St. Louis to Chicago
The next two legs of the trip took me up I-55 from East St. Louis through Springfield and Bloomington
to Chicago. This was the only section of road I had never been on before. Since the
speed limit had decreased from Missouri's 70 mph to 65 mph, I was expecting to lose a little time.
That did not happen. If anything, traffic had speeded up. I maintained a steady 70-75 mph
for most of this stretch, with an occasional burst up to 80, or so. Road conditions were better
than the last leg in Missouri, but several stretches of "uneven lanes" slowed me down
a bit. I found myself stuck behind slower traffic unable to change lanes in order to pass.
I soon learned that I could change lanes safely when crossing a bridge.
One feature of I-55 that really did enjoy was the presence of a third lane for the sections either
side of Springfield. It went a long way in alleviating otherwise dangerous congestion.
I-70 in Missouri needs that third lane.
I had originally planned to stop in both Springfield and Bloomington, thinking that varying the
length of the legs might help break the monotony of a long trip. Finding no obvious stopping
points in Springfield, I decided to keep on bikin' for while longer. The central Illinois
landscape was quite scenic. There were visibly fewer billboards and roadsigns cluttering the
Interstate than in Missouri, allowing a more relaxed and enjoyable ride. It also led to
uncertainty as where I might find that next gas station, which, when you're stopping every 130 miles
or so, becomes rather important. Obviously, I can go farther than 130 miles on a 4.9 gal.
fuel tank at about 40 mpg, but I usually hit reserve at around 150 miles -- and I would rather not
hit reserve. If I were to be able gas up in Chicago on a scheduled stop, I needed to find a
gas station soon. I found one just short of Bloomington, in McLean.
DATE TIME LOCATION ODOMETER
3 7/6/02 9:22 AM I 55 N AT US HWY 136, MC LEAN, IL 36221
As I cruised up towards Chicago, I grew increasingly more tired. I had taken my first break
, over and above just gassing up, in McLean, and now I started to fade a bit. I was really
surprised at just how tired I was as I crossed I-80 at Joliet. I had travelled only about
500 miles, less than halfway around the circuit, and my face was getting numb. I have to
admit, I briefly wondered if I would finish the ride. But as I approached Chicago, the traffic
steadily grew and the road conditions suddenly became an issue, once again. One of the now-deserted
construction projects along the way had been halted after stripping the old pavement away, leaving
only those god-awful wavy grooves needed to allow the new asphalt to adhere properly. In a car,
those grooves are only annoying, on a bike they can be deadly. Somehow, between the dramatic
increase in traffic and the similarly dramatic decrease in safe riding conditions, I grew less
tired quickly. I guess that it's true: Fear of imminent death focuses the mind.
I stayed on the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) till the Dan Ryan (I-90) going north. I then got
off on Roosevelt Rd. and headed west looking for fuel. After gassing up at the Marathon
at Roosevelt and Ashland (nice neighborhood), being a complete Chicago neophyte, I did what
any rookie would do -- I doubled back the way I came to the Dan Ryan, then got on the Eisenhower (I-290)
headed west.
DATE TIME LOCATION ODOMETER
4 7/6/02 11:54 AM 1549 W ROOSEVELT RD, CHICAGO, IL 36369
On the Eisenhower, I had minor disagreement with a fellow-traveller that occasioned the only
traffic-related obscenities uttered during the entire trip. Oddly enough, this chap seemed
to take it personally. After a bit of cat-and-mouse at 70 mph, the individual (he looked
like he just got out of Joliet--not necessarily with permission from the State of Illinois) got
off the expressway.
While planning this trip, being a Harley rider, I couldn't resist checking out the locations of
the Chicagoland Harley Dealers in order to score yet ONE MORE Harley T-Shirt. I planned
to stop only if I were ahead of schedule, and if I could find a dealer close enough to my route
to make a stop feasible. The most obvious choice was Heritage Harley-Davidson in Lisle.
(What I really wanted to do was to take an hour to rest and eat in Aurora, but Harley riders are
not known for being exceptionally reasonable.) When I saw the Naperville exit off of I-88,
I was overcome and instinctively pulled off. Unfortunately, I had forgotten which way I was suppose
to turn when I got down to Ogden Avenue (U.S.34). I went the wrong way for two or three
miles before asking directions. Once again, I had to backtrack several miles. I took
little time choosing a T-Shirt and hurried off to the Portillo's that I had spotted while going
the wrong way on Ogden. I quickly scarfed down a double-cheeseburger and a Coke and headed
back on the road. The whole thing -- finding the Dealership, buying the T-Shirt, and the burger --
took about 50-55 minutes. I really don't think that I was stopped at either spot for the
20 minutes that would require an official log entry. But I have included both as semi-official
stops -- complete with time-stamped receipts and mileage entries, but not meriting a numbered stop
of their own on the accompanying map.
DATE TIME LOCATION ODOMETER
(4a 7/6/02 12:55 PM 2595 Ogden Ave, Lisle, IL 36405)
(4b 7/6/02 1:13 PM 950 E. Ogden Ave, Naperville, IL 36407)
I scurried back onto I-88 and headed for the Quad Cities.
Down the Backstretch
