Backroads to Starved Rock, Utica IL

Discussion in 'Trips & Events' started by Britt, May 5, 2008.

  1. Britt

    Britt New Member

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    This past weekend I took my first long ride on my new VFR. 260 miles round trip from my house down to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois, and then home again.

    I've ridden down there dozens of times on my previous bike, but this time I mapped out a very indirect route that took me down new roads and through towns that I have neven passed through before. Naturally, the main road through Starved Rock (Rt. 71) was closed due to construction, but I still enjoyed riding around the area.

    Hopefully some of you northern Illinois riders will enjoy my pictures....

    My route:
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    In the garage, ready to go.
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    Ogden Ave at 6:30am on a Sunday.
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    Route 71 near Yorkville.
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    A desoltate farm road near Lisbon.
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    Farmland in Lisbon.
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    On the road.
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    There were some nice curvy/hilly roads south of Lisbon.
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    At the bottom of one of the hills was a bridge over a small stream.
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    This was a nice desolate stretch of road west of Morris.
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    This was a nice road on the way to Seneca.
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    I stopped to change maps at the marina in Seneca.
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    Not much traffic in Marseilles at this time of the morning.
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    The Army has training grounds here.
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    N2553 Rd near Illinis State Park is a nice road.
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    I stopped along Rt. 71 where it follows the Illinois river into Starved Rock.
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    The main street into Naplate is interesting.
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    A bridge over the Illinois River
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    There was a motorcycle gathering going on at the state park. I did not get my VFR blessed....
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    Coming into the park.
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    I took Rt. 6 west towards Spring Valley and then headed south on Rt 89.
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    After taking Rt. 6 back towards Seneca, I ended up on Dupont Road in Morris.
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    The weather started out at about 36 degrees, but it warmed up into the 60's. It was just about a perfect day of riding!
     
  2. SLOav8r

    SLOav8r New Member

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    Great shots! [​IMG]

    Great thing about the VFR, 260 miles is a casual run for your favorite coffee.
     
  3. brutus

    brutus New Member

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    That's a righteous ride....

    I took the Barge (Valk Interstate) up to Leland, Wi...for the Slimey Crud rally. Ended being a 450 mile day!!! The whole time, I was kinda bummed that I didn't take the VFR instead. The roads were meant for the VFR, but I opted for the Barge cause I knew it would be a late return, and I'd be tired.

    We can still get together for you to hear the pipe on my VFR when you're available. I lost your email, so if you still have mine...drop me line.
     
  4. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    Nice, how'd you take those pictures while on the bike anyway?
     
  5. Britt

    Britt New Member

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    I had my camera in my tankbag, which I left unzipped. I would tuck my left glove under my right thigh, and then pull my left hand out so I could grab the camera. I'm clumsy with my left hand, but I was able to power the camera on and snap the pics while rolling along. My fear was dropping it, which will probably happen if I do this very many more times....
     
  6. Bunky

    Bunky New Member

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    Hey Britt. North Side of the city here always looking for riding partners.

    I love the roads around Starved Rock and Mathessien State Park.

    Hit me up sometime and we can ride... :sportbikesmile:

    Greg
     
  7. MBricker

    MBricker New Member

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    I'm on the north side of the city as well and always looking for someone to ride with.

    -Mark
     
  8. Bunky

    Bunky New Member

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    We can get a Chicagoland VFR gang together.

    Mark where are you at in the city?

    I'm around Irving/California.
     
  9. Bunky

    Bunky New Member

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    Britt, do you have a Zumo or did you just map it online and print it out?

    I picked up a Nuvi 350 over the winter and I really like it's size and portability. The only drawback is that you can't map custom routes, you can only insert waypoints along the destination route.

    The mapping capability of the Zumo is a nice selling point, but not enough for me to justify the price.
     
  10. Britt

    Britt New Member

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    I don't have a GPS (yet) so I do all my mapping on Google Maps in advance. What I did was look at my normal route down Rt. 71, and then started looking at smaller roads that I could simply drag my route onto. Google Maps automatically figures out the connecting roads that will get you to your destination. I just kept dragging the route onto roads that looked curvy or that went through wooded areas, and the route led to my destination no matter where I dragged it. It is very cool!

    They were all roads that I had never seen before, and it worked out incredibly well. Once I had a route that worked, I just printed out the turn by turn directions and put that in the map pocket of my tankbag. I did miss a road somewhere along the way but I had an idea of how to get back on track, and I just picked up the route further down the road.

    Looking at Google Maps, there are TONS of other roads that will get me down there. Just dragging and dropping the route onto some of these other roads automatically comes up with some really interesting looking routes. I've literally been riding down there for 14 years, and until Google Maps made it so easy to drag and drop my route, I never thought about turning down some of these tiny farm roads that seem to lead nowhere.

    Anyone who has a route that they normally take, I suggest looking at Google Maps and using its drag and drop functionality to come up with alternate routes that could prove to be much more interesting than your usual route. I was really impressed with my first trip using this method, and I'm already mapping out a very interesting route out to the Mississippi River and up into Wisconsin.
     
  11. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    I do that too with google maps. One thing I have to add is that it gives a really accurate estimate on time it would take to get there. Several months ago I planned a trip from Atlanta to Daytona Beach, FL. Google by default gave me slabbin' directions and staying awake on interstates for 8 hours isn't my idea of fun. By dragging around the route I was able to come up with a more entertaining route that only added about a half hour to the original 8 hour route.
     
  12. gwooly

    gwooly New Member

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    Nice pics. The country is a lot more peaceful to ride than in the city. I live not too far from Starved Rock area (by Geneseo, IL). The shot of Ogden Ave. brought back old memories though. I used to live in Lisle (Four Lakes), and alos in Naperville (5th Ave. Station).
     
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