I have started this archive of the Latest Posts and Updates to the about-bicycles.com site to keep a historical record of the latest updates after the drop off of the home page on the website.
Archived 2021
New Bike Trail Photos page on my ride from Crystal Lake to South Elgin of 4 different bike trails (accidentally!). I have also included a Blog Post on the Four Trails Ride as a sequel to the blog post referenced below.
Fox River and Prairie Trails Blog Post Update - I just rode on the Fox River and McHenry County Prairie Trails and posted an update on this websites Bike Blog. This part of these trails is a really nice ride although there is a slight detour in Algonquin.
Top 5 Bike Trails Update - I just went to the Top 5 Bike Trails (in our area) page on this website and decided to do a quick update. It's actually really tough to limit the trails to a top 5 listing but most of what was on this old page was still accurate (my favorites that is). I did swap out the Great Western Trail for the Old Plank Road Trail since I have come to like that trail quite a bit better. Although this page was written a long time ago and some of the photos are out of date, I kept the rest of it the same (for now) since I think that the old trail photos can be interesting and nostalgic.
Archived 2020
I just completed a Blog Post with some handy tips on riding flooded trails and roads. As of May 18, 2020 there is quite a bit of flooding in northern Illinois. Here's my latest blog post Home or High Water – Tips for Riding the Flood Out.
It's riding season again! I just wrote a blog post on Dressing for Bike RIdes, with some hints on wearing the right cloths to be comfortable in this in-between weather, I also included a pointer to using weather radar to avoid rain on your rides.
New Bridge on the Paul Douglas Trail over Central Road The new bridge on the Paul Douglas Trail over Central Road is complete! This opens up a lot of possible extentions from or to the Paul Douglas Trail. The trail also continues to cross over the expressway (I90) and into Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg. Below is a few pictures that I took of the brand new bridge. Below are a few photos and updates
I rode the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Ohio back in July. - The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a beautiful, flat, all paved 78 mile trail that runs from from Urbana, Ohio (northeast of Dayton) to the outskirts of Cincinnati.
I just completed Bike Trail ride reports and photo pages for 2 new trails in the Madison area. The latest bike trail pages are The Cannonball Path and the Military Ridge Trail. There a lot of great bike trails in this area including a bike roundabout where 5 trail intersect!
Peninsula State Park Sunset Trail - I just completed the trail page updates and photo tour for the second Door County trail that we rode earlier this month. This one was very scenic and we got some good photos plus I included a page of beautiful Door County sunsets.
I was in Door County Wisconsin in early June and we rode the Ahnapee Trail from Sturgeon Bay to Algoma. Although this trail was already listed on this site I did an update to the original pages and we got some newer and better pictures.
We rode the Wauponsee Glacial Trail from Manhatten, Illinois to the Kankakee River back in September. This was a nice ride on the 19 mile crushed stone trail that starts in Joliet. Our ride was 31 miles round trip.
Archived August 2019
I just got back from a trip south and had a chance to ride the Mammoth Cave Trail in Kentucky. This is a hilly, crushed stone trail, about 8 miles long, in the Mammoth Cave National Park.
Archived June and August 2018
We rode the Hennepin Canal Trail last month - September, 2017 - and I have just posted the ride report, photos and video. Our ride was on the Feeder Canal trail that runs south from Rock Island, Illinois.
Although the Prospect Heights Trail page and article has been on this site for years now (originally contributed by Howard Lange), we also rode this trail last year and I have just updated the page to include our recent ride report and many more photos including the power plant photos to contrast the more scenic trail photos.
The Thorn Creek Trail - We rode this trail in October of 2016 and I am almost caught up with posting the ride reports and photos for the trails that we rode last year. This is a very nice, all paved and mostly wooded trail south of Chicago near Chicago Heights. The trail is about 17 miles long and also connects to the Old Plank Road Trail.
Archived October and November, 2017
The Seven Waters Trail - We rode the Seven Waters Trail (SWT) in September of 2016 but I just now completed the trail pages and photo tour on this site. We started our ride in Burlington, Wisconsin. Due to the recent floods you may want to check the latest flood reports before heading out to this one.
The Kankakee River Trail - We rode the Kankakee River Trail (KRT) in June of 2016 but I just now completed the trail pages and photo tour on this site. The KRT is a really nice, scenic and mostly paved trail that runs along the Kankakee River about 20 miles south of Joliet.
The Oak Leaf Trail, Milwaukee - We rode the northeastern sections of the Oak Leaf trail (OLT) in Mid-June. The OLT consists of quite a few trails in and around Milwaukee Wisconsin. We started this ride at Lake Park in Milwaukee and rode north to the Milwaukee River area.
Archived August 15, 2017
The Proform 440ES Recumbent is now available on the Proform.com site and is now one of the lowest priced, good quality recumbent fitness bikes available online.
We rode the Thorn Creek Trail a few weeks ago and discovered another nice wooded and paved trail in the southern Chicagoland suburbs. I have some good photos of this trail and will post the photos and full ride report soon but for now the link above will give you some updates on this trail on the about-bicycles blog.
The NordicTrack GX3.5 Indoor Cycle has come out recently and just may help with that transition from Outdoor Riding to Indoor Cycling. OK, there are still plenty of good riding days left this year ~ some of the best actually ~ but I have been looking into Fitness Bikes again and just completed this review.
Archived July 2017
The Fox River Trail Bike Lanes through Aurora are now complete! This past weekend we rode the Fox River Trail from St Charles to and through Aurora. I had heard that they had made some bike lanes through Aurora and decided to check it out. It is an excellent connection of the FRT north of Aurora and south of Aurora.
The Old Plank Road Trail is the last new trail that we rode, photographed and documented this past bike riding season. We had a nice 44 mile ride on the OPRT and into the Hickory Creek Preserve that connects to this trail. Check out the ride report and photos.
Archived June 24, 2017
The Oak Leaf Trail, South Milwaukee - We rode 32 miles on the Oak Leaf Trail near the town of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past August (2015). This is a very nice, paved trail in south east Wisconsin that runs along Lake Michigan in the northern section. An easy day-trip from Chicagoland.
The Proform 440ES Recumbent is now available on the Proform.com site and is now one of the lowest priced, good quality recumbent fitness bikes available online.
We rode the Thorn Creek Trail a few weeks ago and discovered another nice wooded and paved trail in the southern Chicagoland suburbs. I have some good photos of this trail and will post the photos and full ride report soon but for now the link above will give you some updates on this trail on the about-bicycles blog.
The NordicTrack GX3.5 Indoor Cycle has come out recently and just may help with that transition from Outdoor Riding to Indoor Cycling. OK, there are still plenty of good riding days left this year ~ some of the best actually ~ but I have been looking into Fitness Bikes again and just completed this review.
The Fox River Trail Bike Lanes through Aurora are now complete! This past weekend we rode the Fox River Trail from St Charles to and through Aurora. I had heard that they had made some bike lanes through Aurora and decided to check it out. It is an excellent connection of the FRT north of Aurora and south of Aurora.
The Old Plank Road Trail is the last new trail that we rode, photographed and documented this past bike riding season. We had a nice 44 mile ride on the OPRT and into the Hickory Creek Preserve that connects to this trail. Check out the ride report and photos.
The Root River and Racine County Bike Trails - On August 1st we took a ride from Kenosha to Racine Wisconsin starting in the town of Kenosha. This was a 30 mile ride, round trip, and just happened to be at the same time as the the Taste of Wisconsin and the Pike River Rendezvous at Simmons Island Park both in Kenosha. Take the link above for our ride report and plenty of photos of this trip.
The White River Trail (Wisconsin) - Check out our latest trail article for first-hand ride information and photos of both sides of the White River Trail (east leg and west leg) in Southern Wisconsin. This one is a nice day-trip ride from the Chicagoland area.
The Kenosha County Bike Trail Ride - Here's the first-hand ride report and photos of our Kenosha County and Pike Bike Trail ride. I had to go back to the bike trail archives for this one. This was a ride from 2010 that I forgot to post until now! The ride report and photos are from the past but this is still a great ride.
New 2015 Prairie Trail Route 31 Intersection and Tunnel - Here are some photos of the new Route 31 Intersection with the Prairie Trail including the new tunnel under route 31 in Algonquin. I have also included a Past and Present photo page of this intersection.
Recumbent Exercise Bike Q&A Emails (blog post) - I've just posted one of my email strings with some good product information related to 4 of the recumbent fitness bikes reviewed on this website. I've made some suggestions based on my experience with these bikes and received some additional information in return on these models...