Everybody has some special biking related area where they live that makes the rest of us a little jealous. When I see pics from the NW, CO or UT, I wish I was there. The East and North East is rich with history. The south always gloats with its ride pics when most of the rest of us are iced and snowed in tight. And of course Mr. Beanz has it all.
Well, about once a month I get to ride THE TUNNEL HILL TRAIL. This is a great rail trail in Southern Illinois about 20 minutes from my house. The trail is 47 miles long from end to end. You can get rock bluffs, deep woods, wetlands and farm land. My favorite ride is a 20 mile "out and back" (10 each direction) that is truly two different trips. Starting from the Vienna (pronounced VI-ANNA) trail head going north, for ten miles that take you through numerous rock cuts, over 8 trestles, one which is 90ft high and over 500ft long, and up to and though an amazing train tunnel that is almost 600ft long and goes completely pitch black for most of the ride through. All you see is the light at the end and you have zero sense of where the walls are. Everyone who experiences it for the first time, is completely freaked out.
What makes this particular ride nice is that the first 10 miles is all uphill. Not much at all, but enough to know you have gained altitude. So the ride back treat you with low resistance and all the stuff you didn't see on the way up.
Here is a link to all the pics:
http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/p...Tunnel%20Hill/
And here are a few that I picked out.
Approaching the Tunnel
Entering. You can see the date of the tunnel at the top. 1929
As you can see, there are ghost orbs inside this thing :-o
Inside looking out
Several of these rock cuts that were just wide enough for the train. you would not have wanted to be in one of these when the train came through.
Ok, I am getting better at this shooting myself thing.
Again, I am lovin the macro setting on the camera.
You don't see this sign everyday. I am glad there is a telegraph there. I can conserve the battery on my Blackberry.
My trusty steeds
