As Friday the 13th’s go, today wasn’t all that bad. We started as we mean to go on, so tucked into Best Western’s free breakfast of pancakes and a rather unhealthy assortment of toppings.
With breakfast done by 8am we couldn’t put the task of unpacking the bikes off any longer. In some respects, this journey is about learning as much as anything else. The first lesson learned for the day is not to use Gorilla Tape on reusable cycle bags if you want to actually reuse them. The second is, if you pack your bikes in large plastic sacks without padding, you have to accept a little damage and a few bent accessories, but as I said, Friday the 13th could have been much worse.
With two front lights back at an angle that that would light the road ahead and a collection of small plastics bits of plastic that were once my bell in the bin, all we had to do was transfer our gear from an old holdall used for the flight (making a one-way journey only) into our panniers. To cut a long story short, two and a half hours later the bikes were ready for the road and we were ready to have a relaxing day by the pool. However, as the hotel doesn’t have a pool, we decided to stick to the plan and head into the city.
Next lesson for the day. As it was switched off for the journey, the bike computer may be even more surprised than you are to find itself 4,000 miles from home. Allow it to figure this out before selecting the day’s route and telling it to navigate to the start. The alternative is a confused cycle computer that is unusable for much of the day, even after a reset. The first section of the route took us on a zigzag track through what appeared to be Chicago suburbia, with street after street of beautiful houses, each with colourful manicured gardens. Without a doubt, we would be forced to hire a gardener if we lived here, which by the number of garden service trucks parked up at the sides of the road, I assume it is not uncommon.
With the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago in the distance, the transition from residential to commercial surroundings was immediate with the crossing of a railway line. We suddenly found ourselves in heavy traffic, but before we had time to even think that the remainder of the route to Lake Michigan wasn’t going to fun, a cycle lane appeared, literally in the middle of the road. Unlike the cycle lanes that we find on city streets in the UK, this one was separated from the roadside parking bays and was actually respected by other road users.
Apart from the constant stop-start at traffic lights every few minutes, this first city leg, a leg that concerned us during the planning stage, ended up quite enjoyable and a great reintroduction to the US after a ten-year absence. We were welcomed to our first sight of Lake Michigan with blue skies and flat calm and beautiful blue inland sea. To celebrate making it this far without being run over we had a quick lunch of water and Percy Pig jelly sweets before heading south on Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, which as custom-built cycle and running trails go, is spectacular.
After a short detour on foot along Navy Pier, during which I received my first high-five of the trip from a lady trying to sell us a sightseeing trip a yacht, we made it to Grant Park.
By 4pm we found ourselves standing at Grant Fountain in the centre of Grant Park, the official start of the Adventure Cycle Association’s Route 66. Photoshoot done, we then headed on foot to our digs for the night, the JW Marriott, stopping only for another photoshoot at the actual start of Route 66 on East Adam Street.
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Being less than a mile from the start of Route 66 I can only assume they see a few cyclists in this swanky hotel as nobody batted an eyelid when we pushed the bikes in from the busy Downtown Chicago streets.
Don’t expect a review of swanky hotels on Route 66. This one was booked with my last hotel points from a life long past when I spent almost two weeks every month, for years at a time, staying in Californian hotels… accommodation is going to deteriate rapidly in the immediate future!
We dropped the bikes off in our room, a room that we could cycle around if we didn’t wish to give our rears a break, before heading out in search of food and a very brief sightseeing stroll. I’ll exclude details of our meal, but will add that it’s amazing what you can buy in a US pharmacy!!
We were planning to enjoy one last hotel luxury before heading to bed, a swim. Upon arrival at the spa reception we were informed that while the swimming pool is open to all guests for free, a locker costs $39 to non-spa uses. While we haven’t set a formal daily budget for the trip, spending the same amount for pool locker hire as the Pontiac hotel room that we will be staying in a few days seemed a waste, so decided to give that one a miss in the knowledge that there will likely be plenty of opportunities to get wet on this trip.
We are now making the most of a rather comfy bed in the knowledge that tomorrow night’s planned accommodation is a campsite.
Great start Bob, sounds like the adventure is off and running, try for the wackiest hotels along route 66? See if you can beat the Dome!!!!
I doubt anything could beat The Dome Riyadh… but I’ll try. Camping tonight if we make the 60 mile ride as planned today. I’ll settle for The Dome over that!!
The one we are in right now is something… not sure wacky is the word! 😀