Round Lake Michigan - Day Two

Chicago, Illinois to Warren Dunes State Park, Michigan

The original online journal entry:

Actual Date: 2005-07-12
Uploaded: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 07:34:43 -040
Distance: 142.54 km

The wilds of Chicago and Gary are now behind me.

When I woke up this morning it was to discover that my gracious host was making me breakfast. That meal plus three energy bars carried me 106 km. {It's a good thing that I carry a rapidly diminishing reserve tank!) {grin}

It was drizzling this morning when I got started so I really can't blame Bill for going back to bed!

Of course the drizzle had the benefit of keeping all but the truly commited off the Lakefront trail today so I was able to enjoy the scenery and maintain a decent speed without being in constant fear of running someone over.

This trail actually goes a very long way and it's very pleasant to ride so I heartly recommend it to others visiting Chicago. I actually met Jack, who rounded Lake Michigan three years ago while on the trail.

By the time I reached Gary I had outrun the drizzly rain and enjoyed first overcast clouds and then later blue skies and sunshine.

Indiana Dunes is a beautiful park that runs for many miles of the Indiana coastline. It has a very nice visitor center too.

Eventually I entered my second state today with my arrival in Michigan. I expect that my next state border is several days away so I'll be in this very enjoyable state for awhile.

Shortly after entering the state the storm from Chicago caught up with me providing me with a high intensity on bike shower.

I ended my day at Warren Dunes State Park. Met a lady at the park who had completed a bike tour many years ago. She described it as her biggest and best adventure. I also heard a young boy describing my bike as all tricked out.

Today was a tough day. My body is still adjusting to the distance demands that I am putting on it plus my new bike shorts are causing some chafing. (Yes there is an unofficial rule in bicycle touring not to replace seat or shorts just before a tour. I don't think I will forget next time! - grin - )

Time for bed. 5:30 am comes mighty quick!

~Jamie

Post tour comments about this day:

I recall waking up and looking outside to see rain drizzling down outside. It wasn't a hard rain but rather a constant drizzle. Bill kindly cooked me some eggs and a bagel before seeing me on my way. Originally he had talked about riding with me for a bit but I suspect the weather changed his mind.

Getting on the lake front trail was easy from his place. There were far fewer people out jogging and cycling then I suspect is the case on a nice day. Many people called out a hello as we crossed paths and several rubbed their eyes when I first appeared in front of them on the loaded bike. I received the strong impression that bicycle tourists are rarely seen in the "windy" city.

The Lake Front trail is very nice to ride. It hugs the shoreline practically it's entire length and runs from north of downtown Chicago right to the border with Indiana. The city skyline was nice to look at although the overall gloomy and wet look of the morning made pictures less impressive. At one point the path goes by the Chicago Museum of Art. This was a very interesting building that is really noticiable as you cycle by.

My goal for the day was to get past the industrial city of Gary, Indiana. I knew that once past the city then the landscape would change from urban and industrial to more rural and natural.

I ended up riding on Route 12 for awhile. Traffic wasn't too bad and the drivers were generally courteous. I suspect that travelling on it about mid-morning on a Tuesday really helped plus there was a construction zone towards the end that probably diverted a lot of traffic elsewhere.

Eventually I reached the Indiana Dunes State Park area. This area was very pretty and relaxing after a day of riding through urban areas. I noticied a lot of police cars including some doing car searches so something interesting must have been happening in the area.

This was the first day that I noticed that my average hourly speed was lower then previous tours by around four to six kilometers an hour. Since I based the tour around longer distance days then normal this was a major concern and a serious root cause for the upcoming preoccupation with meeting my daily distance goals.

The weather was kind of finicky going from drizzling rain in the morning to blue skies and sunshine and then right back to a high intensity rain shower. I could very easily have had a very decent shower with the addition of a bit of soap.

When I crossed the Michigan border I stopped and took pictures of both state signs since there didn't appear to be one when I left Chicago entering Indiana. Stopped for an excellent spagetti meal and then headed north to Warren Dunes State Park. Lots of really cool and high sand dunes to look at. The best news was finding out that Michigan still has the special policy for touring cyclists and a rugged campsite was about $10.00 for the night.

While setting up camp I noticed some raccoons and skunks checking out the various campsites. Eventually they visited my bear keg but other then a quick sniff and scratch they quickly moved on to other areas leaving me and my bike in peace.

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