Harald Kliems4d ago

Weekend adventure plans: Bike/train to Chicago and back. Tomorrow, I'll ride the ~135 km from Madison to Harvard and catch a Metra train into Chicago. And then do the reverse the day after. I did a similar trip two years ago and made a little video: https://youtu.be/ugAYRV6ln8M

I'm a bit concerned about the temperatures tomorrow. It'll be -7 C when I start. But at least this time I'll be on a bike with more than one gear.

Show threadHarald Kliems3d ago
Alright, I'm awake and close to ready to leave. It's slightly warmer than the forecast, but still -5 C. And the wind will be stronger than expected, mostly crosswind relative to my route. If my fingers aren't too frozen, I'll keep posting some updates from along the way.
Show threadHarald Kliems
Made it to Harvard! Now I have an hour to burn until the next train departs. It was indeed very cold, at least for the first 3 or 4 hours.
Mar 28 at 5:25pmWeb
Show threadDNA schedule3d ago
@haraldkliems I've done that ride, it's not very pretty or safe in my experience. Wish there were better trails. (Maybe your route is better than mine was? Did you post a gpx?) Worthwhile if you want to enjoy Chicago by bike over the weekend, but if I can budget time for the longer route via Milwaukee, it's so much prettier and makes better use of protected cycling infrastructure.
Show threadHarald Kliems3d ago
@ryanprior The route isn't terribly scenic but super low traffic. Long stretches with hardly any car traffic (at least on a Saturday) https://strava.app.link/Ga3Vs1ANS1b