Land of Lincoln

I was a bit disorganized leaving East St Louis, I didn't really figure out my route properly since I was more intent on finding decent accommodation the night before. I had to wind through some minor highways to get back on to the recommended Bike Route 66 which I should have followed directly from the city centre. Madison County, Illinois, just outside of St Louis has an extensive network of bikeways (mcttrails.org) that stretch from the Mississippi River to its rural fringes, and once I was on pathways it was a peaceful car free route for miles. Riding northeast out of the metropolitan area, I didn't picture this area as prairie, but I certainly wasn't complaining about the lack of hills. Unlike the arid high plains, though, this area is well watered; the the corn seems to be doing well on regular rain without much artificial irrigation.

Madison County Transit Trails

I guess this means no smoking guns as well

Much of Route 66 through Illinois sadly has become a frontage road for Interstate 55. But despite having the stream of cars and trucks on the freeway in constant view, the road itself gets little traffic. Even though there are no shoulders on the two-lane roadway, I had little concern being on it, as most vehicles took extra care in passing me. The freeway does curve away from the old towns which has somewhat preserved their main streets but they are largely bypassed relics. Some of the more famous landmarks are being kept alive by nostalgic aficionados.

Looks like I missed last week's donuts

A long day of riding took me to Springfield, Abraham Lincoln's beloved town and the State Capital of Illinois. Route 66 merges with the interstate getting into the city so I had to find a way around through rural roads, some of them unpaved, past cornfields and farmhouses in the fading dusk. A glowing Motel 6 sign was a final beacon that led me to a comfy bed for the night.

I spent the next morning exploring Springfield, starting with Lincoln's home. The National Parks Service has done a great job of preserving not only the house, but the entire 4 block neighbourhood quadrant so that it sits in context. The cross-street is gravelled and closed to cars, enhancing its quiet period charm. I signed up for a free tour and watched a half-hour movie which gave me a new appreciation for one of the most iconic US Presidents, and America's great turning point when it was faced with a crumbling union and the pending Civil War.

Lincoln's former Law fim before he became president

I like these life-size, unpedestalled statues that make Lincoln very human

I make it out to Lincoln by mid-afternnon, a town named after Abe before he was even president. It has a charming historic courthouse square, the scene of the painting "Lincoln in Lincoln". Abe practiced law here, having influenced its location as the county seat and a railroad station.

Back on the frontage road, I took risk ignoring another "road closed" sign but this time I was met with a bridge that was completely torn out. I managed to wind through a farmer's field, asking permission to take the shortcut from an old woman with a walker who seemed to be keeping busy with the futile attempt of weeding the edge of a vast farm field. She was concerned whether I was going to make it to Bloomington which was 12 miles away, but I told her I had already gone 50 miles from Springfield. Before sunset I made it past Bloomington, to Normal — definitely nothing abnormal about the place, but it had a decent cheap motel.

A nice bike path just beside Rout 66 leading into Bloomington

The next day it seemed like I got into a trance following Old Route 66 that I overshot my turn by 15 miles. With about 100 miles to go the start of the "Mother Road" in Chicago, I left the historic route and turned east into the endless cornfields towards Indiana..

The town of Towanda  took a portion of the original Route 66 roadway and turned it into an interpretive pathway. as the bike route develops they may do more of this.

Left the highway for these super quiet county roads