Across America Trekkers Heads East from Chicago

August 6- We started our morning bright and early with fresh chocolate banana pancakes. Chris and Keri, our amazing hosts, helped us get moving by blasting music. These two both work for Clif Bar, so they happened to have a surplus of snacks and gear laying about that they unloaded onto us. We stuffed our panniers full of treats and put on our new socks and bike hats. We are now officially unofficially sponsored by Clif! We got out by 9am and met up with Brad, a bike engineer for the Chicago DOT who led us out of the city. He gave us a great route to follow all the way to Michigan, which we followed for the rest of the day! We sped through Indiana along a series of bike paths and made a delicious salad for lunch. We rode along the lake through the Indiana Dunes State Park and arrived at our camp spot. We gorged on pizza and turned in, tired from a long day. 

Rest Day in Chicago for the Across America Trekkers

Aug 5.

Rest day in Chicago!!! We woke up slowly at our host's house. Keri coooked up some delicious squash and sausages while we planned out our day. We decided that, even though we were supposed to be resting, that the best way to see the city was by bike. We shot out of the house around lunch time and headed towards Pequod's pizza, a fabulous deep dish pizza restaurant on the way downtown. Afterwards we rode towards millennium park along the lakefront trail, where we saw Cloud Gate aka The Bean and the Fountains! We spent the rest of the day hanging out downtown. Around dinnertime the group split into three: Katie got picked up by her brother (who lives in Chicago!) To enjoy some family time, Lydia rode off to have dinner with her cousins, and Tyler, Branton, and John headed to a Mexican restaurant for tacos and cake. We all met back at the house later that night, hung out for a little bit, and went to bed early.

Across America Trekkers Very Happy in Chicago

August 4- Today we began our 9th state by riding along a paved bike trail into the beautiful suburbs surrounding Chicago. We stopped in Highland Park to take a dip in Lake Michigan at Millard Park, where we met our host, Chris! Chris and his friend, who are ex professional cyclists, led us into the city on a locally known bike route that took us past mansions and to the lake shore bike trail. We saw the Chicago skyline and rode with thousands of cyclists during the rush hour commute. Chris and his girlfriend showed us the newly opened commuter bike path, the 606, which rises above the city streets much like NYC's high line. We arrived at their house and spent some time relaxing before we headed out for the best fried chicken in town (drool worthy!!) We headed back home and cut up some honey pie, a special treat from the pie shop next door. We listened to some tunes and shared stories before heading to bed, excited to get a good nights sleep in for our first rest day since Washington!