Sunday, August 22, 2010

Great River Ride – Day 17 – Leaving Indiana

This post should really be titled: “Great River Ride – Day 17 – US-30 the Revenge!” We left Fort Wayne, IN on US-30 and spent most of the day wearing rain gear.

rain gear again

It was not very fun.

us-30 in the rain

When we got about fifty miles from Chicago, the skies cleared up. We pulled over, grabbed a snack, and stashed our rain gear.

From US-30, we took I-69 to I-94 to US-41. We followed US-41 all the way along Lake Michigan into Chicago. The traffic was fierce, so I was on maximum concentration and alert. My wife didn’t enjoy it at all, but I found it very invigorating, especially after the dull four lane roads all day. Dodging crazed taxies, gawking tourists, speedy locals, and suicidal tourists was very entertaining.

The cool breeze off the lake caused some condensation inside the waterproof housing of the GoProHD, so we didn’t get any usable footage of us riding into Chicago. I’ve been having this problem frequently with the waterproof door. It usually happens in the morning when we leave the air-conditioned hotel and step outside into the humid sauna. Leaving the door open during this period helps, but not perfect. Since we have been encountering so much rain, I’ve been using the waterproof door nearly 100% of the time. When using the non-waterproof door, air is free to circulate and it won’t fog up.

We only rode 180 miles today because we wanted to spent time in Chicago. We only wanted to do two things there. The first was to eat some delicious food. That was easily accomplished and helped us remember why some of our friends drive from Minnesota to Chicago just to eat dinner. Fabulous food. The second will be detailed in day 18, but here is a hint:

our bikes meet

 

Full Flickr Album

Related Posts:

5 comments:

  1. I'll be coming back to check your progress. Having fun reading the back "issues"...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I noticed you were in Chicago. Say hello to Sojourner! (That's my guess)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hahaha! I love your description of riding along US 41! Yes, you would definitely find that "enterraining". I can picture you, eagle-eyed in high navigation mode zipping through, claiming your space! You need a tee-shirt that says you survived US41 through Chicago! I love that hint? Wonder what that's all about?!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I suspect Richard is on to something with his guess. I think Vickie is the one who deserves the tee-shirt.

    ~Keith

    ReplyDelete
  5. Chessie: Thanks for reading the "back issues" which one is your favorite so far?

    Richard: Good guess!

    Sharon: LOL. When I encountered twin cities traffic, I was secretly wishing for chicago traffic. Crazy I know.

    Keith: LOL. She just sat on the back with her eyes closed and death grip on the grab bar. ok, not really. She was enjoying the scenery I couldn't pay attention to.

    ReplyDelete