Great River Ride – Day 17 – Leaving Indiana

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This post should really be titled: “Great River Ride – Day 17 – US-30 the Revenge!” We left Fort Wayne, IN on US-30 and spent most of the day wearing rain gear.

It was not very fun.

When we got about fifty miles from Chicago, the skies cleared up. We pulled over, grabbed a snack, and stashed our rain gear.

From US-30, we took I-69 to I-94 to US-41. We followed US-41 all the way along Lake Michigan into Chicago. The traffic was fierce, so I was on maximum concentration and alert. My wife didn’t enjoy it at all, but I found it very invigorating, especially after the dull four lane roads all day. Dodging crazed taxies, gawking tourists, speedy locals, and suicidal tourists was very entertaining.

The cool breeze off the lake caused some condensation inside the waterproof housing of the GoProHD, so we didn’t get any usable footage of us riding into Chicago. I’ve been having this problem frequently with the waterproof door. It usually happens in the morning when we leave the air-conditioned hotel and step outside into the humid sauna. Leaving the door open during this period helps, but not perfect. Since we have been encountering so much rain, I’ve been using the waterproof door nearly 100% of the time. When using the non-waterproof door, air is free to circulate and it won’t fog up.

We only rode 180 miles today because we wanted to spent time in Chicago. We only wanted to do two things there. The first was to eat some delicious food. That was easily accomplished and helped us remember why some of our friends drive from Minnesota to Chicago just to eat dinner. Fabulous food. The second will be detailed in day 18, but here is a hint:

 

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Related Posts:

• Great River Ride – The Plan
• Great River Ride – The Bike Prep
• Great River Ride – Day 1 – To Park Rapids, MN
• Great River Ride – Day 2 – The Mississippi Headwaters
• Great River Ride – Day 3 – Leaving Minnesota
• Great River Ride – Day 4 – Iowa
• Great River Ride – Day 5 – Into Missouri
• Great River Ride – Day 6 – Five States in One Day
• Great River Ride – Day 7 – Memphis and Mississippi
• Great River Ride – Day 8 – Louisiana
• Great River Ride – Day 9 – Rain and the Gulf
• Great River Ride – Day 10 – Mobile & Pensacola
• Great River Ride – Day 11 – To Birmingham
• Great River Ride – Day 12 – Sweet Tea and Sweetwater
• Great River Ride – Day 13 – Cherohala Dragons
• Great River Ride – Day 14 – In Threes
• Great River Ride – Day 15 – OH-555 and AMA Museum
• Great River Ride – Day 16 – US-30
• Great River Ride – Day 17 – Leaving Indiana
• Great River Ride – Day 18 – Chicago and Sojourner
• Great River Ride – Day 19 – Madison to Minneapolis
• Great River Ride – Reflections