 minutes at a train crossing that was blocked by a very long frieght train, and also got great lemonade from the happiest class of 4th grade Summer Camp students. The park along the lake was a revelation... so may happy people, so many fit people on bikes, just so much good vibes, with the sky scrapers gleaming in the distance.
Action shots...
The Snapshot: 53 miles, starting at 8:30am and ending at 2:45pm, with 4.5 hours of actual riding:
Great view of the Chicago skyline from the trail. Say hi to route 66 for me.
Those fourth graders sound so sweet. And sounds like fun saying hi to all the people (as long as there aren't too many for the "saying hi" algorithm) -Nof
Fengmei- Haha yes, maybe those people were converted to biking! -Nof (aka Zoë)
Maybe some of those “happy, fit people on bikes” were the car/truck drivers you passed yesterday? It’s amazing you have so many chances biking along lakes. Enjoy rest days in Chicago.