Recommendations for a tour beginning in Chicago

[Tyrosopher]

Hey there,

I'm looking to start my first bike tour May 28th from Chicago.  Due to work and family, I need to break the tour into 9 day chunks.  As in, twice a year I'll be able to spend 9 days each chipping away at a tour.  I was originally thinking Route 66 as I'm quite familiar with Chicago and live in the Western suburbs, so ideally I start from my home.  But reviews of poor road conditions have me undecided. 

I'd rather see the West or the South than the East or Northeast.  I'm gonna give a more bikepacking setup a go, so will be packing light but with tent/pad/bag and a small stove.  I'll ride for 8 days then rent a car and drive home. 

What do you recommend? 

Thank you.

[indyfabz]

What's your anticipated range for 8 days of riding? Seems like it would be difficult to truly reach/see the west in only 8 days starting from the western 'burbs of Chicago.

[Tyrosopher]

I plan on about 85 miles a day. 

To be clear, I ride for 8 days, and on the 9th I head home.  Then, a few months later, drive back to where I left the trail and pick up my route again.  Just like some Appalachian Trail thru hikers do it in chunks over years.

[adventurepdx]

Is your heart really set on completing one route in chunks? If so, ending wherever can be pretty remote, and the logistics of getting back home could be tough, even if you're thinking of renting a car. And there's the expanse of the Plains. You'll have a few chunks that will be strictly the Plains. It might be a bit daunting to know that you have to return to complete another section of this area before you hit the mountains. Of course, you may love the Plains and then it wouldn't be a big deal.

Have you thought of the Pacific Coast? It isn't starting from Chicago, but it is scenic for most of it, and it's not logistically impossible to complete it in chunks, as there are transportation options.

[Tyrosopher]

I'm not necessarily set on it, but I do think it'd be interesting to chip away at a larger goal. 

Thanks for the advice.  Whilst the Pac Coast routes look amazing, I have to figure out if my budget and schedule allow for a travel day on both ends.

Thanks.

[John Nelson]

I recommend Bicycle Route 66. It's a great route.

Just curious, how do you plan to get home from the first chunk, or get back to your car from the other chunks? And won't you need a travel day on both ends, no matter which route you do (except for the starting end of the first chunk, if you start from home)? In fact, when you're doing, e.g., the chunk in Arizona, you probably need two or three travel days on each end. The logistics of a segment bike tour are tricky, just like the logistics of an AT segment hiker. I have a buddy doing a segment hike of the CDT, and he spends almost as much time traveling as hiking.

[Tyrosopher]

Thank John Nelson for the reco. 

Was thinking rental car for getting back to my car.  And of course, after the first chunk there would be travel days on both ends.

Are you thinking the segment method just isn't worth it? 

I'd like to use the ACA maps for my first bike tour.  Maybe I could find a loop that keeps me close to home but uses ACA routes.

[Manilishi]

I'd like to use the ACA maps for my first bike tour.  Maybe I could find a loop that keeps me close to home but uses ACA routes.

  There is an ACA loop in Michigan - close to home , scenic, probably only a half day travel time on both ends. Chicago to Detroit is a 6 hour drive.

[indyfabz]

Seems to me that your plans are limited by rental availability. I have never come across a car rental agency that allows you to rent one way between any two points of your choosing. Sounds like you need to identify locations within your range where you can rent one way back close to home. I would start with higher population density areas first, since they are probably more likely to have one way rentals available. FWIW, I have decent luck with one way rental from Avis.

[adventurepdx]

Are you thinking the segment method just isn't worth it? 
I'd like to use the ACA maps for my first bike tour.  Maybe I could find a loop that keeps me close to home but uses ACA routes.

Section hiking is a bigger deal with long-distance hiking because there's basically three long distance trails, and completing any of them in one season can be difficult due to the length of time it takes, and the weather.

"Section biking" has never really become a thing, probably because as cyclotourists we are not limited to a handful of very defined route options. Also, "I biked the Northern Tier" doesn't have the same ring or importance as "I've completed the AT" or even "I biked from coast to coast." Granted, biking the complete NT does mean you've biked coast-to-coast, but more people care about the coast-to-coast part, not what particular line on a map you followed.

I'd encourage you to use your nine days at a time to do a couple local tours first. You might not even know if you like to tour or not. And trying to break down a long-distance tour in seven (or less) day chunks with the headaches of figuring out how to get to and from each segment may suck all the joy out of the actual tour.

As for local and ACA routing, besides Route 66 and North Lakes Loop, the Northern Tier comes pretty close to Chicago. You may be able to take a train out to a nearby point, then ride westbound. The NT through Iowa and southeast MN hugs the Misssissippi Valley, which is quite scenic. And you could make it to a place like La Crosse or St Paul where you could hop on Amtrak back to Union Station in Chicago.

[indyfabz]

The NT through Iowa and southeast MN hugs the Misssissippi Valley, which is quite scenic. And you could make it to a place like La Crosse or St Paul where you could hop on Amtrak back to Union Station in Chicago.

That is along the lines of what I was thinking. Or maybe as far as Fargo, ND, where one-way rentals might be available.

[Tyrosopher]

Thanks everyone for the brilliant advice.  I really appreciate your time and insights.  I'll keep you posted. 

[paddleboy17]

Chicago is a major hub for AmTrak.  Did you look into that?  I think if you ride to a manned station, you can ship yourself and your bike back to Chicago.  There is also roll-on/roll-off, but that has even more restrictions.

[indyfabz]

Here are the Amtrak rules:

https://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

In brief, there are three options:

1. Carry on, where you literally bring your own bike on board and store it in a designed location. Limited availability on certain routes.

2. Trainside Checked Service, where you hand your unboxed bike over to a baggage handler who stows it in a special rack in the baggage car. Available between "select stations". I understand this to mean that, with a few exceptions noted, it's only available between that offer checked baggage service.

3. Checked Baggage Service, where the bike is boxed and checked like any other piece of checked luggage. Available only between stations with checked baggage service.

[canalligators]

We did the Northern Tier in sections, each about the length of time that you have available.  The NT mostly parallels Amtrak's Empire Builder.  We are in NY, so we flew to Seattle, then returned from Shelby MT by train.  Next year we took the train to Shelby and rode to Fargo, returning by train.  Next segment was Fargo to Winona, then Winona to Chicago, these last two were shorter.  I'd recommend a shorter westerly segment, maybe ride Anacortes to Whitefish or Glacier.

See my article on Amtrak, with user input, here: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=tS&doc_id=4630&v=A4

Remember to include transit time in your available time windows.  It can add a day or more each way if you use the trains.

For the other approach, I'm sure you could make a loop using Wisconsin rail trails.  Or get the BikeFed maps and figure out your own loop.  Illinois and Minnesota bike maps are pretty good too.