Peoria, Illinois
 

Anyone from the Peoria, Illinois area? Accepted a job and moving there in a few weeks. See some nice regional bike trails, wondering about bicycle commuting, especially in the East Peoria area. Thanks!

I live in the Peoria area, although near Dunlap, on the north side of Peoria itself. I bike commute all year round. There are limited bike facilities, and it can take a bit of work to find a good route.

East Peoria is an old river town, so the roads largely follow the river and the bluffs. As such, there's not always a nice grid of streets. I've ridden in East Peoria and have been able to get around, so commuting should be possible.

The local bike club for recreational riding is the Illinois Valley Wheelmen, and might have some useful resources...
http://ivwheelmn.org/wordpress/

drop me a line if you have any questions... kurtsj at mtco dot com

regards,
Steve

EP is one of the worst towns in the US to ride around. Check out its walkscore.com rating. Horrible maze of streets and drivers that will cut you off. Peoria itself is somewhat better but not great. Outside of the city, drivers are generally considerate and there is some very good riding both east and west of the river. A ton of sharp hills and long stretches where you will see just a couple of cars per hour. Most noteworthy are the 6 mountain bike parks, all of them better than almost anything in Illinois. There's a very active MTb club (PAMBA), racing/fast bike club and Rec ride club, as well as a couple of tri clubs.

The area is great for road or MTb riding, but horrible for commuting in the city unless your home and work are close to one of the few safe corridors.

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like my work site will be just off the main trail through East Peoria (although I think there's a large fence in the way, so I might have to ride on Washington Street a little ways. As long as I find a place near/accessible to the trail, I should be good. Thanks!

Best of luck in the new job!

I have some friends I do business with down there but I have never ridden. I do know the roads aren't overly friendly to cyclists, which is unfortunate because some of the area is really pretty. If you find a good route post it up, one of these days I'll get down there to ride.