The 2008 Freedom Ride marked a big change in our riding philosophy. We rode 240 miles from Setger to Ste. Marie The Bend through the remnants of hurricane Gustav. The rain was relentless, but Conlin was able to construct an ingenious roadside shelter with one of our greatest tools in the war against the elements, the tarp.
Instead of taking Illinois highway 49 the whole way, semis and all, we stuck to the back roads. We didn't have to deal with any semis, but we must have had at least 100 dogs chase us. This is a picture after the ride at the Bend Park overlook on the Embrass River (Jasper County Illinois). We enjoyed the ride, a bit of a slower pace than the 2007 ride in which we rode 210 miles in 29 hours through frigid conditions. We took three days, partly because of the rain, and found that the back roads provide a much more relaxing ride (except maybe for the dogs). Plans for the 2009 ride are still up in the air, we may take on the eastern section of Shawnee National Forest, or we may do a more local bike route that begins in Steger. Really this blog is dedicated to tracking the 2010 Ride for Alternative Energy from Chicago to really wherever. We have some plans to head south to Louisiana, but Lord knows where we may end up.
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