Barton LorimorAnother #SilentSunday on the bike paths of Sangamon County. Today was especially exciting, as it was my first ride since the spring on the Wabash and Interurban Trails. Closed over the summer by ongoing Scheels Sports Park construction, the natural beauty and many ways humans terraform the central Illinois landscape were on full display along the path - about 30 miles end-to-end between Springfield, Jerome, and Chatham #illinois.
September is also the start of harvest season in #Illinois. We are home to some of the richest soil in the world, which brings global #AgriBusiness interests to our communities and nearby #logistics hubs. Our #water and nutrient rich farmland, coupled with #AgTech and #BioEngineering advances, make it possible for corn farmers here to realize more than 300 bushels an acre.
The southern Interurban Trail head is in Chatham, Illinois, USA. It is named for the now-defunct Illinois Terminal System, an electric #lightrail system shuttling passengers between #StL and numerous central #Illinois communities, including Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur, Edwardsville, Peoria and Springfield.
https://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/the-interurban-railway/
https://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/the-interurban-railway/
One of the neatest parts of the Interurban Trail: It's directly adjacent to an active rail line that shuttles brings freight and @amtrak #TrainTravel passengers between #Chicago, #STL, #LittleRock, #Austin, #SanAntonio, #Tuscon #Yuma and #LosAngeles. The southbound #TexasEagle went by this evening, as did this northbound @unionpacific freight #train.
Sangamon County, #Illinois and #Springfield leaders have been inspired by nearby efforts to convert old #rail lines into #pedestrian and #bike paths. Our neighbors in nearby Madison County have built up a significant bike path network along the #Mississippi River, and the Rail to Trails movement makes #grants available for similar #infrastructure projects.
My trek ends here, the western head of the Wabash Trail, which meets the Interurban Trail near the Wabash Ave. and MacArthur Blvd. intersection in Springfield, #Illinois, USA. If I were to follow the dedicated bike lanes two more miles to the west, I would meet up with the Sangamon Valley Trail - a 25-mile roundtrip path between Springfield and rural Central, Ill. But after about 30 miles of biking and dinner waiting at home, it's time to call it a night.