Summer Biking

Over the Spring/Summer, with more time at home/out of the office, I had more time for biking this year. It's a favorite activity in nice weather, and gives some much needed stress relief & mental refocusing.

 I spend a lot of time on the local Greenway trail, as it's close by and a good distance, with views along the riverfront too. Going further afield, I enjoy the Tunnel Hill trail in IL, and made it my goal to ride the whole trail this Summer - instead of the same sections over and over.

 It's a rail-to-trail, so has a relatively flat & well maintained path with minimal elevation gains. As an added bonus, it's very scenic through the trees, has trestle bridges and even some tunnels. Driving out to some of the parking lots had me exploring some new countryside views, and hitting some back roads too.

The trail runs 45 miles from Karnak to Harrisburg. I did it in sections, from one parking lot up to the next then back each trip, so I guess I've done a round trip of 90 miles overall! 

The namesake tunnel is roughly the halfway point, and runs 500+ feet, making it eerie to ride (or walk) through! The elevation is the highest at this point too, so it's beautiful scenery being up on the bluffs and tree tops. Though it means one part of the trip is uphill...ha!

My favorite sections were the scenic ones around the main tunnel. The sections nearer to Harrisburg were closer to the roadway, so there wasn't as much quiet while riding the trail. Exploring new sections of this trail and getting outdoors was a wonderful part of this strange year.

Trail Complete!

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