Great Lakes - Where to ride near O'hare

I'll be in Chicago for a few days the week after next on business following the marathon and was wondering about places to ride. I'll be in a seminar and staying at the Crowne Plaza, which is right there at O'Hare. The seminar goes until 5PM on the 14th and 15th and was was looking for somewhere to put in 25 miles or so both nights.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated

Off the top of my head I would recommend Busse Woods. Not too aweful far from there and with the weather you might be able to get some time in. Then again the sun is setting around 6:30 so maybe you're going to need something closer....

...best i can do...

there are no good routes directly adjacent to the airport area. It's not a bike friendly area at all. I've been searching like crazy for a route south through the area towards dupage county.

My best suggestion would be to take your bike on the blue line 'L' after 6pm at it's a 50 minute ride to Washington in downtown. there you are less than a mile from the lakefront path. You could ride north on it to Rogers Park and back then take the blue line back to the hotel.

Alternatively I used to commute from the Cumberland 'L' station which is one stop east from River Rd/Rosemont. You need to get accross the river to Cumberland and Higgins, not sure how but it will be a real pain. Go east on Peterson then north on Prospect [side streets] untill it ends to Washington to Main to Shermer [secondary streets] to Harlem and then take Harlem North to Willow "the Glen" and back.

What about the Des Plaines river...isn't there a trail along there? Arlington Heights has butt tons of trails.

The Des Plaines river trail is not really good for distance riding. It is fairly technical and requires a mountain bike with wide knobby tires. You'd also need very good lights to ride it near or after sunset. I wrote a report on the southern section a few weeks ago. With the flooding since that report it is probably worse.

The Des Plaines river trail is not really good for distance riding. It is fairly technical and requires a mountain bike with wide knobby tires. You'd also need very good lights to ride it near or after sunset. I wrote a report on the southern section a few weeks ago. With the flooding since that report it is probably worse.

Wide knobby tires? I don't think so. The DPRT can be easily handle something as narrow as a 700x30 tire. I know, I've done it.

Now if you're talking about the stuff on the side of the main DPRT trail, then I understand what you're talking about. Even then, it can be done on a CX bike.

The Lake county sections are made of nice limestone. The sections in Cook county are mostly mud with tree branches and in some places they dump limestone chips like you'd find in a rock garden and call it surfaced. I can't see being able to do it with anything other than a mountain bike.

All I can say is that I've done it multiple times. I've also ridden it on a mtn bike as well. FWIW, I've only ridden the Cook County sections so far.

Well I would be on my road bike, so anything beyond a 700 x 23 is out for me. I'm also going to have my car there, so driving to a nearby location works for me as well.

That Busse Woods area looks fine. I could easily drive over, ride a few laps, then drive back.

Thanks for all the replies thus far

Bring a light. Timing is going to be your only issue.

If you're able to ge over to Barrington by 5:00-5:15 you might be able to join the group ride on Tuesday...not much farther....

How early are you going to be able to get away, or, how late can you start working?

Depending on time - there's a lot of nice stuff in the Fox River Valley.....

Can we assume that you'll have a car to drive?

I vote for Busse Woods or just the streets around Elk Grove where they held the race this summer. They seemed quite ridable and after that final Sunday race, I rode my bike around Busse Woods and it was quite enjoyable. I don't know how the roads are in North Brook, but you certainly could ride the Velodrome. Speed work !!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Crowne+Plaza++il&ie=UTF8&ll=42.051332,-87.878952&spn=0.231988,0.4422&z=11

There is also the North Branch trail that starts at Caldwell woods. Not far at all from I-90. Probably a 20 minute drive from the airport.

http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=36&file=rec_36e

That's about a 35 mile paved path.

-T.

The Crowne Plaza probably has a lovely exercise room with a broken elliptical and a treadmill.

Or just find the bar and practice 16 oz curls.

The issue is timing. If you can't get out until 5:00 at a minimum and assuming you are not going to wear your kit under your work clothes all day you will need tim to change...so...

Sun sets at 6:15-6:30....10 minutes to change, you can't drive farther than 10 miles and end up with more than 1/2 hour you can ride.

We barely get in 28 miles before sunset and we start at 5:00. On the bike, rolling at 5:00....FWIW.

That's what street lights are for, man.

C'mon ... Chicago is the 25th largest metro area in the world (by population), life begins at dusk.

Strap on that blinky light!

Between the schedule and my lack of familiarity with the area, I think I'll be doing some AM riding those days. I'll prolly give Busse woods a shot as soon as dawn breaks.

Thanks for the good info everyone