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Suburban Chicago Bicycling

Neil Holdway

Your one-stop source for the great trails and roads to ride a bicycle in Chicago's suburbs, and to learn about efforts to make bicycling and bicycling infrastructure better there.

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A very newly asphalt-paved trail extends ahead in an open field with power lines overhead, with suburban homes in the background on the left
Featured Post

Surprise! New asphalt on the Palatine Trail, plus Morton's good roads for fall

Well, isn't this nice? Palatine Trail and Melas Park work It shouldn't have been a total surprise since the Palatine Park District hinted at it on Sept. 2, but Palatine Trail riders were treated to spiffy new asphalt by the end of the month. The district didn't say why the trail would be closed east of Smith Road, but those bad bumps are gone almost to Hicks Road. More. In Mount Prospect, a square of Melas Park is closed off in its northeast corner, interrupting its biggest trail loop. This...

14 days ago • 2 min read
Workers place a railing hung off a crane into place on a new cement bridge in a forest preserve by a suburban street.

Whoa, are those railings? The newest Busse Woods bridge: Workers were finally installing the railings on Elk Grove Village's new bike-pedestrian bridge from Busse Woods to the east side of Arlington Heights Road and the neighborhood. The bridge was supposed to be done by the spring; the railings apparently were the holdup. Could this bridge open soon at last? Read more about the project. Speaking of Busse Woods, the forest district is now making the trail stripe a refreshed bright yellow. See...

28 days ago • 2 min read
A gravel and paved path lined with wooden-rail fences leads to a bridge within a forest

Time to update the DPRT Lake-Cook bridge? The Lake County and Cook County forest districts together think it’s time to revamp the Des Plaines River Trail bridge over Lake-Cook Road. Hey, we're just happy there's been a bridge, but both districts conducted inspections and have decided to pursue a state grant to fund “structural rehabilitation.” And they're asking for riders' feedback — really, support for the grant — via a survey through Sept. 18 that also asks about nearby intersections. In...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read
A sleeveless young cyclist with a blue backpack rides on a boardwalk bridge through a forest preserve

Look at this on the Des Plaines River Trail Reader Gary Donnelly tipped me off to the Des Plaines River Trail work that got done between Lawrence Avenue and Irving Park Road in Cook County. I knew two boardwalks were being built there this year, and the trail in spots was going to be rerouted away from the river to ease flooding problems. When Gary rode the milelong stretch Aug. 8-9, the boardwalks had long been done, he said, but not all of the new path. A couple of weeks later, I saw for...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Empty rural road with trees and a construction sign on the side.

This construction's done It was a treat to catch up to Old McHenry Road between Long Grove and Hawthorn Woods and find its repaving ... all done! The construction signs lingered, but even the striping is finished. The best part is the shoulders are mostly nice and wide. I'm sure they did that for us road cyclists. Meanwhile, if you haven't seen, the City of Geneva late last month finally announced a much-needed detour for the quarter-mile of the Fox River Trail that it is closing at least...

2 months ago • 2 min read
A newly paved road curves right through tall, thin trees after many brown leaves fell, while the sun sets in the background

My money roads I hope you're riding more than working this summer. That's what summer's for, right? I have been riding a lot as usual and found myself on money roads — roads that are destinations themselves, because they're so money. Fun, beautiful, mesmerizing. So much better than the others. I just did a tour in Wisconsin's Northwoods. I always ride these money roads: County X between Wisconsin routes 70 and 32 by Three Lakes Military Road nearby County K between Star Lake and Boulder...

3 months ago • 2 min read
A newly paved, dustry trail curves through new lawn and rough bushes toward an underpass under a blue sky

Surprise, surprise on the Salt Creek Trail Some Cycle Brookfield and other riders were thrilled a week ago by what they stumbled upon: the Salt Creek Trail open under the Tri-State Tollway. And not just open but repaved, with a new, nicely labeled bridge. The riders had been blocked for at least a couple of years and thought it might be another. I have considered the Salt Creek Trail kind of a mess overall, with all the twists and turns it takes through neighborhoods and industrial areas. The...

3 months ago • 2 min read
Looking at the underside of a new concrete bike-pedestrian bridge over a lawn with makeshift wooden railings

That Elk Grove Village bridge isn't open yet Elk Grove Village's new bicycle-pedestrian bridge from Busse Woods east over Arlington Heights Road looks cool with its concrete-block design and elk logos, but we can't ride it yet. Real railings aren't in place. It was supposed to be done in the spring, so I asked and got a brief update on its status. Nearby, I was excited to see that Arlington Heights is installing a real sidepath along New Wilke Road between the Busse Woods Trail offshoot at...

4 months ago • 2 min read
Newly paved shoulder on Ela Road in Cook County with a blue vehicle parked nearby.

New Ela Road in Cook County: Easier to ride? Cook County has finished repaving Ela Road from Hoffman Estates to Inverness — and that's big because the road serves as an unofficial gateway to Lake County and its more open roads. The road runs about 8.5 miles from just north of the Jane Addams Tollway to Lake Zurich. But we road cyclists have had to lean on Ela's shoulders, whose width and condition were inconsistent. Are they any better now? I took a good look (with video). Traffic light...

4 months ago • 2 min read
A bundled-up rider of a small motorbike makes a devil's-horn finger gesture as he zips down a striped bike trail through a forest preserve.

Quick update from last week's newsletter: The state legislation on e-motos and e-bikes has passed! New rules take effect Jan. 1. If you hadn't looked at the regulations that the legislation creates, you can see what they are, presuming the governor signs the bill. Coming events Hey, it's June! To recap coming events starting Sunday: Bicycle Club of Lake County Ramble, June 7 in southern Wisconsin Swedish Days Ride, June 14 starting in Sugar Grove Janesville Morning Rotary Club Pie Ride, June...

5 months ago • 1 min read