Looking for hills in N. Illinois

Mike said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Please email me the locations.

TIA, Mike

It's been a long time, .... but aren't there some good hills in and out of the Fox River basin -
along highway 25 and 31 (Aurora to Elgin)?

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO cycletourist.comcycletourist.comOpen ↗ Integrity is obvious. The lack of it
is common.
*****************************

The northwest corner of the Illinois around Galena is hilly. I will ride through there this summer
on the GIT ride. Last summer I rode on a Peoria bike club ride west of Peoria which was quite hilly
compared to Chicago.

I both places the hills are actually valleys eroding down to the level of the Mississippi (Galena)
and Illinois (Peoria) rivers so the height is limited to the difference between the river elevation
and the surrounding plain. A topo map I checked show this to be about 200 feet around Galena.

Nearer Chicago you find the same thing along the Fox and Des Plaines rivers. Near the Des Plaines
river there is a bike path looping around Argonne National Laboratory which mostly not flat.

Ed <[email hidden]> wrote:
: The northwest corner of the Illinois around Galena is hilly. I will ride through there this summer
: on the GIT ride. Last summer I rode on a Peoria bike club ride west of Peoria which was quite
: hilly compared to Chicago.

: I both places the hills are actually valleys eroding down to the level of the Mississippi
: (Galena) and Illinois (Peoria) rivers so the height is limited to the difference between the
: river elevation and the surrounding plain. A topo map I checked show this to be about 200 feet
: around Galena.

: Nearer Chicago you find the same thing along the Fox and Des Plaines rivers. Near the Des Plaines
: river there is a bike path looping around Argonne National Laboratory which mostly not flat.

Along the Illinois river on Illinois Route 89, I hit 36mph going downhill between Peru and
Spring Valley.

I think the highest point in Illinois is 1200 feet high and I think the lowest point is 690 feet ;-)

There's a little hill in Busse Woods...

--
John Nelson
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On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:11:14 GMT, "Mike" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

John Everett - Aurora, Illinois

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mike said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Son: "I'd like to be a musician when I grow up." Dad: "You can't have it both ways!"

Likewise, you can have big hills west of Chicago, but they're not in Illinois.

Your best bet is near the big rivers: along the Mississippi (try Galena), the Illinois (the entrance
to Starved Rock State Park is impressive), the Rock (there are hilly areas around Oregon), and even
the Fox (some nice undulations near Elgin). There are isolated hills; look for a Kane County park
called Johnson's Mound.

dave

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

John Everett - Aurora, Illinois

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

Bob C.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking in
L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

psycholist said:

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:11:14 GMT, "Mike" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking in
L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade me back some of your flatlands. I've never ridden flat land for
more than a mile...I'm not sure I've ever even seen it in person.

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...
--
Rick Onanian

[
Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade me back some of your flatlands. I've never ridden flat land for
more than a mile...I'm not sure I've ever even seen it in person.

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...
--
Rick Onanian [/B][/QUOTE]

I will contribute to that trade ,for maybe just a couple of mile without a hill I will give you all the hills and mountains you want to climb.

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 11:22:57 -0500, Rick Onanian <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island.

Well, they can always find a cloverleaf on a freeway. I remember growing up in Kansas without many
hills and selling sleds could get you hit with fraud charges, and you could practice tennis into the
wind (everything but overhead slams).

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...

Mike said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Please email me the locations.

TIA, Mike

There is one 50ft hill in Urbana, Ill, if you care do go as far south as this. No road on the hill,
though. You could perhaps use it for mountain bike.

Jacques

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

psycholist said:

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:11:14 GMT, "Mike" <[email hidden]>
>I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking
in L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade me back some of your flatlands. I've never ridden flat land
for more than a mile...I'm not sure I've ever even seen it in person.

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...
--
Rick Onanian

Don't get rid of them all, though Rick; otherwise, how would I ever drop you? <GGGG>

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

psycholist said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

John Everett - Aurora, Illinois

Quoted message said:

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

Quoted message said:

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

Bob C.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking
in L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

Sheesh. If you guys would ever leave Chicagoland or venture off of the expressways, you'd see that
Illinois is not all flat. In fact, there are some significant climbs. Illinois is more than the vast
collection of strip malls and car dealerships that exists in the NE part of the state.

You should come on out some time. We have hills, bluffs, waterfalls, forests, bald eagles, and all
kinds of other neat stuff.

Todd Kuzma Heron Bicycles Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery LaSalle, IL heronbicycles.comheronbicycles.comOpen ↗
tullios.comtullios.comOpen ↗

Rick Onanian said:

psycholist said:

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 23:11:14 GMT, "Mike" <[email hidden]>
>I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking
in L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade me back some of your flatlands. I've never ridden flat land for
more than a mile...I'm not sure I've ever even seen it in person.

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...
--
Rick Onanian

On a tour across the plains, in Nebraska, I accumulated 70 feet of elevation gain in one day, ...
and that had been the two railroad viaducts I had "climbed" during the day.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO cycletourist.comcycletourist.comOpen ↗ Integrity is obvious. The lack of it
is common.
*****************************

psycholist said:

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike said:

I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

My response was going to be "Wisconsin."

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here in
Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...

David Kerber ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net said:

Don't get rid of them all, though Rick; otherwise, how would I ever drop you? <GGGG>

Headwind. Although, with my new aerobars... 😉

I won an ebay auction for a trainer and rollers. Now I nearly _want_ winter to continue, so I can
get back into shape and ride with you without holding you back early in spring...or at least without
holding you back _excessively_. <G>
--
Rick Onanian

"Todd Kuzma" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

psycholist said:

Quoted message said:

>I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

John Everett - Aurora, Illinois

Sheesh. If you guys would ever leave Chicagoland or venture off of the expressways, you'd see that
Illinois is not all flat. In fact, there are some significant climbs. Illinois is more than the
vast collection of strip malls and car dealerships that exists in the NE part of the state.

You should come on out some time. We have hills, bluffs, waterfalls, forests, bald eagles, and all
kinds of other neat stuff.

Todd Kuzma

I'll second that invitation, Todd. Out here there are hills and more as we go NW. Some of the rides
are even challenging, "Hilly Hundred" stuff. There are all kinds of riding in Illinois.

LaVerne Davenport Dixon, IL

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sheesh! If hills are really that badly in demand, I'd be happy to send you some of mine, here
in Rhode Island. Maybe you could trade

That would be sweet -- I could gather some momentum, not get overtired from slogging up hills
constantly, just cruise along...

David Kerber ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net said:

Don't get rid of them all, though Rick; otherwise, how would I ever drop you? <GGGG>

Headwind. Although, with my new aerobars... 😉

And the aerobelly? Fat chance! It's gotta be hills or I'm toast.

Quoted message said:

I won an ebay auction for a trainer and rollers. Now I nearly _want_ winter to continue, so I can
get back into shape and ride with you without holding you back early in spring...or at least
without holding you back _excessively_. <G>

This weekend's supposed to be really nice to get back out on the roads again.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:12:30 -0600, Todd Kuzma <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

psycholist said:

Quoted message said:

>I am looking for some big hills in N. Illinois and west of Chicago.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

John Everett - Aurora, Illinois

Quoted message said:

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

Quoted message said:

You beat me to it. That's how I planned to respond.

Bob C.

On a windy day, you can stand on 55th street in the western suburbs and watch the waves breaking
in L. Michigan -- 20 miles away.

Sheesh. If you guys would ever leave Chicagoland or venture off of the expressways, you'd see that
Illinois is not all flat. In fact, there are some significant climbs. Illinois is more than the
vast collection of strip malls and car dealerships that exists in the NE part of the state.

You should come on out some time. We have hills, bluffs, waterfalls, forests, bald eagles, and all
kinds of other neat stuff.

Todd, as you may recall (since I've stopped by your shop a couple of times) I actually do leave
Chicagoland every so often. Also, as I've trained on and raced the Cedar Point course you'll know
I've done the hills on Creek Road and N2550. Also the climb out of Utica on the Pumpkin Pie Ride.

However, for the past couple of years I've spent a week each summer cycling in the Colorado Rockies
(Summit County). Your area (Peru, La Salle) has a few bumps by comparison. BTW, same for you, Rick
Onanian. I spent a week cycling in Rhode Island last summer and found a few upgrades, but no hills
I'd call significant.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

John Everett said:

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:12:30 -0600, Todd Kuzma <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Todd, as you may recall (since I've stopped by your shop a couple of times) I actually do leave
Chicagoland every so often. Also, as I've trained on and raced the Cedar Point course you'll know
I've done the hills on Creek Road and N2550. Also the climb out of Utica on the Pumpkin Pie Ride.

However, for the past couple of years I've spent a week each summer cycling in the Colorado
Rockies (Summit County). Your area (Peru, La Salle) has a few bumps by comparison. BTW, same for
you, Rick Onanian. I spent a week cycling in Rhode Island last summer and found a few upgrades,
but no hills I'd call significant.

I know, John. I'm just giving you a hard time. The hills in our area are certainly short. There are
some longer ones in the NW part of the state, but they are still not as long as what you'll find in
the Rockies.

However, we DO have some steep grades. I've been up hills that are 16%. Many of the mountain roads
out west use switchbacks and cuts into the hillside to lessen the grade. So, you might ride at 5-6%
for miles and miles, but that's a different type of climb than a short 16% hill.

We have a local hill in town that we use for hill repeats. The climb is one leg of a 1-mile loop.
So, the climb is only 1/4 mile long. Most riders fly up the first time and wonder what the big deal
is. By the third or fourth time, they are struggling. 7 or 8 loops is the max for most.

Todd Kuzma Heron Bicycles Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery LaSalle, IL