Back in the saddle again. Still working the night shift. The townwide garage sale season has wound down a little bit, thus giving me an opportunity to get a few miles in. My work commute takes me near the I&M Canal Path so I have chosen to do a little riding in that area. I have ridden parts of this system between Channahon and Utica at different times including a 60+ mile ride from Morris to Utica and back.
Thursday morning I intended to start at the Hollywood Road access but the gate had not been opened by 5:30 AM so I found a spot to park in downtown Channahon. I used the Surly CC SS and rode from downtown Channahon to the Dresden Island Lock & Dam. The plan was to ride for 60 minutes. I managed about 13 miles. There's a short path from the main trail that leads over to the lock and dam. It's fenced off. There were 4 Turkey Vultures sitting up on the fence along the lock so I sat and watched them for a bit before heading back to the car.
Thursday morning went pretty well so I tried it again on Friday morning. This time I parked at the Bridge street access right along the tow path. My goal was to get 15 miles. I rode from Bridge street to Tabler road and back. Legs are starting to hurt a little bit. I decided to take a morning off and attempt a 20 miler on Sunday morning.
I definitely needed the rest and felt pretty good on Sunday morning. I have been seeing lots of wildlife on these early rides. I've seen several deer this week including an especially handsome trophy buck this morning. I estimated about 8 fuzzy points on a very nice symetrical rack. I have also spotted turtles, Blue Heron, Egrets, racoon, ducks, geese, rabbits, suirrels and even a river rat. Since the rides have been fairly short I've been trying to hydrate well before setting out each morning. This worked out fine. This morning's goal was 20 miles and I had no water to carry. I did not think it would be a problem to find water at one of the many picnic areas along the path. Early on I stopped at Mckinley Woods and pumped the squeaky handle for a good long time and came up dry. Once I hit the 10 mile projected turn around point, I decided to carry on a bit further west and search for a water source. Unsure of what the next town along the path might be, I started seeing houses along the path and eventually came out on a roadway in what appeared to be a residential area. As I was trying to figure out which direction might be the best option a couple of cyclist came around a blind turn in the roadway and directed me towards a gas station where I found a much needed Gatorade and a Snickers bar. I was in Morris Illinois. I found some shady steps in front of the Post Office and took a short break before heading back east. The search for water easily surpassed my 20 mile goal and bumped me up to a 25 mile ride.
