Hear about cycling the Great Parks Route Oct. 10
The Sierra Club is presenting a program by Moira Dowell on her experience of bicycling the Great Parks Route at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane, Glen Ellyn.
Dowell and Noll first met 30 years ago when they were teaching at an alternative high school in Maywood. They lost touch when Dowell took a break from teaching to raise children then resumed her career at a different school. Three years ago, she discovered the bike rider she saw nearly every day on her commute to work was her former colleague. Noll, a former marine and Outward Bound instructor, makes a daily 10-mile ride to school in all kinds of weather.
“With the right gear like studded tires, you can ride year round,” says Noll. “The coldest ride I've made was when it was 20 below zero.”
As a skilled bike mechanic and with several long distance rides already under his belt, Noll was the perfect companion for Dowell's inaugural long distance tour. Dowell took up bike riding about a year ago when ankle problems forced her to give up running. Riding the Great Parks Route was her goal for the first summer of her retirement from teaching.
Noll and Dowell used detailed maps from Adventure Cycling Association to plan their route. The maps provided information on amenities along the way such as camping, motels, grocery stores, hospitals and bike shops. Good preparations made the bike shops unnecessary but the hospital came in handy. They carried camping gear, an 85-pound load for Noll, 65 for Dowell but stopped camping when Noll slipped in the shower and broke a rib. Lying on the ground was painful but the broken rib didn't interfere with riding, enabling him to complete the trip. The only other mishaps they experienced were a flat tire and a run in with bear spray. While packing up the bikes for the day's ride, a traveler in an RV decided to test his bear spray. It discharged in their direction, drifting over both of them. They can attest to its effectiveness.
Noll's advice for anyone considering a long distance tour is to be prepared, have a touring bike with a steel frame and good tires. Talk to people who have experience doing long rides and consider joining a group.
Seeing the national parks from a bicycle is different than from a car or train. “I was in the beauty; I couldn't believe I was in it,” said Dowell, searching for words to describe the experience. “I was one with nature.”
Everyone is welcome to attend "Cycling the Great Parks Route" at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, at 7 p.m. Oct. 10.
For more information, visit Adventure Cycling Association at http://www.adventurecycling.org or Sierra Club at http://illinois.sierraclub.org/rpg/ or
Lonnie Morris herbndove@comcast.net/