Saturday, June 13: Well, I thought today would be this nice little relaxing ride on the towpath. You know, the kind we do down in the Cuyahoga valley and just chill, smell the roses and noodle along. NOT! Instead I got another dose of American Dirt smackdown. 

As usual, the rain continued through the night, but by morning we had some blue skies. BUT…the humidity machine was in full force. Got back to the start of the I & M Towpath in South Joliet. I had Judy drive to Morris, about 25 miles to the west so she could ride towards me, rather than have her start in South Joliet me and then ride back into that *^&$hole by herself.

So I got up and checked that that front tire that I’d patched last nigh, and be darned if it wasn't a slow leaker again….AGAIN! So rather than fight pulling that tire, reinserting a new tube or repatch again, and then fighting like a ninja trying to reseat the tire again,  and then loose an hour of ride time, I decided to try to just fill it with air at each support stop. I mean I pumped 80 psi into that bad boy at the start with the hop of getting as much run as I could out of each riding segment. So I got going on this soggy trail that’s exactly like our Ohio & Erie Towpath trail down in the Akron area. And it holds water exactly like our trail to. First 5-7 miles were just puddle after puddle. I was coated in lime gravel and lime mud instantly, and then throw in the extreme sweating that I typically exhibit, and it made for a pretty sticky ride. 

Now the beginning of this trail closely mimics our valley towpath where it’s up in the Cleveland area, what with all the heavy industry and garbage sights along the Cuyahoga down close to the flats. So it was nice to get through that area and out into the farm country. And I was fixated on the miles as they ticked by hoping that that pump-up would last the entire 24 miles of the first segment. Once I got to 10 miles in, and the tire was still very firm, I kind of relaxed a bit and rode. By 18 miles in Judy had rode up to me and we finished the last 6 miles together. And man, I was just torched from the humidity. I was just dripping, and felt like my energy was nearing empty. So Judy told me that the park that I had given her directions to, well, it was flooded over by the Illinois River, and gated off, so she had to park on a side street. 

When we got close to Morris, and rode by the park, it was under water! Shoot, there were three kayakers paddling past near submerged picnic tables. Got back and I downed 2 Powerades, a coke and water, in addition to eating this bomber turkey and roast beef sandwich that Judy made for me. I felt a tad of energy return, so I wanted to get back out there for the next 22 miles before the predicted thunder boomers arrived. Pumped the front tire back up to a solid 80 psi and I was good to go. This next section to the town of Ottawa reminded me completely of the towpath in the Cuyahoga Valley, where you go by corn fields, farms and old circa 1950 two-story houses etc. So that was nice. Felt good for a bit, but by 16 miles in, the humidity was again just crushing me. Was averaging about 12-13 mph the whole time, but it definitely felt tougher. 

Then came some gnarly flooding on the trail. I mean GNARLY flooding. The first flood section started out as about 3 inches deep and then got progressively deeper until my feet were going under water on the down strokes. Made it through that one and then came the second flood section - this about a half mile long. This guy got so deep my feet were totally submerged in the water as I was peddling - aqua biking! Ended up about knee deep in the water. I had to stop because of all the floating debris in this thing and the deadfall. So I walked the bike the rest of the way though this little valley of water with all the muck and sand filling up my poor old cycling shoes. The third flood section was an easy 1 deep where I could ride it, though I had to keep sighting way up ahead for the direction of the actual trail so I wouldn't ride into the muddy berm and then stall out. Did get out of there with about two more miles to go to Ottawa. 

Made it to the town of Ottawa, which I told Judy reminded me of Ravenna (sorry if any of you are proud citizens of Ravenna, but it’s a place that’s still a bit dated and a tad shoddy in spots). Judy was actually scared to park in the center of town because it was so….run down and decrepit looking, so she moved to an trail access area in a park that was right next to the flooded out Illinois River. Now at this stop I was really kind of out there, out of it from the heat and humidity. Downed several Powerades along with another coke and some water. Just didn’t have the stomach for eating though. I could have just bagged it there with 46 miles in as I sat there in the front seat feeling beat to heck. And then, just as I was dragging my sorry butt off the seat to begin the last 16 miles stretch, this big blob of black sky was above us, and rain began. 

Honestly, I was happy to get back in the van and try to catch some Z’s as this monster rain cell moved through. Rained for about 30-40 minutes with thunder and lightening, and I was slumped down in the front seat the whole time, with leg muscles twitching with small spasms and cramps. The storm cleared out the whole park, and by its end we were the only ones left there. The sun reappeared, burning hot as heck, and the humidity was just through the roof. Had to get that last 16 miles in to finish the trail for the day. That would give me a 61-62 mile day. Well, we booked a Super 8 in Peru/La Salle as I sat there, which gave me impetus to get this thing over for the finish in La Salle. 

So I got the it together enough to do this last segment, hoping to just dial it back a bit and take it easy. Pumped the front back up again, got it going. As soon as I got back on the trail, it was a flowing river about 3 inches deep from all the rain. I mean I had to do about 8-9 mph so as to not engulf myself in a monster rooster tail off the front wheel. Then went through a slosh of mud and gunk through town. Just outside of town was this sign that said: “Trail Closed”. “What???????????????” No bloody way. I was getting through this come….hell OR HIGH WATER! So I dove right in, and within a mile I came to a bridge that had been knocked out a while ago. This wasn’t a recent washout, this pup had to be out for a long time. 

Bike walked over and down and then walked this concrete abutment and made it past that obstacle. Then went past another sign  to reiterated that the trail was closed. Went by that one to. This time I had to scamper over countless downfall, ford puddles, and ride this single track shrouded in weeds. Then came the big kahuna - this washout section that was about 8 feet deep, with these big steel culverts awash in the middle of this stream - an angry little stream to boot. So I had to drop the bike down into this mess, by lowering it from the bars and kind of dropping it a few feet. Then I had to use the bike to kind of balance off of as I lowered myself down into this big trench. Kind of scraped my shin on the way down. 

Next up was fording the stream, climbing over two 5-foot high metal culverts, climb back up the other side using my bike again for balance as I climbed up this steep, muddy slope. I was just covered in mud by the time I got over this thing. More riding and more deadfall. Finally, about 4 miles outside of La Salle, I passed the other side of the “Trail Closed” sign and the trail was back to towpath trail. But man, I was just a total freaking mess. My hands were mud coated and dripping mud-sweat, and I had this red “shinner” on my shin. 

Made it back to Judy in the parking area along the Illinois River in La Salle, and called it a day. We pealed my clothing off and threw the sodden mess in a big garbage bag to wash back at the motel. So off to Peru to the Super 8. And before going in I wanted to get the tire fix out of the way, this with a ferocious looking thunder storm coming in from the west. So I parked the van, pulled the bike and my tools out and got going. This time the tire came off fairly easy. And I found that the glueless patch that I’d put on yesterday, well it had partially peeled off. And I say this to you all out there: DO NOT USE TOPEAK GLUELESS PATCHES! This was my second one and I think they stink. Put on a big glue patch, and then came the fun - trying to seat that tire back on the rim - with a black sky and thunder and lightening coming at me fast. I struggled for 15 min with this dog, and the storm was right on me as I finally snapped the final bit of bead back into the rim. The wind was blowing at 40 mph and the thunder and lightening seemed to be right on top of me as I put everything away and locked up the van. As soon as I got inside all hell broke loose. Made it by an eyelash. 

It’s been raining ever since, with maybe about a 30 minute window of no rain since we got here. Pretty beat right now so I’ll sign off.