Rails to Trails

 In 1972 bicycles outsold automobiles by 2 million.Carlton Reid, Bike Boom, pg 138

City planners as well as state and federal departments of transportation were studying cycle-infrastructure—interconnected networks to help the cyclist get somewhere. The broad overview included protected bike lanes, shared roadways (with bike logos painted on the street tarmac or other signage), or cycle ways much like expressways.

Also, introducing, the Rail to Trail.

In the early 1970s sitting at home in Centerville, Ohio I was reading about the Elroy-Sparta, the granddaddy of Rail Trails. This 32-mile recreational trail opened in 1967. Abandoned tracks littered the American landscape. At the height of industrialization between 1860 – 1900, there were 132 distinct railroads. In Illinois, Abraham Lincoln was hired to defend two different railroads, one involved the Illinois Central Railroad and the other was the Rock Island Line, both now defunct. Today, as the result of mergers, bankruptcies, and major regulatory changes there are only seven railroads operating in the United States. Because of this some tracks did double-duty while others were made redundant. These tracks collected trash and broken bottles while the wood ties decomposed. As a kid I’d walk the tracks picking up steel nails, taking them home to hang on the wall of my room. When I read about the Elroy-Sparta it made sense to convert these old railroad tracks into trails. Just like Bikecentennial, I really, really wanted to ride the Elroy-Sparta.

Part of this had to do with the tunnels. There are three tunnels to the trail, number 3 being the longest. Riders were cautioned to bring a flashlight as it was almost a mile in length. Two wooden doors bookend tunnel number two to keep out freezing winter weather that could destabilize the carved-out interior walls.

These trails were multi-use and usually composed of crushed limestone. The biggest draw is that they tended to be in the middle of nowhere. They were basically paths cut through the middle of the woods—away from roadways and sprawl. Riding rails-to-trails you can get the feeling that time has passed you by.

A few years back I had the chance to ride the Elroy-Sparta. I’d concocted a ride from Minneapolis to Chicago in the middle of a heat-wave. I have a tendency to think things won’t be so bad. For instance, I’d be riding old railroad track beds where I was sure elevation gain would be minimal, also I’d also be riding next to the Mississippi, where everyone knows water takes the path of least resistance. No one told me about the bluffs. I was struggling to climb up steep hills in the middle of the day under bright sun with temps in the high 90s.

One’s organs begin to shut down when severely dehydrated. That’s what happened to me. I found that my lungs were compromised—much like an asthma attack. Eventually I pulled over and camped behind a barn. The next day I made an effort to keep drinking and did a little better. By the third day of my trip I was on the Elroy-Sparta, where, once again, I was fooled. I perceived I was climbing through the forest which made no sense. Wasn’t this an old railroad bed? Yes, and that’s where the three tunnels came in. You have to ride up to where they blasted through rock and pass through the tunnels before a slow descent, with a total elevation gain of 1,162 feet.http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com/

The Elroy-Sparta was a ride back in time. Old railroad depots, an old geezer outside tunnel #2 selling ice cream sandwiches from an ice cooler. Old-fashion hand-hewed tunnels with drippy chiseled ceilings. Each tunnel was a welcomed 50-60 degrees. Outside of #2 on the other side was the doorkeeper’s hut where he sat inside trying to keep warm between train runs, between coming outside to open the door so that the train could pass through. The kind of archaic system prone to human error and disaster.

The Elroy-Sparta morphed into the 400 Rail Trail. After Madison, Wisconsin I got onto another series of bike trails: the Glacial Drumlin, New Berlin, Oak Leaf, then home using the Robert McClory/North Shore Bike Path from Kenosha to Wilmette, then finally the Channel Trail linking Evanston, Skokie and Lincolnwood.

Home to air conditioning, to lie on the couch drinking a Coke.