State 12 of 50  

    Illinois

Capital: Springfield

Population: 12,800,000 (ranked 5th of 50 states)

Area: 141,000 km² (ranked 25th of 50 states)

Projected Route

Below is my theoretical route. The map will be overlaid with my actual route once completed.

Previous state:  Wisconsin 2       Next state: Iowa       Go back to home page: Click here

Ride Report

Scroll down below the route map for this state's ride report and photos

Ride Report

Illinois was a 300km experience which doesn't justify the proportionate size of the state, but I have to just nick the corner to press on west. 

However the corner was stunning and made for a pleasant morning trundle as I set the GPS to take me through the maze of back roads, carving through gentle hills, sleepy villages, fields of languishing corn and waving children.

As you can see from the route map above I strung out the ride as long as possible before choosing to cross into Iowa, over the Mississippi at Muscatine.

Entering Illinois

Corn, corn, corn. Even the gravel roads are almost groomed.

Typical Illinois countryside. With even more corn.

Can't remember what village this is but note the corn growing right up to the first houses. "What veg shall we have tonight dear? Let's see I'll just lean out the window and.. here we go"

Damn GPS. I'll take you the most direct route it promised.

A break from the corn.. what's that crop growing on the left? I've got no idea even though I rode through hundreds of miles of it. A motorcycling tip for Illinois: "when rounding bends a motorcyclist should always lean into the corn-ears". Yes I agree, too many miles in too much heat with too little company.

You can't fault the logic here. No-one likes a mono-brow freak. Sign me up for that wax.

OK, this is a bacon skillet (pronounced "bar-cone skillay" in Illinois) from the Red Apple diner in Morrison. It consists of tender grilled bacon from the pig, gently merged with sauteed onions from the field, mixed in with green pepper also from the field, on a base of lovingly fried potato, again from the field, and bound with cheese from the milk from the cow, also probably grazing in that same field. Place two easy-over eggs, from the hen, on top, serve with toast and coffee. Charge $4.25 with free coffee refills and, my friends, you have one satisfied customer. Thank you Red Apple.

And to show appreciation this is my plate after sampling the bacon skillet.

And these are also skillet connoisseurs at the Red Apple. One of my goals on this trip is to also sit at the counter like a local.

I constantly argue with the GPS. It deals in theory only, yet on the bike I am in the midst of reality. For example I wanted to go to the town of Woodhull. I set the GPS and it stopped me here. My question is.. where the hell is Woodhull? I looked up and down the road but there was no sign of it. So I went to Illinois and failed to get to Woodhull. Useless GPS, it's on its last warning.