I spent a lot of time this National Bike Month doing things like looking at infrastructure plans and learning about ticks. Especially over the long weekend, it was time to get back out and explore roads and trails. That produced a lot of website updates.

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First I wrote about what I called a secret scenic road: Callahan Road in Lake County. I had ridden it the week before and found footage I shot of it last year. Sometimes you ride miles to find a magical road, and Callahan is one of them.

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Then after a day where I did another quick cut-through of the Deer Grove Forest Preserve north of Palatine, I decided to go back and finally spend real time in it. It is Cook County's and the state's first official forest preserve, you know, and the views on the newer east side are spectacular. I posted video of the east loop.

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Next, I got tired of the cool east-northeast breeze, so I traveled to the south suburbs and finally rode almost all of the Old Plank Road Trail. I learned about the history of this old rail-to-trail — what the "plank road" is about — and where it's smooth and not so smooth. I created an overdue full entry on Old Plank in my round-up of top bike trails.

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While I was there, I also wrote a full entry for the Paul Douglas Trail. I ride it all the time, and so do many others especially from Hoffman Estates and Palatine, maybe on the way to adjacent Harper College. Plus, it's becoming a staple for mountain bikers. Speaking of, I added the Palos Trail System to the round-up, too.

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Finally, I recapped my visit last week to the Des Plaines River Trail's Cook County side, particularly where work is being done now by Irving Park Road. Well, what a mess I found. I also came upon video I shot showing the bumpy Busse Woods Trail up close; I added it to the news of patchwork and possible repaving coming to the popular trail.

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But wait, there was more: I found the extensive bicycle-pedestrian plan prepared for Richmond, up in McHenry County. I also added to my news briefs the legislation clarifying the definition of "bicycle," as far as state vehicle code will be concerned.

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That was a busy week! More fun is coming in our bicycling world as June begins.

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ALWAYS ON THE WEBSITE

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​Invitational/charity ride calendar:

• The Arlington 500 in Lake County and Ride for the Troops in the Plainfield area are Sunday (June 1).
• The Bicycle Club of Lake County Ramble is a week later on June 8.

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Next week I have more reports to review. Like millions in state grants awarded to suburban bicycling infrastructure projects, and bike plans focusing on the O'Hare area and "West Cook," or really near Cook suburbs. Stay tuned. — Neil

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* At top, that's the Deer Grove East Preserve. Could this scene really be nestled in Cook County?