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Memorial Day turned out to be a very good day for a ride. It was in the upper 80s, lower 90s (depending where I was at), but a tad windy. I started out around 11am, with a goal to head towards Galena, but not actually make it there. My only intention was to ride and find some twisties. I succeeded!
The big pain living in the Chicagoland area is how flat it is. I had to ride up I90 all the way to Rockford, then take 20 towards Galena. The riding doesn't really start getting good until you make it past Freeport.
I rode into Woodbine, and found my way to Scout Camp Rd. This is a back country road with no markings on it. In certain places it's hard to imagine that 2 cars could pass each other going opposite directions. You have to be very careful on this road, as there are a few farms, and farm equipment on the roads is a normal sight. It's a fun road to ride, but you're just basically in the lower portion of the hills, and you pass over the Apple River, which is probably the most scenic part of this road.
I made it up to Stage Coach Trail, which is a great road to ride in to, or from, Galena. I took Stage Coach to County Road 4, or as it's also known, S Elizabeth Mounds Rd. This was a fully paved, completely marked road. This road has amazing views, since you are basically riding along the ridges the whole time. I was able to easily average 55-60MPH, and there weren't many cars on the road. However, I passed at least 25 bikes.
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I made it back to 20, and headed west towards 84. 84 can be a bit sketchy at first, as the road is beat up due to the farm equipment that uses it so often. About 10 minutes or so into it, things get a bit smoother. This is another road that you will pass about 100 bikes in the 20 miles from 20 to Savanna. As you make it down a little more, you start to notice the huge body of water to the west. That is the mighty Mississippi! Just north of Savanna is the Mississippi Palisades Park. I stopped in to get some pictures and check out the views. They were gorgeous!
I rode into Savanna, and was pretty sure a motorcycle rally was going on that day. There were hundreds of bikes parked on the road, and twice as many riding around. It's pointless to even wave at each other, as you're pretty much just going to ride one handed all the way through town. I stopped in at the Subway for lunch.
After lunch, I headed back towards Elizabeth on 84, but turned off on Clay St, which turns into Scenic Ridge Rd. This road is definitely properly named. As you make your way through small country neighborhoods, the road twists and turns the whole way. There's even one part where you can clearly see that the road is rising a hundred feet or so. As you come over the ridge the view just opens up, and I swear you can see for at least 25 miles into the valley of this driftless area. The only downfall of this road is that it is just too short! Just as it starts the get good, you're back on 20!
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All in all, this was a great ride. I was able to do the whole 300 miles in 7 hours or so, and stopped a few times for gas and to stretch. It's unfortunate that it takes me at least an hour and a half to get to some great riding. I think every flatland rider needs to get out to this area for at least a nice, day long trip.
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