Day 18 - July 9 - Carol Stream IL to Arlington Heights Il - short day and bike maintenance

Weather - about 74F (24C) early in the morning with very high humidity.  A little spittle of rain around noon and the day became even steamier wuth temperature rising to mid 80s (30C) and a heat index of mid 90s (35C) by afternoon.  A typical July day in Chicago.

Distance: 36.8 miles (60kms)

Elevation gained:568 feet (173 meters_

Average Moving Speed: 13.5mph (22kph) but not meaningful since there were dozens of stops for red lights, checking navigation and dead ends.  about 3hrs30mins of riding.

Calories Expended: 1027

Estimated Sweat Loss: 2.49 liters (84.8 fl oz)

Shvitz Index: 3/10 but it was sticky in the afternoon doing the bike maintenance.

I planned for a while that today would be a short day of riding and part of the day be devoted to bike maintenance.   While I had done some necessary chain greasing last week, it needed a more thorough cleaning and re-greasing.  My touchas is grateful for the easy day.


The trip was short and complicated, about half on city streets and half on bike paths.   It was very flat


The route took me west of O'Hare airport and followed bike paths which often share the open spaces with huge humming high-tension power lines.


Part of the route was in the large Busse Woods forest preserve.  One of the blessings of living in the Chicago area in being close to the many large parks and preserves.  Even at 10am on a weekday morning, Busse Woods was usy with all generations enjoying their respective recreations.


I don't know why Elk Grove Village claims to be an exceptional community but i hope it's not because they have more high-tension power lines than any other Chicago suburb.



The afternoon was devoted to cleaning the bike and preparing for the last one-third of the ride.  Thanks hugely to Nancy for all her help, equipment and transportation.

Tomorrow I head for Wisconsin and plan to stay close to the western shoreline of Lake Michigan all the way north.  The weather looks a bit threatening for the next few days, and continues to promise to be hot and humid.


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