Illinois Prairie Path – Elgin Branch summer update

After last week’s difficult 34-mile ride, I decided to go for an easier ride this weekend.  I set my sights on the Elgin Branch of the Illinois Prairie Path (IPP).  I have been on this trial numerous times, both on bike and on foot.  However, things have changed since last year.  The trail is now paved between Raymond St and Middle St in South Elgin.  There is a new route for the trail through the Stearns Rd construction zone.  Lastly, the trail now crosses the Elgin Joliet & Eastern railroad via a bridge in Wayne.  Here is my track for today’s ride:

My daily commute takes me down Raymond St past the Prairie Path.  I was surprised to see the trail being paved a couple of weeks ago.  It never seemed to be in bad condition; the crushed stone was just fine.  I’ll never complain about a trail being paved, though.  That only makes it more usable after rainfall.  This section of the IPP was already pleasant enough.  The pavement made it better.  It’s a glass-smooth 1.25mi ride.  You can build up some good speed because it is so smooth and you don’t have to deal with the friction of the screenings or mud slowing you down.

I don’t care for the new route through the Stearns Rd construction zone.  But hey, at least the trail is open, right?.  Not like the Fox River Trail, which has been closed near Elgin’s wastewater treatment plant and near the Stearns Rd bridge for over a year.  You still cross IL25 on the bridge.  However, just south of the bridge, you encounter the concrete roadway of the future Stearns Rd.  You have to lift your bike up onto the concrete, then lift your bike again to go over the curb for the center median.  The trail is marked on each side of Stearns Rd with two construction cones.  They just stick up above the surface of the concrete.  When I was stopped on the north side of Stearns to tighten my handlebars, people kept stopping to ask me where the trail was on the other side of the road.  There is no signage here.  The cones help, but it would be better if there was a sign marking the continuation of trail.  On the south side of Stearns, riders have to ascend/descend a steep embankment on gravel.  It was hard for me to walk down the embankment because the gravel was so loose.  This is dangerous, in my opinion.  It’s a temporary situation, but people need to be careful.  Once you make it down this embankment, the trail is kinda muddy and has puddles for about 25ft.  You circle around the concrete culvert place and reach the approach for the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks near the Lamplight equestrian facility.  Both approaches to the bridge utilize railroad ties as steps and erosion control.  You must walk your bike up and down from the bridge.  I started riding when I got on the bridge, only to stop a few seconds later when I found I had to go down steps on the other side.  Once you deal with this bridge, the trail continues as it has done for many years to Dunham Rd near the Lamplight entrance.  This part of the trail had been closed for months.  For a while you had to ride north along Dunham before turning west to reach the bridge over IL25.  When I initially rode into this area today, I assumed the trail near Lamplight was still closed (there was a barricade half on the trail) so I rode up Dunham.  When I saw there was no trail or detour signage, I turned around and decided to ride on the trail alongside Lamplight.  The presence of tire tracks confirmed to me the trail was open.

So here is my tracklog through the Stearns Rd construction area.  I got a 2009 aerial photo of the area from the Natural Resources Conservation Service so you have a more-current view than Google Earth is showing right now.  The red line is my track and the thick nearly-horizontal yellow line is the approximate path of the new Stearns Rd.  Again, be careful when ascending or descending the embankment at the south edge of Stearns Rd, watch for construction equipment on the roadway, and walk your bike across the bridge over the railroad tracks since you can’t ride up or down from the bridge.

I hope the detours will be worthwhile in the end.  I’ve seen references of a pedestrian underpass being part of this project.  I assume it’s for the Prairie Path.  Also, there will be miles of trail added along with a new pedestrian bridge over the river.  By next summer, we should have some more trails to ride, and more connections between existing trails.

The bridge over the EJ&E tracks in Wayne was disappointing.  I thought it would be better-looking.  Here is a picture of it from Wikimedia:

I really don’t think this bridge was necessary.  I had no problem riding alongside the tracks, crossing them, then dismounting to carry my bike up some steps.  Anybody who rode down the steps by mistake was an idiot going too fast, and there were signs warning of the steps.  No safety issue there.  I don’t buy the railroad crossing safety argument either.  Yes, the EJ&E is used more than it used to be, but it’s still a lightly-used set of tracks compared with what you see on the Union Pacific West Metra line.  This money could have been better-spent.  Maybe more of the trail could have been paved.

I forgot to mention my ride through Downtown Elgin on the Fox River Trail.  Another signage failure.

When riding north through Festival Park, you are directed to a detour east at Prairie St, then north on Grove Ave.  Another detour sign tells you to turn left at Douglas Ave.  Either I missed the signage, or there wasn’t any at the intersection with Chicago St.  I just rode back toward the river and north to the post office to rejoin the trail.  Same thing happened going south through the area.  I took Grove south from the post office instead of Riverside Ave.  The signage didn’t quite cut it north of Chicago St.

Here is the graph for the elevation and speed during my ride:

And here is my GPSr’s trip computer screen.  Obviously, there was a signal issue or something, because I am not strong enough or brave enough to go 66mph on a bicycle.

Not sure where I’ll ride next week, or if I’ll ride.  Sometime in the next couple of months I want to take advantage of the free tuneup I can get for my bike.  My brakes definitely need to be adjusted.  I think everything else is fine, though I’ll be happy to get it checked out.  I have gone 374mi on-trail with my new bike since I got it last October.  Not sure how many miles I have gone with it on my trainer.  Probably another 300 based on what I saw on my bike computer the few times I had it hooked up while I was on the trainer.