In the fall Metra has sometimes offered a great Saturday cycling service. They have a special fall color train on the heritage line. They are offering it again this year. The Heritage Line or HC follows the Des Plaines River/Chicago Ship Canal from around Willow Springs to Joliet. There is a special bicycle car on the train. You still have to haul your bike up the steps, but once inside there are bike racks. I boarded the train in downtown and egressed at Willow Springs. From there it is about 20 miles of paved and unpaved bike trails to Joliet. The city riding in Joliet was not bad going from the trail to the Metra Station.
The descriptive brochure is at https://metra.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/SeatDrop8.5x11_H…
I will try to attach it.
If the link does not work look up “Metra Rails Trails and Ales 2024 pdf ” in google. Be sure to get the 2024 version since they just update the brochure each year.
When I last went I stopped for lunch at a place I would not return. I noticed on Google they are permanently closed. If you have a great lunch stop along this ride, please post it.
see you on the road,
Elwood
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