Fast forward a day and 150 miles or so to the Illinois Prairie Path in suburban Chicago. Even as I approached the big city, much of my route was on off-road trails such as this one. From Crystal Lake all the way to Maywood pretty much the only time my tires touched the ground was to cross roads which crossed the trails.

OK THEN
This is the last of the images from my glorious journey. If you are thinking about doing something like this here is some free advice: TAKE MORE PICTURES! where are the pictures of all the people I met? the critters? the fleabag motels? The story as illustrated here is only a tiny part of what I saw and experienced. Next time, I vow to do better.