(5-4 Staunton, IL - continued) With the weather turning bad Adair turned around and headed for home. We continued on, wondering just how far we should push it. Entering Edwardsville I caught up with David who was talking to a guy. This guy turned out to be Justin who was working as an intern, for the St. Louis Post Dispatch as a cameraman. He was interested in our story and wanted to take some pictures and then sell them (not for a price) with the story to the editor. Since the weather was getting worse and we wanted to get going we were not to eager to stand around for a bunch of pictures. Justin took several pictures and then it was decided for us to hit the road and Justin would follow along taking pictures. Well, let me tell you, this guy followed us for some distance. He would speed ahead, park the car, jump out snap several pictures, jump back in the car and speed ahead again and do it all over again. To make a long story short we got a very nice write-up with three pictures in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, thanks Justin.
It began to sink-in that we were in our last state, as far as Route 66 goes. It’s funny how without knowing it all of a sudden the tour is in its last days. But we still had to beat the storm that was on its way and find a motel. On we rode. We could hear and see the thunder and lightning as we rode along. Entering the town of Staunton the rain started.
We checked into a Super 8 Motel just in time, as the storm got more serious. The recommend place for dinner was a short walk from the motel but once inside the restaurant we discovered it was a very noisy and unfriendly place. The place was a sports-bar type place with loud music and very smoky. We left and walk back to the DQ which was right next door to our motel. The storm continued.
(5-5 Springfield) We woke to sunny and clear skies. There were storms to the north and to the south of us but we should be OK for today. This would be a great day with it getting warm in the afternoon and with a tailwind. We rode all day on Route 66, some of it being from 1926-30.
Our first stop for the day was at the Route 66 Cafe in the town of Litchfield for breakfast. I wonder just how many “Route 66 Cafe’s that are!!
At one point Route 66 turned into a brick road. The brick did not look that old, maybe the town had replaced the old bricks with new bricks. Any case it was not a lot of fun to ride on brick. I was reminded of when I was working in Burghausen, Germany and rode my bike (I had taken it with me) around the old town on cobblestone, also not much fun.
There were now scratches of Route 66 that would just stop and turn into weeds and then start again. We would just got off our bikes and push them across the weeds and then ride again. I picked up another piece of the road (1926-1930) for a souvenir. We thought about setting up a roadside stand and selling pieces of the Old Road.
A good tail wind was with us most of the day which was very welcome. Soon we were on the out skirts of Springfield, IL (the State Capital). Again David lead us through this very busy city. After checking into our motel we then headed for dinner. It was about time for a great dinner so we went to the “Outback” restaurant and I had prime rib, mmm mmm good. After dinner we rode into downtown to look at the Capital. I stopped and asked a well-dress man coming out of the Capital Building where the statue of Abraham Lincoln was. He said there was a sitting statue of him on the other side of the Capital. We rode around the Capital but could not find it (if it was ever there is a good question).
(5-6 Normal) It was not always easy to find Route 66 to start the day and today was no exception. We wound our way through town and finally had to took I-55 for 3 miles, we really had no choice. Illinois is the only state that did not allow bikes on the Interstate. Well, California does not either but the secondary road(s), Route 66, was easy to find. Sure enough a Police car come by, but all he did was to buzz us with his siren, just to let us know we should not be there. We were insight of our off-ramp and I would guess the Officer knew it.
Breakfast was in Elkhart, a very small town with one restaurant. Lunch was in Atlanta, another very small town but with no restaurant, so we ate at Casy’s. Casy’s is a mini-mart-gas station type store. The best part of Casy’s is that they have daily fresh doughnuts. It was good to be back in Casy’s land. On our Coast-to-Coast tour in 1998 we made many stops at Casy’s.
Our route in Illinois on Route 66 was almost flat but with a very slight up-hill due to having the Mississippi River near by. The rest of the day we were on Route 66. Finding our way across Bloomington and Normal to our motel was another adventure. There is just no easy way to get across town on a bicycle. Dinner was at Ming’s Wok, another Chinese all you can eat Restaurant.
(5-7 Braidwood) It rained overnight but we woke to just clouds and a temp of 59 degrees. The humid was high and was reported to be 97%. Today we would cross the path that we rode several years ago on our coast-to-coast tour, the town of O’Dell. Again we had to ride the Interstate for 5 miles to get out of town and back on Route 66.This time we saw no Police cars.
The rest of today we would be on Route 66. As we pulled into O’Dell we found the restaurant, “The Wishing Well,” were we ate several meals in 1998. It was the same place but with new owners. We were told that the old owners had open another place up the road a ways. O’Dell is a very nice and clean town.
After lunch we rode on and made a stop to say “hi” to the pasted owners of The Wishing Well. Pulling into Braidwood we decided to make it our overnight. From here to Chicago is about 90 miles and we wanted to break it into two days. The plan was to get close to Chicago tomorrow so that we could ride into Chicago during the middle of the day and not have to ride in during rush hour. By the way it was a good plan and worked great.
After checking in to our motel we headed over to the “Polk-A-Dot” drive-in for a snack. This is a famous Route 66 stop, since the mid 50s. Along with some great inside memorabilia on the outside were life size figurines of Marilyn, James Dean, Betty Boops and Elvis on one side of the building and on the other side were the Blues Brothers. As we started to ride away the owner came out and gave us each a ballpoint pen with their logo on it. Dinner was at the “Golden Mine Restaurant.” Both place were very good.
(5-8 Lemont) We woke to a cool and cloudy day. After breakfast at the Golden Mine we headed out of town. Today it was easy to get back on Route 66 due to being in a small town in which the main street is Route 66. Soon we were in Joliet where we went looking for a book store so that David could buy a new book to read (pocket book). Joliet is another tough town to get around in, mainly due to construction and a bridge over the river being closed. David got his book and I got a doughnut. On the way to the book store I saw a sign on a doughnut shop that read “Hand Cut Donuts.” The place was pretty crowded and the donuts were delicious. Have I said “life is good.”
David found us a very nice bike path to get us out of Joliet. Motels were few and far between in this area so we decided to spend the night in Lemont which had a motel, about 46 miles from downtown Chicago. It was still early in the day so thought about riding into town for lunch. We were about one mile down the road to town when decided it was not worth it. The road was so bad with no shoulder and being very rough. Now dinner would be a problem. Across the street from our motel was a gas station - mini-mart. We found inside that they made fresh sandwiches, so this would be our dinner and for that matter breakfast tomorrow. It was to early for dinner so we looked for snacks. On one display stand we saw a sign that read “Sale - 3 for $1.00.” I picked out three items: chocolate covered cashews - 8.5oz, Oreo cookies - 5.25oz, and a Milkyway bar - 1.76oz. Boy what a deal for $1.00.
(5-9 Chicago) It was our last day on Route 66. As normal we woke to cool and cloudy weather. It had rained overnight but was dry now. After a breakfast sandwich and several cups of very good coffee we were off for Chicago. We were looking for a bike path that would take us part of the way, but until we found it, it was a hairy ride on a two lane roads, with no shoulders and heavy traffic. At last we found the bike path. Stopping at a parking lot next to the bike path we were cautioned by several other bike riders about the route we had planned to take into this big city. Instead they suggested that we stay more on the main road, which we did. The route we took worked out very well and soon we were at Lake Michigan and only a few miles for the end/start of Route 66.
In our guide books it says that the official start/finish of Route 66 is at the corner of Lake Shore Dr. and Jackson Blvd. So that is where we headed. Reaching this corner we looked for a welcoming band, the mayor and a great celebration. We found nothing, not even a sign telling us this was the end. Across for this intersection, in the park, were four men who were city official. They were talking about some park improvements. I rode up to them and asked if there was any official Route 66 finish sign. They said “NO.” I told them what we had just accomplished and that we were hoping for a big welcome. They gave us a hand. Well that’s it, we did it.
The finish had been as anticlimactic and was the start. Oh well, we know, just how great this road is and how wonderful our adventure was.
Checking into the Chicago Youth Hostel we headed out to see the city and lake shore. Riding just two blocks for what is called the official end to Route 66 we found a street sign that read “END - Historic - Route 66.” This sign was near the corner of Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Ave. The lighting was poor and we were told to come back at 5pm when the lighting would be better to take pictures. Also we were told why this was the end and not the other place that most people think is the end. When Route 66 was first introduced, back in the 20s, the two blocks from here to Lake Michigan was underwater. This area has been filled since and Lake Shore Dr. was then put in. Makes sense to me.
Putting our bikes into the secure area at the Hostel we were out on foot to see the city. First we rode “The Loop” an elevated train. Then headed back to the finish of Route 66 to take some pictures, had dinner and turned in.
We rode 325 miles in Illinois with 3,700 feet of gain.
(5-10 Palatine) With Route 66 behind us we still had 9 more days of riding to reach Minneapolis and David’s house. It was cloudy and cool as we made our way across Chicago to Palatine where we would spend the night with some of David’s family. As I have said, it’s never easy to get across a strange town but David seems to find the way. Chicago is know for it’s “Neighborhoods” and we rode through a lot of them.
As we rode along I noticed on my right the “Little Fuse” factory. Now, that may not mean much to you all but to an old Ham Radio operator (WA6UZG), like I am, it’s like being home. I can’t tell you how many boxes of fuses I have from this company.
We made a stop at a bakery, Cumberland Bakery, to pick up a coffee cake for our hosts and to have a snack. Arriving at their house, introduction were made and places to sleep were assigned. Well, not really they gave us a choice of several places. I chose the basement which had a nice bed and was cool and quite. We all went to Hometown Buffet for dinner. After a nice evening I headed downstairs for my cozy bed. I sleep like a rock.
(5-11 Lake Geneva, WI) Waking up, up the stairs I went and found out that last night there was a really big storm with sever storm warning. Everyone, but me, had gotten up in the night to watch TV to see just how close the storm was coming to Palatine. They told me that I almost had a lot of company with me down in the safe basement.
It was cloudy and windy but not raining. After another McDonald’s breakfast we were on the road and heading for Wisconsin. By the way, since we did not find a Route 66 jersey while on Route 66 route I had given up on every getting one.
We found a bike path that ran north, the direction we where heading, so we took it The riding was very nice. We could see some of the damage from last nights storm. We had, on several occasions, to either get off our bikes and push them under a down tree that now crossed the bike path or push them around the down trees.
We stopped for lunch in Crystal Lake. Being Mothers Day the restaurant was packed. The place is very popular with people who take the train from Chicago just for breakfast/lunch. We found two seats at the counter and had a great meal. As we got back on our bikes it started to rain and the wind picked up.
It got ugly really fast. We found out later that the wind was in the 50 mph range with gusts into the 60 mph range. We were heading mostly north and the wind was coming form the west. It was very hard to keep the bikes on the road. The rain was being driven into our faces. I had my FULL rain gear on and was warm. But it was hard to make any headway. Finally we spotted a large barn and pulled in. As I always do, the first thing I did was head for the farm house to let the owner know that we had taken shelter in their barn. The house was some 100 yards from the barn and it was set back a bit. Much to my surprise the lady said she saw us pull in and thanked us for coming to the door. She said we could say as long as we like. Note: I can’t tell you how many times, over the years, I have gone to a the tell the people that we were just bikers taking shelter and they said that they saw us.
A hour went by with no let up in the storm and now I was getting cold and David was getting very cold. He was wet from the rain while I was wet from sweating in my water proof rain gear. I went back to the house to talk to the lady, telling her that we were still there. I told her that we were heading for a motel in the next town, which was about 3 miles away. She replied that the motel is no longer a motel and the closes place to find a motel for the night was Lake Geneva, WI. some 13+ miles away. Returning to the barn I told David what I have learned. After a short while we decided we had better head out into the storm, as time was running out and we sure did not want to ride in the dark.
As we got our thing together and started to get on our bikes the lady drove into the barn in her pickup truck and she asked if we wanted a ride to the edge of town (Lake Geneva) but she did not want to go into town. We said “YES.” It was kind of hard to say yes as we never have had to accept a ride but in this case there was no hesitation. Of course we probably would have accepted a ride way back in Sante Rosa, NM if it had been offered.
We loaded our bikes into the back of her pickup and got into the dry and warm cab. The storm was still in full force. We crossed into Wisconsin and missed our “Welcome to Wisconsin” picture, which we will get when we leave Wisconsin. On the outskirts of town she stopped and we unloaded our bikes. It was still really coming down and the wind was blowing hard. We thank her and offered her some money which she refused. Note: If you have read about my other tours you have noticed how often I have said the Rural Americas are the greatest people.
Continued on the Wisconsin/Minneapolis link.