The temps were in the 40s earlier this February week, but it was going to be 45 at best in Schaumburg and a chilly north wind was coming. The forecast for really the rest of the month was sticking to the freezing mark at best. So if I wanted a February ride, this was the time. I decided to buy a few degrees and a little time by driving south first to Lisle.
I eyed Benedictine University as a place to park, but permits are required. I found the pretty subdivision just to the south on College Road, then Abbeywood Park on Abbeywood Drive, which had on-street parking. Got on the bike and off I went.
First I just rode around that subdivision, on both sides of College Road. Peaceful riding on tree-lined roads with spacious property. Then I headed south down College Road, and quickly I was on bike trails through Naperville. That started with the path along Hobson Road, and then I found the West Branch DuPage River Trail.
This is the south end of a very fragmented trail that goes up to Bartlett via both gravel and paved trails as well as neighborhood streets. On the south end it is all paved, and you can ride it right along the river and through some forest and prairie, ultimately through Knoch Knolls Park and to the edge of the sprawl at 95th Street. This is good for casual bicyclists, maybe OK for families though there are street crossings to watch for.
After following the 95th Street path and turning down Plainfield-Naperville Road, soon I was on the three-digit street names like 103rd and 248th (I missed the Ashbury and Tall Park greenways). Ultimately I rode on the Kendall County farm roads south of Aurora and west of Plainfield, like 111th Street and Stewart, Woolley and Douglas roads. This is serious cyclist country.
My decision to drive south paid off when the sun came out and I had blue skies for a while, as you’ll see, but soon the north wind reached even Naperville, and I was riding the trail back toward Lisle under gray skies as the temperature began dropping. Drab as the trees looked, it’s a February ride; we take what we can get.
Enjoy the sunshine here while you can.
Like this? Please consider a donation
