New Bike, New Trail, Great Sky

2014 Giant Sedona DX on a section of the Tunnel Hill State Trail alongside US 45
between Harrisburg and Eldorado, Illinois.

When I first got back into bicycling a few ten years ago, I went to the local bike shop and said I wanted to get a mountain bike. The owner quizzed me on what type of riding I did and then told me I wanted a hybrid bike. So I tried one and thought it was OK and ended up buying the thing. After riding that for a couple years I got an itch for something lighter and faster and bought a road bike-- the kind with the dropped handlebars. I quickly found out that was not my style at all and I sold it within a year. Still wanting something lighter and faster, I found the Trek 7.5 FX-- a flat-bar road bike. So I sold the hybrid and bought the Trek. It's my primary bike now and is best for me for longer rides. But I still itched for the more upright riding style of the mountain bike. It's easier to look around when riding on streets and, frankly, reminds me of what bike-riding was when I was a kid and rode my bike everywhere. So here's the new mountain bike. It's a comfortable bike for shorter rides and has the wider tires that do better on softer terrain, but it isn't the best for distance.

This week I was travelling downstate for work and decided to take the new bike with me to take a bite out of a trail I've been wanting to ride for several years. The Tunnel Hill State Trail is an old railroad line that has been converted to a cycling/running/walking trail. From the Barkhausen Wetlands Center just outside Karnak to the end in Eldorado is 55.6 miles. I rode from Harrisburg to Eldorado and back. It was only 18 miles but that was plenty in the 90 degree heat on a bike not built to ride distances. I'm looking forward to riding more (or even all) of the trail, especially the southernmost portion.