Our travels through yesterday’s cornfields took us from Ashkum, IL to Henry, IL. It was a long, hot day as we traveled over 90 miles to reach our destination. Now that I think about it, hot may be an understatement. The tar from the pavement actually melted from the heat and stuck to our tires as we pedaled. Most of the roads were fairly flat and lined with corn (again). The one section of our route that sticks out in my mind in my mind was a 2-3 miles stretch of gravel road in the countryside of Illinois. Below is a bikeability assessment I conducted for this stretch of the route.
Illinois Highway 116 Westbound (1.5 miles outside of Ashkum, IL, 6:30 AM)
1. 3
2. 2
3. 2 (close proximity to vehicles given the fast speed limit)
4. 4
5. 1.5 foot shoulder present, but isn’t capable to ride upon due to eroding areas.
Road 2700 North (0.1 miles from intersection with 700 East, 7:15 AM)
1. 5
2. 1 (gravel road)
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present
Road 3700 North (0.2 miles from intersection with 1700 East, 8 AM)
1. 4
2. 4
3. 2
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present
Road 2400 North (intersection with 3000 East, 9:30 AM)
1. 5
2. 3
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present
Highway 23 Westbound (intersection with Fitzsimmons Road, 11:45 AM)
1. 3
2. 2
3. 3
4. 5
5. 3.5 foot shoulder present, but dangerous to bike in due to sudden divots and large drop off.
Road 2900 North (intersection with 400 East, 1:30 PM)
1. 5
2. 3
3. 4
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present
Road 800 North (intersection with Century Road, 5:30 PM)
1. 3
2. 3
3. 2
4. 4
5. No shoulder/bike lane present
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