Sunday, September 9, 2012
Union Pier - Chicago
80 Miles
80 Miles
Despite the exhaustion I felt I didn't sleep worth a darn
Saturday night. The bed was small and I
was really excited for the final leg of my trip. I woke up really early… probably the earliest
day of the entire trip and was too anxious to sleep any more. My ankle was really sore but knowing I only had
90 miles to go today nothing was going to stop me.
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| Getting ready to leave on my last day |
In Michigan City, Heather couldn’t find anything open so
early on a Sunday morning so I just kept right on going. Everything was quite going through town and there
was no one out on the roads, it was a very relaxing ride. Just past Michigan City I was supposed to
pick up a series of trails that detoured around Garry Indiana and South Chicago
through a forested greenbelt. However,
when I got to the trail head it was another dead end. The bike trail was no more than a hiking
trail through the woods. I was used to
these unexpected detours by now so I just chuckled and turned around and headed
back to the highway. It turned out to be
a great ride and the Dunes Highway snaked its way through the woods of Northern
Indiana and was very scenic. Although it
was getting later in the day the traffic was still light and I just kept
pedaling on.
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| At the state line |
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| Last dead end trail of the trip |
After a couple hours I started getting into the outskirts of
Garry Indiana which is very industrial.
To describe Garry Indiana is really easy. Just imagine the worst place on earth. Riding through it was easily the worst part
of the entire trip. The roads were no
more than a mass of potholes with some patches of concrete and asphalt mixed
in. The drivers were insane and wouldn’t give 1” of room as they flew by a millimeter
away going way over the speed limit. I
rode directly past the City Hall which looked like it was abandoned. It was covered in ivy and looked like it had
been under construction for years. Directly
behind City Hall were abandoned government housing projects that looked like
they would fall over at any second. All
this in addition to the horrible smell of pollution which filled my nostrils
with every breath. Without hesitation I can
say I’ve never ridden through a worse area which was a very stark contrast to
the past 9 days.
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| The Dunes Highway in Michigan / Indiana |
Thankfully I wasn’t here for long and shortly I started to
get out of Garry and into the “up and coming” area of South Chicago (sarcasm). Although not as bad, Whiting was awful for
different reasons. The smog and
pollution were the same and the drivers just as inconsiderate but the roadways
themselves were a little better. I rode
past the steel mills and industrial parts of South Chicago but it was a beautiful
day and as the fog and clouds burned off the sun came out and it started to
warm up.
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| Garry, Indiana |
As I continued north through South Chicago I got onto route
41 which is Lake Shore Dr. This was a
big milestone because I knew where I was now and didn’t need my GPS
anymore. I got to the Hammond Horseshoe
Casino which was officially the furthest south I had ever ridden before
today. This was when I started to get a
little excited and I broke out into a huge smile again as I passed the
casino. There was no sign signifying my
entrance into Illinois but as I rode under I-90 just passed Hammond I knew it
was close. I turned up the road to
Calumet Park which I knew was in Illinois and as I looked to my left I saw an abandoned
shopping cart in the middle of the road.
I laughed out loud and said to myself that I WAS officially in Illinois
again. Now I was on my normal route that
I take on my 50 mile loop when riding from home south to the park. I hadn’t done it in a while but all the
surroundings were familiar. Also
familiar was the feeling I always have riding here of “get me out of here as
fast as possible” There was a strong headwind heading north along the lake but
it didn’t seem to matter at all, I was flying.
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| The unofficial Illinois State Line |
Up until now, and for
the past ten days, I had gone through each day with one sole focus “ride, eat, and
sleep”. I had not thought of anything
else most especially the finish. Or at
least I didn’t dare to dream about what it would feel like to finish. To be perfectly honest, deep down I never
thought I would actually finish. It’s
hard to admit now but it’s true.
My doubt was so strong
that when I was preparing I didn’t book the last night in the hotel because I
truly thought I would never make it there.
At the last minute I did finally make the reservation a week before I left
but I really didn’t think I would get the chance to use it. I was pretty sure I could make it to Mackinac
Bridge or maybe a little past but never all the way. I was not in doubt of my mental stamina or my
will but of my body’s capabilities. My
worries were fatigue, knee pain, back pain, or joint issues that would not
allow me to continue. I had never tested
my body in this way before so I had no idea how it would react. This doubt had stuck with me for the past ten
days and now, like a light switch, it turned off.
It wasn’t until this moment that I knew I was going to make
it. A feeling that I can’t descript
swept over my body and almost brought me to tears. I knew as I rode by the Golf Course that I
was going to do it. Like a racer at the
end of an epic solo breakaway when he knows he has the race won I slowed down and
sat up. I was just in the moment of
taking the morning sun and coolness of the air when I rounded the corner and
saw the entire Chicago city skyline laid out before my eyes. The sun reflected off the buildings and a
pink glow surrounded the city sky. It
was one of the most beautiful views of the city I’d ever seen. I stopped here and took a picture which
doesn’t really do justice to the feelings I had at that moment in time. But I had to try to capture it some way.
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| Picture of me when I first saw the city skyline. I'm much happier than I look in the picture. |
I paused here and ate a goo and just watched the city
skyline for a few minutes. When I took
off again the feelings were a lot different from the rest of the trip. I was thinking about what it would feel like
to get home and what I would do. Would I
just pull up to my gate as I do every day and go inside and sit down on the
couch. Would I jump up and down and yell
and scream? I didn’t know how to react
or what would happen. It was funny to
think about it and try to imagine what would happen.
As it happened Sunday morning was a busy one on the trail
and I had to slow down for the first time in ten days, calling out to people as
I passed. There were two separate
charity events so the south trail was packed with joggers and walkers. I weaved through the mass of people and just
kept smiling… it was the same dumb smile I’d had ten days before when I first
set out. As I passed the people I
couldn’t help but think, if only they knew what I’d just done… or where I’d
come from that day. I rode through
downtown on my familiar route past navy pier and Oak St. Beach. There were lots of joggers and riders out on
this sunny Sunday morning and for being only 10:30 am the trail was busy. I took it slow and just tried to enjoy the
moment and this amazing feeling of accomplishment.
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| View of the city coming back into town |
Towards the end of the trail a rider in complete race attire
passed me and my race instinct kicked in and I jumped to catch up to him. Despite being completely exhausted I caught
him and passed him. A second later he
passed me again and we did the dance of the Cat 6 racer. Finally I just backed off and told the guy to
just go ahead I wasn’t about to spoil this moment with some dumb impromptu race. As he went by he made a funny comment. He said “I’ve already done a lot of miles
today” as if making an excuse for why he was not able to go faster. I chuckled and rolled my eyes and said “buddy
you have no idea.”
My regular bike shop is right on the way home so I stopped
in to say hi to my friends. They asked
how the trip had gone and I said that it was about over. They were amazed when I told them I was on my
way home right now. It was awesome to
sit and talk to them and they had a ton of questions. After some brief conversation I said I’d stop
in that next week and show some pictures and talk more. The shop was pretty busy anyway so I headed
out. I cruised up the busy streets and
through the Sunday morning traffic until I was on the last street before my
house. I was desperately hungry and
tired but so filled with excitement I couldn’t stand it. My smile grew with every mile closer to
home.
Finally I made the final left turn onto my street and rode
down the sidewalk up to the front of the house.
I stopped and got off the bike and just stood in front of the house for
a moment. I couldn’t believe that I was
home. I just stood there for a minute or
two in an exhausted daze and then went up and rang the front bell. Heather came out and greeted me and I asked
her to take a picture. She took a
picture of me standing by my bike and I felt like my whole head was just one
big smile. All at once I just grabbed my
bike and picked it up above my head like a weightlifter and just stretched
towards the sky. It was the ultimate
feeling of accomplishment and triumph after ten days of unbelievable highs and
lows. I had done it. I bent down and kissed the top tube of the
bike… the machine that I powered for over 54 hours over the last 10 days. A bike is really no more than a hunk of
plastic and metal but I somehow felt connected to it, like we had made the trip
together. I know it sounds weird, but
after spending so much time staring out of this cockpit it changed my
perception of the bike itself.
After the photos and greetings I just stood there with my legs
aching, ankle sore and scruffy face which in some way felt like war wounds from
a long fought battle. This high I felt
seemed to transform into an undying hunger for real food and I immediately felt
like I had to eat. I walked the bike
down the gangway and through the gate as I do every day and put my bike away
down in the basement. I reflected on my
departure ten days before when I was so naive and excited. It seemed like the last ten days were a
blur. I stood the bike against the wall
and headed upstairs.
Mittens greeted me as I went upstairs to take my sweaty
clothes off. I took a shower and changed
into the first clean outfit in over a week.
With not much unpacking to do Heather and I jumped in the car and headed
out to breakfast at our favorite restaurant, the Pancake House in Wilmette. It was weird to drive again and I had a new
perspective for what a mile really was.
In a car a mile is gone in a few minutes. On the bike a mile was 8-10 minutes. I ate what could easily be the best breakfast
I’d ever had and it was here that I felt truly content and appreciative for my
safe journey and amazing accomplishment.
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| Me at breakfast at the end of the ride |
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