It's been about 20 years since I've ridden a bike that wasn't stationary, so admittedly I started out a little rusty, but I think my return to the cycling world can only accurately be described as triumphant.
Don't believe me? Check out some of my sick tricks here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyW9864AXVk
Okay fine. That's Cru Jones (and very young Lori Loughlin) in the classic 80s flick, RAD. But I'm pretty certain my riding is reminiscent of that, thanks to all the butt-blistering practice I've been putting in on the Schaumburg Bikeway System.
Sure, there's a ton of more popular and well known trails in Chicagoland, and this trail system looks a lot like a fumbled bag of spaghetti, but leads way for adventure and routes that aren't crowded with crazy child bikers and weird guys who hide in the trail-way foliage and jerk off as people ride by (looking at you, Prairie Path. yeah, you know what I'm talking about.).
You can find a map of all the paved bike trails on the website. It's a pretty expansive trail system and while it's all pretty flat terrain, I wouldn't necessarily say it's the best for kids since in most areas the train system does quite a bit of intertwining with the crazy streets of Schaumburg and its even crazier drivers. I'm still too scared to go on the trails near main streets or where I have to do a lot of intersection crossing because while I tolerate riding on my bike for my partner and I guess for fitness too, I don't want to risk being run over and killed or mangled doing something I only mildly enjoy.
You can find areas that are a bit more remote or full of nature than others, and those are the ones I stick to. Hidden ponds and wildlife (turtles, dragon flies, giant herons and more) along the trails closer to I-90 or down by Schaumburg Rd near the art and nature center.
I don't know that an expert bicyclist would be super entertained on these trails, but for someone like me who's a born-again cyclist just trying to relearn how to break and make even right-angle turns, it's perfectly adequate. read more