We’re about a month away from my big cycling challenge for the year. On July 16, my sister, Nancy, and I, are planning to ride our bikes from St. Louis to Dundee, IL, a far-northwestern suburb of Chicago. We’ll use the Adventure Cycling Association route that follows, as closely as possible, the classic Rt. 66. We plan to ride about 80 miles a day, at a tourist pace, enjoying the many things to see and do in the small towns that are along the historic road. It’s the first multi-day bike touring trip for both of us, so it’ll be an adventure/experience on several levels.
Unlike a lot of touring cyclists, we won’t be camping. We’re doing what cycle tourists call a credit-card tour in which we eat in restaurants and stay in motels. Hotels would be nice but I doubt there are many along the old route.
We’ll be reporting our training progress leading up to the ride and, of course, our experiences as we travel Rt. 66 across Illinois.